PURPOSE OF JOB:

As PMO Manager within the newly formed Projects Team you will be integral to defining and setting up a Project Management Office at Comic Relief, transforming ways of working and driving behavioural and cultural change to aid the delivery of our strategic priorities.

This a permanent post, however this can also be offered on an 18 month contract.

You will be responsible for a new project management framework, developing and embedding standardised ways of working, tools, systems and processes to drive efficiency and improving project management and resource planning capability throughout the organisation

The role will work with cross-disciplinary teams to ensure planning processes, project governance and reporting is developed and rooted into all activity, you will in effect be running the ‘air traffic control’ of Comic Relief’s portfolio of projects and high-profile campaigns.

This role will be responsible for the management of 1 team member and will work closely with stakeholders from throughout the organisation.

You are expected to have a proven experience of PMO responsibilities and a broad experience of project management expertise, from leading projects from conception to success, developing & implementing new processes, budget management and reporting. Ideally you will have strong stakeholder skills and practical understanding of at least 1 mainstream project management tool.

This is a new role for the organisation, and we are looking for someone who can help to develop and implement a PMO fit for the future of Comic Relief, someone who feels that they have the ideas and drive to make real impact and is passionate about driving change through a project management approach.

Key responsibilities:

• Assist in defining Comic Relief’s approach to project management and set up the Project Management Office

• Develop, implement, and embed project management best practice and ways of working – not limited to process and procedures, tools & software, tracking & communication - evolving methods as needs arise. Ensure practices are followed across the project teams

• Ensure that the project lifecycle framework and delivery model support the new strategy and vision to streamline and drive efficiency throughout planning and delivery

• Work with the Head of Project Management to gain oversight, tracking and reporting of the full suite of projects/campaigns across the organisation, including KPI’s and data review

• Ensure the tools and process are in place to ensure the PMO can aid decision making and the prioritisation of the project pipeline and overall management of capacity

• Lead the creation and execution of a resource planning model for the organisation

• Provide training and ongoing support for teams and individuals to aid a cultural step change

• Ensure timely and accurate collation of management information, evaluation and major project reporting, to enable more effective and robust planning and decision-making and to integrate activity into wider programmes

• Work with teams to ensure dependencies and risk are actively managed, acting as an arbiter and supporting the resolution of issues. Identify and mange dependencies and risk of varying complexity across the full programme taking corrective action or highlighting issues for escalation as required

• Use tracking and reporting tools to ensure that the progress of all project activity is communicated

• To work with key stakeholders across the organisation to ensure consistency and alignment during the execution of the organisation’s projects and to drive changes required to embed a project approach

• Manage team members as required, setting clear performance objectives, and ensuring their pathways for their development

Person Specification

Essential Criteria

• Proven PMO and change delivery experience

• A deep understanding of project management methodologies and experience of working with different approaches to project management

• Demonstrable experience in developing and implementing new systems, tools, and processes

• Experience of monitoring and evaluation of programme performance, including objective setting, developing toolkits, reporting, and driving the learning process with stakeholders to achieve ongoing effectiveness

• A sound understanding of project budget development and analysis

• Effective relationship builder with strong stakeholder management and communication skills, and the ability to adapt to different styles and ways of working

• Self-motivated and goal orientated

Desirable Criteria

• Professional Project Management qualification(s)

• In-depth practical understanding of a project management tool such as Monday, Asana, Trello, Smartsheet

• Experience of training colleagues in project management methodologies and ways of working

• Able to present information effectively to a range of audiences

• Experience of resource planning tools and techniques

Don’t meet every single requirement? Studies have shown that women and people of colour are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. At Comic Relief we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyways. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.