PMO Lead

Tandem Project Management Ltd.; Dublin; On-site; EUR 90,000 - 125,000; Full time

Job summary

Tandem Project Management Ltd. is seeking a PMO Lead for a leading biopharmaceutical company based in Dublin. You will establish and run a comprehensive PMO across Operations, delivering governance, templates and KPI-driven reporting to senior leadership.

You will design the operating model, implement tools like Smartsheet and Power BI, and drive portfolio visibility with a focus on risk management and prioritisation across multiple sites.

Qualifications

• 7+ years in program or portfolio management in pharma/biotech.
• 2nd item
• Proficiency with PM tools (Smartsheet, MS Project, Power BI).
• Strong risk management and escalation governance.
• PMP/PRINCE2/PgMP desirable.
• Familiarity with pharma ops or manufacturing projects desirable.
• Experience with AI-enabled reporting tools desirable.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement the PMO operating model.
• Define scope criteria for project inclusion in the PMO portfolio.
• Select and implement tools for portfolio tracking and reporting.
• Develop standard templates, KPIs and reporting frameworks.
• Embed PMO into BAU governance and leadership review cycles.
• Maintain a single source of truth for all in-scope projects.
• Deliver regular portfolio reporting to senior leadership.
• Monitor portfolio health using standard PM KPIs.
• Champion AI tools for status reporting and insights generation.
• Identify and mitigate portfolio-level risks.
• Plan for scalability and horizon scanning with strategy.
• Collaborate with Strategy for demand planning and alignment.

Skills

PMO leadership

Portfolio reporting

Stakeholder engagement

Risk management

AI in reporting

Education

Degree or Master’s in science or engineering

Tools

Smartsheet

Microsoft Project

Power BI

Job description

Summary:

Our client is a leading biopharmaceutical company based in Dublin seeking a PMO Lead to establish, implement and run a Program Management Office (PMO) function across its Operations network. The successful candidate will create the processes, tools, governance frameworks and reporting mechanisms required to provide holistic portfolio visibility. The PMO Lead will act as the central point of coordination for a defined portfolio of strategic and business-critical projects, ensuring senior leadership has a clear, consistent and actionable view of project performance, risks and prioritisation across multiple sites and functions.

Responsibilities:

• Design and implement the PMO operating model, including governance structures, reporting cadences, escalation pathways and communication flows.
• Define scope criteria for project inclusion within the PMO portfolio, ensuring a right-sized view that balances coverage with manageability.
• Select and implement tools and systems such as Smartsheet, Power BI or equivalent to enable portfolio tracking, reporting and analysis.
• Develop standard templates, KPIs and reporting frameworks that provide consistent, actionable insights to stakeholders.
• Embed the PMO process into business-as-usual governance, integrating with existing forums and leadership review cycles.
• Maintain a single source of truth for all in-scope projects, consolidating status, milestones, risks, issues and dependencies into a programmatic overview.
• Deliver regular portfolio reporting to senior leadership, translating complex project data into clear, decision-ready insights.
• Monitor portfolio health using standard Program Management KPIs, proactively identifying trends, bottlenecks and areas of concern.
• Champion the use of AI tools for status reporting, portfolio health analysis, actionable insights generation and capacity threshold monitoring.
• Identify, track and facilitate mitigation of key risks at portfolio level.
• Operate a structured escalation mechanism to ensure off-track projects receive timely leadership attention, with clear ownership of actions and deadlines.
• Drive resolution of cross-functional roadblocks that impede project delivery.
• Facilitate ongoing portfolio prioritisation reviews (Stop / Start / Continue) based on resource constraints, strategic alignment and business needs.
• Implement a demand planning process that provides horizon scanning of potential future projects, interfacing with the strategy team to ensure forward-looking portfolio management.
• Support objective prioritisation based on clearly defined value drivers.
• Build trusted relationships with Project Managers across the network, ensuring the PMO process adds value without creating unnecessary burden.
• Interface routinely with senior leadership and key stakeholders, providing decision support and portfolio-level insights.
• Leverage existing program management capability within the organisation, adopting best practices and right-sizing them for operational needs.
• Collaborate with relevant network PMO counterparts to share learnings and maintain alignment with enterprise approaches.
• Iterate and refine PMO processes based on stakeholder feedback and lessons learned.
• Plan for scalability, ensuring the process can flex according to portfolio volume.
• Develop the roadmap toward advanced PMO capabilities, including standardised project methodology, benefits realisation assessments and deeper AI integration.
• Build effective working relationships with senior leadership as primary recipients of portfolio reporting and decision support.
• Work routinely with Project Managers across the network to gather project information through collaborative, low-burden engagement.
• Work with the Strategy team to align strategic priorities and support demand planning and horizon scanning.

Qualifications & Experience:

• Degree or Master’s in a science or engineering discipline.
• 7+ years’ experience in program or portfolio management, ideally within pharmaceutical, biotech or complex manufacturing environments.
• Proven track record of establishing or significantly maturing a PMO function, including process design, governance setup and stakeholder engagement.
• Strong experience in portfolio-level reporting and analytics, with the ability to translate complex data into clear, actionable insights for senior leaders.
• Proficiency in project/portfolio management tools such as Smartsheet, Microsoft Project, Power BI or equivalent platforms.
• Strong understanding of risk management frameworks and escalation governance.
• Familiarity with pharmaceutical operations, supply chain or manufacturing project environments is desirable.
• Experience with AI-enabled tools for project reporting, analytics or portfolio management is desirable.
• Project management certification such as PMP, PRINCE2, MSP or PgMP is desirable.
• Experience with benefits realisation tracking and value-based prioritisation methodologies is desirable.