Programme Manager – PMO Governance and Controls Lead

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Job Description:

The Program Manager – PMO & Program Controls Lead reports to the Engagement Manager and is responsible for establishing and leading the program management, governance framework, reporting structure, and program controls environment. The role provides strategic oversight across the program portfolio, ensuring that scope, schedule, cost, risks, resources, dependencies, benefits, and outcomes are effectively managed. This role owns the integrated program baseline and consolidated reporting framework.

The position works closely with program sponsors, senior stakeholders, project managers, finance, procurement, business leads, and delivery partners to provide transparency, control, and assurance throughout the program lifecycle.

What You'll Be Doing:

Program Leadership and PMO Management

- Establish and lead the Program Management Office across a complex program or portfolio.
- Define PMO operating models, governance structures, processes, standards, templates, and ways of working.
- Provide leadership, direction, and support to project managers, PMO analysts, planners, and project controls professionals.
- Ensure consistent application of program and project management methodologies.
- Coordinate program mobilisation, planning, delivery, transition, and closure activities.
- Promote a culture of accountability, transparency, continuous improvement, and delivery excellence.

Governance and Assurance

- Establish program governance forums, decision-making structures, and escalation routes.
- Prepare and present materials for program boards, steering committees, executive reviews, and investment committees.
- Maintain governance calendars, decision logs, action trackers, and approval records.
- Monitor compliance with program controls, stage gates, assurance requirements, and organizational policies.
- Lead program health checks, assurance reviews, audits, and delivery assessments.
- Ensure that decisions, risks, issues, dependencies, and changes are actively managed and escalated appropriately.

Program Controls

- Establish and maintain integrated controls for scope, schedule, cost, resources, risks, issues, dependencies, changes, benefits, and quality.
- Develop and maintain the integrated master schedule and program baseline.
- Monitor program progress against approved scope, milestones, budget, and benefits.
- Lead the development of program forecasts, delivery plans, recovery plans, and scenario analysis.
- Ensure that project and workstream plans are aligned with program objectives and critical milestones.
- Oversee progress measurement, performance management, earned value analysis, and trend reporting where applicable.
- Validate reported progress, cost data, forecasts, and delivery information.

Cost and Financial Management

- Lead program budget development, financial planning, forecasting, and cost control.
- Monitor actual expenditure, commitments, accruals, benefits, funding profiles, and estimate-at-completion.
- Review financial variances and ensure corrective actions are developed and implemented.
- Work with finance, procurement, commercial, and delivery teams to maintain accurate financial information.
- Support investment decisions, funding requests, business cases, and financial governance.
- Identify financial risks, cost pressures, opportunities, and potential efficiency improvements.

Risk, Issue, Dependency, and Change Management

- Establish and oversee program-wide risk, issue, dependency, assumption, and opportunity management.
- Ensure risks and issues are assessed consistently for impact, probability, ownership, and mitigation.
- Lead the identification and management of cross-project dependencies and constraints.
- Oversee program change control, including impact assessment, approval, implementation, and reporting.
- Monitor the cumulative impact of changes on program scope, timeline, cost, resources, and benefits.
- Escalate significant risks, issues, and decisions to the appropriate governance body.
- Reporting and Performance Management
- Define program reporting requirements, standards, calendars, and data quality controls.
- Produce accurate and insightful program dashboards, performance reports, and executive summaries.
- Report on milestones, schedule performance, cost, risks, issues, dependencies, resources, changes, benefits, and overall program health.
- Identify trends, exceptions, emerging risks, and areas requiring executive intervention.
- Provide clear recommendations to support prioritisation, decision-making, and corrective action.
- Consolidate reporting from projects, workstreams, delivery partners, and functional teams.
- Ensure reporting is timely, consistent, evidence-based, and aligned with stakeholder requirements.

Stakeholder and Communication Management

- Build effective relationships with sponsors, executives, project teams, business leaders, suppliers, and external partners.
- Facilitate program planning workshops, performance reviews, risk reviews, and governance meetings.
- Communicate program status, challenges, decisions, and priorities clearly to diverse audiences.
- Manage stakeholder expectations and support resolution of complex delivery issues.
- Represent the program at organizational planning, assurance, and governance forums.
- Promote collaboration across projects, workstreams, and business functions.

Benefits, Outcomes, and Continuous Improvement

- Establish and maintain benefits management, tracking, and realization processes.
- Monitor whether program outcomes remain aligned with the business case and strategic objectives.
- Coordinate transition, operational readiness, handover, and program closure activities.
- Capture lessons learned and implement improvements to program delivery practices.
- Identify opportunities to improve processes, reporting automation, data quality, and PMO effectiveness.
- Support the development of organizational project and program management capability.

What Required Skills You'll Bring:

- Bachelor’s degree in project management, business, engineering, finance, information systems, or a related discipline.
- 20 years significant experience managing complex programs, portfolios, or transformation initiatives.
- Experience establishing or leading a PMO, program controls function, or enterprise delivery office.
- Strong experience in program governance, financial management, schedule management, risk management, and performance reporting.
- Demonstrated experience leading project managers, PMO teams, planners, analysts, or project controls specialists.
- Experience managing budgets, forecasts, business cases, changes, dependencies, and benefits.
- Strong understanding of program and project management methodologies.
- Excellent leadership, stakeholder management, communication, negotiation, and presentation skills.
- Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, and program reporting tools.
- Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, and program reporting tools.
- Experience with tools such as Power BI, Primavera P6, Microsoft Project, Smartsheet, Planview, Jira, ServiceNow, SAP, Oracle, or equivalent.

What Desired Skills You'll Bring:

- Program Management Professional, PMP, MSP, PRINCE2, or equivalent certification.
- Experience with project controls, cost engineering, planning, or earned value management.
- Experience leading large-scale technology, business transformation, infrastructure, construction, or organizational change programs.
- Experience operating in a regulated, complex, or matrixed organization.
- Knowledge of commercial management, contract governance, procurement, and supplier performance.
- Experience implementing PMO tools, reporting automation, and data-driven performance management.

Parsons equally employs representation at all job levels no matter the race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age, disability or genetic information.

We truly invest and care about our employee’s wellbeing and provide endless growth opportunities as the sky is the limit, so aim for the stars! Imagine next and join the Parsons quest—APPLY TODAY!

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