Programme Support Officer - Highways

Concept Resources; Milton Keynes; Hybrid; GBP 30,000 - 42,000; Full time

Job summary

Milton Keynes City Council is seeking an experienced Programme Support Officer to help coordinate the Highways Capital Programme. The role supports the Programme Manager and operational teams to ensure accurate reporting, governance and stakeholder communications across a £20m portfolio.

The successful candidate will combine PMO/ governance expertise with strong interpersonal and relationship-building skills, working across on-site and remote settings in a Hybrid role.

Qualifications

• Experience as a Programme Support Officer, Project Support Officer, PMO Officer, PMO Analyst, Project Coordinator, Programme Coordinator or similar.
• Strong understanding of project governance and programme controls.
• Experience maintaining risk registers, issue logs, action trackers and programme documentation.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills.
• Strong Microsoft Teams and SharePoint experience.
• Experience producing management reports, highlight reports and board packs.
• Ability to manage competing priorities and meet strict reporting deadlines.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong stakeholder engagement and relationship-building capabilities.
• Desirable: Local Government experience; exposure to Power BI reporting; PMO or portfolio management office experience; highways/infrastructure environment experience.

Responsibilities

• Support the management and coordination of the Highways Capital Programme.
• Collect, validate and maintain programme information from project managers, engineers and operational teams.
• Produce reports, management information, board packs and briefing documents for senior stakeholders.
• Maintain project governance documentation including risks, issues, actions, project requests and programme records.
• Manage and coordinate requests received through the service inbox, ensuring timely allocation and responses.
• Monitor programme milestones, budgets and project status information.
• Support annual planning and reporting cycles across multiple service areas within Highways.
• Maintain accurate records and document control processes within SharePoint and other council systems.
• Work with stakeholders at all levels to gather information and ensure reporting deadlines are met.
• Contribute towards improvements in reporting processes and explore opportunities to enhance reporting through Power BI and other technologies.

Skills

Governance & PMO

Stakeholder engagement

Reporting

Communication

Prioritisation

Tools

Power BI

SharePoint

Microsoft Teams

Excel

Job description

Location: Hybrid Working (4 days on-site across Civic Offices and Synergy Park, 1 day remote)

Overview

Milton Keynes City Council is seeking an experienced Programme Support Officer to support the delivery of the Highways Capital Programme. This is a key coordination role sitting within the Highways Service, supporting the Programme Manager and wider operational teams to ensure programme information, reporting, governance and stakeholder communications are effectively managed.

The successful candidate will not be responsible for delivering highways projects directly but will play a vital role in ensuring project information is accurate, current and appropriately reported across a programme portfolio worth approximately £20m.

This role requires a strong combination of project/programme support skills and excellent interpersonal abilities. Whilst technical PMO and project governance experience is important, the hiring manager has emphasised that the successful candidate must be proactive, confident communicating with stakeholders at all levels, and capable of building relationships across busy operational teams.

Key Responsibilities

• Support the management and coordination of the Highways Capital Programme
• Collect, validate and maintain programme information from project managers, engineers and operational teams
• Produce reports, management information, board packs and briefing documents for senior stakeholders
• Maintain project governance documentation including risks, issues, actions, project requests and programme records
• Manage and coordinate requests received through the service inbox, ensuring timely allocation and responses
• Monitor programme milestones, budgets and project status information
• Support annual planning and reporting cycles across multiple service areas within Highways
• Maintain accurate records and document control processes within SharePoint and other council systems
• Work with stakeholders at all levels, from operational staff through to senior leadership, to gather information and ensure reporting deadlines are met
• Contribute towards improvements in reporting processes and explore opportunities to enhance reporting through Power BI and other technologies

Essential Experience

Experience as a Programme Support Officer, Project Support Officer, PMO Officer, PMO Analyst, Project Coordinator, Programme Coordinator or similarStrong understanding of project governance and programme controlsExperience maintaining risk registers, issue logs, action trackers and programme documentationAdvanced Microsoft Excel skillsStrong Microsoft Teams and SharePoint experienceExperience producing management reports, highlight reports and board packsAbility to manage competing priorities and meet strict reporting deadlinesExcellent written and verbal communication skillsStrong stakeholder engagement and relationship-building capabilitiesDesirable ExperiencePrevious Local Government experienceExperience supporting capital programmesExposure to Power BI reportingPortfolio or programme management office (PMO) experienceHighways, infrastructure or engineering environment experience