Interim Programme Management Office (PMO) Lead

Internal Only* Location: Remote working in the UK Salary: £65,000 per annum Responsible to: Director of Corporate Services Contract type: Temporary 9-12 Month Secondment (37 hours per week) Closing date: Friday 22nd May 2026, COP Interviews: We will be interviewing on a rolling basis. Please apply as soon as possible Who we are Futures For All is the largest social mobility charity in the UK. We help to level the playing field between state and independent schools by giving all young people access to the same prestigious networks available to the top fee-paying schools. We believe that by inspiring young people to explore their ambitions through our speaker programme, facilitating access to multi-day experiences of the world of work, and supporting young people to successfully seize opportunities available to them, then we can make a profound difference to the lives of young people, their future happiness and prosperity. By 2028, our ambition is that every young person in the UK has access to high quality work experience. Yet today, less than half of young people leave secondary school having had any work experience whatsoever. Role Summary We are a charity entering an exciting phase of growth, having secured significant government investment to deliver a complex, multi-year programme through delivery partners. We are seeking an experienced interim PMO Lead to establish robust programme and project management (PPM) foundations that will support this programme's success and create a scalable, repeatable approach for future initiatives. This is a hands-on, capacity-building role. You will design and embed PPM processes, governance structures, and tools while coaching and developing our permanent Programme Manager to lead delivery independently beyond your tenure. The legacy you leave—both in systems and people—is as important as the immediate delivery assurance you provide. Key Duties / Responsibilities: Programme Management Office Set-Up Design and establish a proportionate, fit-for-purpose centralised PMO function to oversee programme delivery and provide appropriate assurance to leadership and the funder. Develop standardised PPM processes, templates, and tools that can be reused across future programmes, creating a consistent "how we do things here" approach. Define and implement governance structures, including stage-gates, decision rights, escalation pathways, and board/committee reporting. Risk, Issue & Dependency Management Establish a robust risk and issue management framework, including registers, escalation protocols, and regular review cadences. Implement dependency tracking across workstreams and delivery partners. Reporting & Assurance Design reporting frameworks that meet government funder requirements while providing clear, actionable insight for internal leadership. Create dashboards and status reporting templates at programme, project, and portfolio level. Establish assurance and quality review processes proportionate to programme complexity. Financial Controls & Benefits Realisation Work with finance colleagues to embed appropriate financial controls, forecasting, and variance reporting within the PMO framework. Establish benefits identification, tracking, and realisation processes aligned to funder expectations. Partner & Stakeholder Management Define ways of working with delivery partners, including reporting requirements, performance management, and escalation routes. Support effective stakeholder engagement with government funders and other key parties. Capability Building & Knowledge Transfer Coach, mentor, and develop the permanent Programme Manager to confidently lead the PMO and programme delivery post-assignment. Upskill wider team members in core PPM disciplines. Document all processes comprehensively to ensure sustainability and knowledge retention. Note: This job description is intended to convey information essential to understanding the scope of the role. It is not intended to be an exhaustive list of responsibilities and duties required. Skills / Experience / Knowledge: Essential Significant experience establishing or leading PMO functions, ideally in complex, multi-partner environments. Proven track record delivering programmes with government or public-sector funders, including understanding of reporting, assurance, and accountability requirements. Strong expertise across the full PPM toolkit: planning, risk/issue management, governance, reporting, financial control, benefits management. Demonstrable experience coaching and developing less experienced programme/project managers. Ability to design pragmatic, proportionate processes suited to a charity context—not over-engineered corporate frameworks. Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills; able to translate complex programme information for varied audiences. Relevant PPM qualification (e.g., MSP Practitioner, P3O, PMP, PRINCE2) or equivalent demonstrable experience. Desirable Experience working in or with charities/not-for-profit organisations. Familiarity with charity governance and trustee reporting. Experience with specific PPM tools (e.g., MS Project, Monday.com, Asana, or similar). What Success Looks Like By the end of the 6-month assignment: A functioning, appropriately resourced PMO is operational with clear terms of reference. Standardised PPM processes, templates, and governance frameworks are documented, embedded, and being used consistently. Risk, issue, and reporting mechanisms meet funder requirements and provide leadership with timely, accurate oversight. The permanent Programme Manager is confident and competent to lead the PMO and programme independently. A reusable "PPM playbook" exists for application to future programmes. Phases (estimated timings) Weeks 1–6: Discovery, current-state assessment, quick wins, draft governance framework Weeks 7–19: Build and pilot core processes, templates, reporting; begin coaching Programme Manager intensively Weeks 20–30: Embed, iterate based on feedback, expand capability building to wider team Weeks 31–39: Formal handover, documentation finalisation, transition to advisory/light-touch support Diversity at our core Futures For All is committed to an inclusive and accessible recruitment process and encouraging equality and diversity among our workforces. As a Disability Confident Employer, we acknowledge that some candidates may require additional support to overcome barriers experienced during the application process. If you require any reasonable adjustments to support your application or interview, please reach out to us via [email protected] The Application Process: Apply as soon as possible by submitting your application through our recruitment portal via Bamboo. Please only apply if you meet the required experience for the job role. The deadline to submit your application is Friday 22nd May 2026, COP. Please note that we reserve the right to close this advertisement early if we receive a high volume of suitable applications We will be interviewing on a rolling basis. Please apply as soon as possible. Futures For All is committed to safeguarding the young people we work with and expects all staff members to share this commitment. Appointees are subject to a DBS check. Having a criminal record will not automatically exclude applicants. You are also required to have the Right to Work in the UK for this role. Apply To This Job