Head of PMO & Operations

Leeds, Manchester - (Hybrid, Office, Site)

Permanent

Competitive Salary + Car/Car Allowance + Flexible Benefits

Summary:

The Head of PMO & Operations will lead the development of the operational structure, governance and processes in relation to the management of the business unit(s). This role ensures all projects proceed with the appropriate risk management, programme and governance in place. They will develop staff to meet the business requirements and the client expectations from a project management perspective. In addition, they will lead in reporting financial and commercial progress to the senior leadership team (SLT), with particular focus on WIP/Debt, high-level utilisation, revenue and margin. The postholder will also support wider business strategy, lead a high-performing team, and uphold standards in governance and compliance.

Associate Directors must be highly experienced leaders within their respective discipline, demonstrating a track-record of operational leadership, strong solution-driven delivery, while managing key stakeholder relationships to successfully deliver business and project outcomes.

 

Some of the key deliverables in this role will include:

• Ensure the business maintains strong financial health and safety performance, and ensure compliance with regulatory and legislative standards in all dealings and business transactions.

• Lead and mentor a team fostering a collaborative and innovative work environment and encourage a continuous improvement culture.

• Support the Lead on Health and Safety (SHEQ) across the Business Unit, ensuring company procedures and processes are followed, and SHEQ-related KPIs are met, recorded and shared for future audit. 

• Encourage and develop strong leadership qualities within the Business unit, delivering clear direction and leadership through the provision of objectives, responsibilities and accountabilities, managing performance and identifying talent and successors accordingly.

• Ensure that regular and meaningful engagement takes place with all staff delivering business strategy through clear and constant communication.

• Develop key policies and processes to align to the changing requirements of the business while supporting and driving business performance.

• Provide expert technical advice and guidance to the team and Clients to ensure best practice and build a strong reputation for effective delivery.

• Support and maintain relationships with existing Clients and actively pursue new work leads to attract new Clients.

• Prepare and present reports including high quality, succinct and relevant operational and financial information via budget updates and business unit reviews to the Freedom Senior Leadership Team and other business stakeholders.

• Ensure compliance with relevant statutory regulations and policies.

• Develop and implement strategies that support growth and stay abreast of industry trends and emerging technologies to ensure the Business Unit remains competitive.

• Own and manage the preparation of annual and monthly budgets and forecasting to support divisional strategy and objectives whilst ensuring work volumes, business profit and other specified non-financial targets are met, i.e recruitment and retention targets.

• Develop and manage relationships effectively with clients and internal stakeholders in cross-functional teams to align goals with overall Company objectives.

• Support bid activity for the Business Unit in conjunction with the Business Development team, to ensure professional, profitable and successful bid outcomes, that provide levels of turnover and profit that support the financial performance of the Business Unit.
• Link the growth ambitions to revenue, recruitment and business development strategies to identify clear action plans to meet the overall strategy for growth

 

 We are looking for an experienced and ambitious civil engineer with the following attributes:

Essential

• Experience within an operational leadership role and proven track record of managing a large team and multiple projects

• Ability to understand Primavera P6 project programmes and interpret/understand key attributes such as Critical Path, SPI/CPI, Earned Value etc.

• 10+ years of strong technical expertise in required discipline, demonstrating solution-finding through critical technical thinking and leveraging technical ability to solve problems.

• Understanding of financial statements and financial accounts, interpreting project financial metrics to understand project health/level of distress.

• Understanding and experience of working under, standard forms of contract such as JCT, NEC3 or 4. Demonstrable understanding and experience of working with EWNs, Variations, Change Events on large projects.

• Demonstrable ability to drive through and impliment strategic business, or project, improvement initiatives while managing project/client requirements

• Ability to manage multiple pressing priorities at the same time, to find ways to tackle large problems in manageable pieces. Strong ability to prioritise work

• Experience of working on large-scale infrastructure projects in the Energy, Power, Nuclear, Water, Transport or Linear infrastructure sectors
• Good understanding of UK statutory and regulatory frameworks (e.g., Electricity Act, Planning Act, Compulsory Purchase Orders).
• Strong leadership and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Track record of successful delivery across multiple complex projects.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities, deadlines, and internal/external stakeholder requirements.

 

Desirable

• Experience of working in the general Energy sector and specifically the Electricity sector on OHL / underground cabling projects requiring consent.

• Strong digital credentials; understanding of Teams, Sharepoint, business EM softwares, and BIM on projects.
• Experience in utilities, energy, or transport sectors.

 

• Experience working on DCOs or large-scale infrastructure projects.

 

• Familiarity with GIS and land referencing software.

 

• Understanding of environmental permitting and ecological constraints.

 

Qualifications & Professional Memberships:

• Chartership and/or qualification in APM or similar
• Membership of a relevant professional body (e.g., RICS, APM, CMI).
• Degree in relevant discipline
• NEBOSH Construction
• Project Management qualification from relevant industry bodies such as APM, PMI etc.

 

 

Benefits:

We are always evolving our benefits to ensure we're attracting and retaining great people.  Some of what you can expect includes: 

• Competitive salary
• Car or Car allowance
• 25 days holiday plus Bank Holidays
• Pension with a leading provider and employer contribution
• Sick Pay
• Personal Wellbeing and Volunteer Days
• Private Medical Insurance
• Free 24/7 365 Employee Assistance Program to support mental health and well-being (including counselling sessions and legal advice)
• Flexible benefits to suit from Dental Insurance, Gym Memberships, Give As You Earn, Travel Insurance, Tax Free Bikes
• Personal development programme.

 

 

Next Steps: 

As a business, we’re on a journey to build on our culture where everyone is included, treated fairly and with respect. This starts with recruitment and how we bring people into the organisation.  

We’ll do our best to outline the recruitment process to you ahead of time with plenty of notice. If you require any accommodations to participate in the application or interview process, please let us know and we will work with you to ensure your needs are met. 

About Us:

Freedom are part of the NG Bailey Group, one of the leading independent engineering and services businesses in the UK. Founded in 1921, with a turnover of £500m and 3000 employees, we are proud of our history of developing great people through our investment in training.

Working across a variety of sectors within the building and infrastructure industry, our innovative, responsible and forward thinking approach allows us to work on fantastic ground-breaking projects, providing solutions using the latest tools and technologies

Progression is something we value and we will make sure that when you join us you have a clearly defined development path, supported by regular reviews, training and ongoing support to enable you to be the best you can be.

 

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