Jobs

Head of PMO

New Malden, United Kingdom

£80,000 - £95,000 + benefits

Must be eligible for UK Security Clearance (SC)

The Opportunity

Pivt is supporting a leading organisation within the UK defence and national security sector to appoint a Head of PMO into a critical leadership position.

This is a senior, business-critical role sitting within the leadership team, responsible for shaping and leading the Programme Management Office and Project Controls function across a portfolio of complex, mission-critical programmes.

You will drive consistency, governance, and performance across programme delivery, ensuring leadership teams have clear, accurate, and timely insight to support decision-making at the highest level.

This role offers the opportunity to influence how major programmes are delivered, embed best practice, and lead a high-performing team in a highly secure, technically advanced environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and develop the PMO and Project Controls function, ensuring high performance, consistency, and continuous development
• Drive a mission-focused approach to programme delivery, aligning PMO outputs to both customer and business priorities
• Own and enhance programme governance, reporting, and control frameworks across the organisation
• Ensure delivery of accurate, timely, and insightful management information, including schedule, cost, and performance data
• Oversee month-end reporting and variance analysis, identifying key risks, trends, and areas requiring intervention
• Provide clear insights and recommendations to senior stakeholders and leadership teams
• Lead participation in programme and account reviews, ensuring actions are tracked and delivered
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives, standardising PMO and Project Controls processes where appropriate
• Ensure effective communication of schedule performance, risks, and delivery challenges across programmes

What We’re Looking For

• Extensive experience leading a PMO or Project Controls function within complex programme environments
• Proven track record of leading and developing high-performing teams
• Strong experience presenting programme data and insights to senior stakeholders, with the ability to influence decision-making
• Advanced knowledge of planning and scheduling tools (e.g. Primavera P6)
• Experience across Risk Management, Earned Value Management (EVM), and Agile methodologies
• Strong commercial and delivery awareness within complex, multi-stakeholder environments
• Ability to operate both strategically and operationally, balancing long-term improvements with day-to-day delivery

Security Clearance

Due to the nature of this role:

• You must be a UK national
• You must be eligible to obtain and maintain UK Security Clearance (SC)

Why This Role

• Lead and shape a business-critical PMO function
• Operate at leadership level within a defence and national security environment
• Influence the delivery of large-scale, complex programmes
• Drive standards, governance, and performance improvement across the organisation
• Work in an environment where programme delivery is central to mission success

Apply

If you are an experienced PMO or Project Controls leader looking for a role with real influence, scale, and impact, we’d be keen to speak.