Head of Project Management Office (PMO) - Insurance & Investments

About the role

The Head of Project Management Office (PMO) establishes, leads and manages the organization's PMO so that strategic projects and programs across insurance and investment operations are governed, coordinated, monitored and delivered effectively. The role centralizes oversight of project portfolios, standardizes project management methods, monitors delivery performance, manages project risks and aligns project execution with business priorities. It works closely with executive leadership, program directors, project managers and business unit heads.

Key responsibilities

• Develop and improve the PMO strategy, structure and operating framework, and set standardized methodologies, policies, approval processes, stage gates and reporting standards.
• Oversee the project portfolio, track schedules, budgets, milestones and deliverables, and prepare consolidated portfolio reports and dashboards.
• Oversee PMO governance for insurance projects (product development, underwriting, claims, policy administration, distribution) and investment projects (portfolio reporting, client servicing, wealth management systems), and support regulatory, compliance and risk initiatives.
• Implement project management standards (PMI, PRINCE2, Agile, Waterfall or hybrid), including charters, business cases, risk registers, plans and status reporting.
• Coordinate project budgeting, financial tracking and resource planning, and support cost-benefit analysis and business case evaluations.
• Establish risk and issue registers, coordinate mitigation plans and monitor dependencies and critical issues.
• Build project dashboards, KPIs and executive reports, track benefits realization and recommend corrective actions.
• Facilitate governance meetings and steering committee reviews, coordinate external consultants and vendors, and manage stakeholder expectations.
• Lead and develop PMO analysts, project coordinators, project controls specialists and governance professionals, and guide project managers.

Required profile

• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Project Management, Finance, Engineering, IT or a related field; MBA or Master's preferred.
• 10-15+ years in project, program, project controls or portfolio management, with at least 5 years in a senior PMO leadership or project governance role.
• Experience in insurance, reinsurance, banking, investment management, asset management, wealth management or financial services preferred.
• Proven experience establishing, managing or improving an enterprise PMO.

Required skills

• Knowledge of PMI, PRINCE2, Agile, Waterfall and hybrid methodologies.
• Project budgeting, resource planning, risk management, governance and executive reporting.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Project, Jira, Smartsheet, Monday.com or equivalent tools.
• PMP, PgMP, PfMP, PRINCE2 Practitioner, Agile or Scrum certifications preferred.