Program Management Office Lead

Job Title : PMO Lead

Location: Gurgaon / Hyderabad / Coimbatore

Type of position: Fulltime

Position Overview

Reporting to the Programme Director, the PMO Lead will play a critical role in both setting up and driving all aspects of the PMO for the Open Platform Programme.

Key Responsibilities

• Work alongside the Programme Director to establish and implement the methodology, structure, governance and project controls the programme should follow and adhere to.
• Embed project control and governance within the business, championing it and coaching all stakeholders in its use, including third parties.
• Maintain and monitor governance processes across the programme to ensure effective controls and visibility.
• Ensure all areas of the programme (including third party vendors) adhere to the agreed governance standards.
• Establish and maintain ways of working.
• Create all required standards and reporting templates.
• Ensure the PMO is the single source of truth for the programme, and the team are equipped with the right information at the right time to enable effective management and decision making affecting the programme.
• Adhere to reporting cadence and prepare regular status reporting for all levels of the programme.
• Identify areas where support is required i.e. dedicated project management resource, improved project governance.
• Track progress against key milestones whilst ensuring risks and issues are effectively identified and reported.
• Support the programme team when appropriate through workshops, stakeholder engagement etc.
• Co-ordinate and produce programme governance documentation on time; status reports /risk, issue & action logs.
• Co-ordinate the financial reporting across the programme, working closely with finance.
• Work with the finance team to ensure benefits are established, tracked, monitored and challenged where appropriate.
• Continuously review, improve and develop the delivery process and ensure all workstreams have what they need.
• Provide guidance and support to members within the PMO team.
• Build and maintain relationships with key stakeholders in the programme and across the wider business.
• Step in for the Programme Director as and when needed.

Required Qualifications

• Extensive PMO experience 10+ years
• Deep understanding of PMO and related PPM processes and industry best practice.
• Experience of working on large complex programmes with multiple workstreams.
• Proven experience and understanding of Agile and SAFe methodologies.
• Deep understanding of Confluence, Jira and Sharepoint.
• Understanding of PPM tools essential with PPMA knowledge desirable.
• Extensive experience of the entire project development life cycle.
• Experience of implementing project frameworks, and best practices across large complex programmes.
• Excellent communication – the ability to communicate to a variety of audiences across business function and level, tailoring messages appropriately.
• Excellent analytical and organisational skills, able to process and present information in a structured format and in a clear unambiguous way.
• Hands on, pragmatic and delivery focused.
• Great presentation and persuasion skills.
• Good stakeholder management skills with the ability to engage with people across all levels in the organisation.
• A proactive approach and able to anticipate what is coming next.
• Ability to plan and prioritise.
• A good understanding of WPP, its agencies and our data processing technologies and platforms.
• A passion for data and tech and associated emerging trends and technologies.
• Ability to self-learn.
• The ability to make order out of chaos.
• Problem-solving abilities to correct any challenges or inefficiencies for the best results.
• Decisiveness and good judgment to address pressing matters when time is limited.
• Organisation and time management to manage multiple tasks, for multiple projects, at once.
• Deep understanding of business transformation programmes as well as the change management process.
• Experience of working in the media, marketing or advertising sector.
• Experience of greenfield programmes.

About VML

VML is a leading creative company that combines brand experience, customer experience, and commerce to create connected brands and drive growth. VML is celebrated for its innovative and award-winning work for blue chip client partners including AstraZeneca, Colgate-Palmolive, Dell, Ford, Intel, Microsoft, Nestlé, The Coca-Cola Company, and Wendy's. The agency is recognized by the Forrester Wave™ Reports, which name WPP as a “Leader” in Commerce Services, Global Digital Experience Services, Global Marketing Services and, most recently, Marketing Measurement & Optimization. As the world’s most advanced and largest creative company, VML’s global network is powered by 30,000 talented people across 60-plus markets, with principal offices in Kansas City, New York, Detroit, London, São Paulo, Shanghai, Singapore, and Sydney.