PMO Manager

Willmott Dixon Group; Letchworth; On-site; GBP 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

Willmott Dixon Group seeks an experienced PMO Manager to lead the governance and portfolio management within its technology and business change function. You will provide independent oversight, insights and recommendations to support informed investment decisions and drive successful delivery across the organisation.

You will lead the PMO as a centre of excellence, establishing standards, processes and methodologies for prioritisation, governance, delivery, adoption and measurement, while

Qualifications

• At least 4 years in a senior PMO leadership role.
• Professional certification in APM, PRINCE2 Practitioner, PMP, P3O Practitioner, or MSP (Managing Successful Programmes) or MoP.
• Proven track record of establishing or maturing enterprise PMO within a large organisation.
• Deep expertise in enterprise IT program delivery and digital transformation with senior stakeholder engagement.
• Experience supporting business change management approaches (Prosci, ADKAR) within technology-enabled transformation programmes.
• Exceptional communication, influencing and executive engagement skills for Boards and Directors.
• Strong financial governance of program budgets, forecasts and portfolio-level reporting.
• Advanced analytical and data visualization capability for strategic decision-making.

Responsibilities

• Govern and improve the PMO governance, assurance and portfolio management frameworks.
• Provide independent oversight, portfolio insight and recommendations to support investment decisions.
• Deliver transparency of delivery performance, risks and benefits realization across the organisation.
• Establish and continuously improve standards, processes and methodologies for prioritisation, governance and delivery.
• Communicate portfolio intelligence clearly to senior stakeholders and drive continuous improvement.

Skills

Senior PMO leadership

Portfolio governance

Stakeholder engagement

Financial acumen

Data visualization

Executive communication

Change management

Education

Degree-level education

Tools

Power BI

Job description

Willmott Dixon have an exciting opportunity for an experienced PMO Manager to play a strategic leadership role within our technology and business change function. Acting as a trusted advisor to the IT Director and Executive Leadership Team, you will provide independent oversight, portfolio insight, and expert recommendations that support informed investment decisions and drive successful delivery outcomes across the organisation.

As PMO Manager, you will be responsible for leading the governance, assurance, and portfolio management frameworks that underpin technology-enabled business change. You will ensure that investments are prioritised effectively, delivery performance is transparent, risks are proactively managed, and benefits are realised, helping to maximise the value of change initiatives across the business.

Leading the PMO as a centre of excellence, you will establish and continuously improve the standards, processes, and methodologies that guide how change is prioritised, governed, delivered, adopted, and measured. Working in partnership with business and technology leaders, you will provide clear visibility of demand, capacity, dependencies, risks, and outcomes, enabling effective decision-making and fostering a culture of continuous improvement.

This is an outstanding opportunity for a strategic and influential leader who is passionate about driving successful change, enhancing portfolio performance, and ensuring projects and programmes deliver meaningful business value. You will play a key role in shaping the future of our technology and transformation agenda while developing strong relationships with stakeholders at all levels within Willmott Dixon.

Essential Criteria

• At least 4 years' experience in a senior PMO leadership role, governing complex project and program portfolios, supported by a minimum of 5 years' experience in project and program management.
• Professional certification in one or more of: APM (Association for Project Management), PRINCE2 Practitioner, PMP, P3O Practitioner, or MSP (Managing Successful Programmes). MoP (Management of Portfolio) or similar.
• Demonstrable track record of establishing or significantly maturing enterprise PMO within organisation of similar scale and complexity - from framework design through to operational embedding and executive adoption.
• Deep expertise in enterprise IT program delivery, portfolio governance, digital transformation with proven ability to operate at senior stakeholder level.
• Experience supporting or applying business change management approaches (e.g. Prosci, ADKAR) within technology-enabled transformation programmes.
• Exceptional communication, influencing, and executive engagement skills - able to present complex portfolio intelligence clearly to Boards, Directors, and senior leadership teams.
• Strong financial acumen - with experience governing program budgets, managing forecasts, and reporting financial performance at portfolio level.
• Advanced analytical and data visualisation capability - with the ability to design and deliver reporting services that drive strategic decision-making.

Desirable Criteria

• Degree-level education
• Hands-on experience with MS Power BI for portfolio performance reporting and executive dashboards.
• Familiarity with ITIL service management and its intersection with project governance.
• Exposure to enterprise architecture principles and how they inform portfolio prioritisation and dependency management.Attributes

Attributes

• A strategic thinker who sees beyond task completion and compliance to the outcomes, value creation, and organisational change that delivery must enable.
• Confident in challenging decisions, escalating risks, and holding to account, with the credibility and relationships to do so constructively.
• A natural collaborator who builds high-trust relationships across organisational boundaries and leads through influence as much as authority.
• Comfortable operating at executive level, influencing decisions through evidence, insight, credibility, and constructive challenge.
• Resilient and composed under pressure, able to navigate ambiguity, absorb complexity, and maintain effectiveness when circumstances are demanding.
• Committed to excellence, in governance standards, team capability, reporting quality, and personal professional development.
• A role model for IT behaviours and values, reinforcing a culture of accountability, transparency, and continuous improvement at every opportunity.

Additional Information

We reward our people generously with a competitive salary and a market-leading benefits package that gives you flexible benefits to fit your lifestyle and priorities. This includes but is not limited to, an enhanced pension scheme, full private medical for you and a partner, life assurance, incentive bonus and a car scheme which will make us a market leader in sustainable company travel.

At Willmott Dixon we provide an inclusive and flexible working environment for people to thrive in and we are happy to support agile working wherever possible.

We are a proud member of the Disability Confident Scheme.

About Us

With over 170 years of rich history, Willmott Dixon's purpose is beyond profit; delivering brilliant buildings, transforming lives, strengthening communities and enhancing the environment so our world is fit for future generations. Ensuring that we add lasting value to the neighbourhoods we work in; our values, people, innovation, partnerships and focus on sustainability has allowed us to build a successful and solid privately owned business where our people can thrive.

Willmott Dixon was recognised by The Sunday Times as one of the Top 10 \"Big\" Companies to Work For in 2025, named among the Times Top 50 Employers for Gender Equality in 2024, and ranked in the Top Five of Europe's 1,000 best workplaces by the Financial Times in 2025. Willmott Dixon is also the first major contractor and developer to win a King's Award for Enterprise in the category of sustainable development