PMO Manager

PMO Manager
£55,000 to £65,000 plus great benefits (Work level 5)
Manchester city centre, hybrid working, splitting your time between home and coming into the office based on business requirements.

We've got a fantastic opportunity to join our Transformation team as a PMO (Portfolio Management Office) Manager. In this role, you'll help keep our Projects, Products, Programmes and Portfolio on track, making sure they deliver real value and stay aligned with our strategic goals. You'll bring governance, insight, and oversight that enables smart decisions, proactive risk management and assured delivery.

Why this role matters

This role is part of our transformation function driving change that makes a real difference for our colleagues, members, and communities. You'll play a key part in making sure resources are used wisely and outcomes are achieved effectively. This is a great chance to help shape how we deliver change across Co-op. If you're passionate about driving value through effective assurance, governance and having oversight of complex change, we'd love to hear from you.

What you'll do

• Lead the delivery of PMO services including assurance, planning, financial management, resource management, RAIDs, benefits tracking and governance across a portfolio of work or significant complex programmes
• Implement scalable, fit-for-purpose governance for multi-mode delivery including waterfall project management and agile product delivery that supports clarity and velocity without slowing innovation, ensuring change is delivered to agreed quality standards and enabling on-time, value-driven and efficient delivery of outcomes
• Coordinate portfolio planning and prioritisation, aligning demand with strategic goals and capacity
• Produce clear, consolidated reporting on performance, risk, and delivery confidence to enable proactive decisions
• Track delivery performance across projects and products to ensure quality, identifying risks, interdependencies and blockers early to support proactive intervention or early escalation and strategic prioritisation
• Drive and champion consistent delivery practices and continuous improvement across the portfolio
• Act as a bridge between delivery teams and leadership, ensuring clear communication and shared accountability
• Support benefits tracking and provide insight to influence prioritisation and optimise delivery impact
• Carry out assurance activity, including health checks and targeted deep dives where required, and recommend course correction or support to mitigate risk if necessary
• Provide coaching, line management and development support for PMO Analysts, fostering capability and career growth

What you'll bring

• Significant experience working in a PMO, including time spent in a senior or leadership role where you've shaped strategy and driven delivery
• Experience in insight-led assurance and supportive, non bureaucratic ways of delivering PMO capabilities
• Strong understanding of end to end project/product delivery and of key controls including RAID, resources, plan management and benefits tracking and realisation
• Inspiring, engaging and authentic leadership
• Awareness of both traditional project/programme waterfall and modern product/durable agile ways of working
• Ability to generate actionable insights from data and drive decisions and support mitigating actions
• Experience in building trusted relationships and the confidence to provide independent challenge and assurance including to Director level
• A collaborative approach and commitment to continuous improvement
• Line management experience, plus a track record of coaching and supporting the development of junior team members

Why Co-op?

At Co-op, we're owned by our members. And because we're owned by you, we can do right by you. So when you join us, you're not just taking a job, you're joining a movement. We're an organisation that puts people and communities first, and we're powered by purpose. We want this to be a place where you can thrive, so you'll also receive:

• Private healthcare
• An annual bonus (based on personal and business performance)
• 28 days holiday (rising to 32 with service) plus bank holidays
• A pension with up to 10% employer contributions
• 30% discount on Co-op products and 10% off other brands
• Stream - early access to a percentage of your pay as you earn it
• Virtual healthcare including GP appointments, mental health support, nutrition and fitness advice
• 24/7 colleague support service
• Training and support for your development and career progression
• Cycle-to-work scheme

A place you'll belong

We're building diverse teams that reflect the communities we serve. We welcome applications from everyone, and our support centre is an inclusive environment where all our colleagues can thrive.

If you have a disability, we'll make reasonable adjustments to support you through the recruitment process. We're also proud to be part of the Disability Confident scheme - if you're disabled and you meet the minimum criteria for this job, we'll guarantee you an interview.

Learn more about our recruitment process at https://jobs.coop.co.uk/apply-process

Explore our commitments to diversity, inclusion and wellbeing at https://jobs.coop.co.uk/diversity-inclusion-wellbeing

As part of your application, you'll need to complete an online assessment. This assessment typically takes up to 50 minutes. If you're a current Co-op colleague, this does not need to be completed.