PMO Manager - Oxford

PMO Manager Jobs

A typical project management office (PMO) on a busy project is where the project is designed, implemented and kept on track by a team of analysts and assistants who are constantly monitoring processes and getting involved with the team to ensure smooth running. Keeping on top of this team itself needs a degree of oversight, which is where the PMO manager comes into the equation. He or she is charged with ensuring the change or transformation project stays on track by providing leadership to the team and reporting to the board and the relevant project managers and directors.

The overarching aim of the PMO manager is to ensure quality is maintained throughout the project. Although the PMO manager will probably not be hands-on when it comes to project management or analysis, she or he may be the person responsible for ensuring everyone in the office is up to speed and is performing well, and is therefore judged on the success of the office itself and how it maintains quality throughout a project.

The skills required

The PMO manager is primarily a manager of people. You need to have excellent communication and interpersonal skills, as well as a firm understanding of the project, its aims, and the activities being performed by the PMO team. It is your responsibility to ensure best practice is followed where necessary, and supporting and advising those in your team as they go about their business.

Experience of managing a project management office in the same sector is of enormous value. There can be significant differences between public and private sector offices, for example, with varying command structures and manners of working. You are also expected to report regularly to the board and to your line managers on the performance of your team. Some employers require a formal project management qualification such as PRINCE2 for an applicant to be considered for the role.

PMO Manager Jobs in Oxford

The county town of Oxford and famous throughout the world for its university, Oxford is actually a thriving, self-contained city with a diversity of industries not directly related to its county status or education sector. It has been a successful city for so long that its architecture spans the millennia, and since much of the most important buildings were churches, it got the name “city of dreaming spires”.

Without doubt the university and its related activities (bars, cafes, hotels, shops, theatres etc.) is the key single employer of the city, and the university heritage also plays into its thriving tourism industry. All this contributes to the thriving nature of the city, which is busy all the year round.

But a major industry just to the south east of the city centre is car manufacturing, at the Cowley BMW plant, home of the new Mini. The plant used to be the Morris Motors plant during the First World War, and this attracted a railway and other communications to serve it. During World War Two the plant made training planes for the RAF. After the war mergers and acquisitions changed the company to BMC, then British Leyland, Austin Rover, the Rover Group and finally BMW (but locals still call the factory Morris’s).

With a thriving, ever changing population and various high-tech and heavy industries, Oxford often throws up PMO Manager positions to help oil the wheels of commerce. It’s certainly an exciting place to live and work.

Popular locations

Find PMO Manager Jobs with Cast UK

With the drive for improvement in change and transformation a constant need, there is always demand for good project management office managers over the whole spectrum of industries. And many of the organizations looking for PMO managers reach out to Cast UK to find them. That’s because at Cast UK, we have a team of dedicated recruitment consultants who only send forward the most appropriate candidates to interview, and it’s a philosophy that employers appreciate.

Whether you’re a PMO manager looking for a change, or you’re on a short-term contract and are researching your next opportunity, call Cast UK on 0333 121 3345 wherever you are in the UK.

Contact us