Function / Area: Performance & Governance Team/ IT & Operations
Reports To: Performance, Quality & Governance Director
Position Summary
The Senior PMO Lead is responsible for all programme and portfolio-wide PMO, governance, and assurance outcomes across major transformation and change initiatives.
The role defines and continuously improves governance, financial control, assurance, and reporting frameworks that underpin disciplined delivery. Acting as a senior authority across projects, vendors, and executive forums, the Senior PMO Lead provides clear insight, challenge, and decision support to senior leaders.
In addition to owning portfolio standards and controls, the Senior PMO Lead provides functional leadership of the PMO capability, stakeholder training, uplifting maturity, and embedding consistent best practice.
The role deputises for the Performance, Quality & Governance Director in senior governance and assurance forums.
The scope of the role encompasses all CNA Hardy UK & European offices.
Key Responsibilities
- Governance Leadership: Define, and continuously evolve the project governance framework, including stage gates, assurance approach, artefact standards, quality thresholds and reporting cadence. Ensure governance is fit for purpose, value‑adding and proportionate, aligned to organisational priorities and risk appetite. Lead key governance and assurance forums as required, representing PMO with authority.
- Assurance & Audit Readiness: Lead portfolio and programme level assurance activity, setting review scope, quality expectations and outcome metrics. Oversee remediation of assurance findings, ensuring timely closure and sustained improvements. Act as Senior PMO interface for internal audits, regulatory reviews and independent assurance.
- Financial Governance & Control: ensure adherence to forecasting disciplines, accruals and change impact assessments. Provide financial insight across the programme and portfolio, identifying trends, risks and opportunities early. Escalate material risks and corrective actions to senior stakeholders.
- Change Control and RAID Management: Own the change control process, ensuring scope, cost, schedule and benefit impacts are quantified and decisions are evidence-based. Lead oversight of cross‑programme dependencies and critical path risks, facilitating resolution at pace.
- Executive Reporting: Produce and oversee narrative-led executive reporting, integrating performance, financial, risk and delivery views.
- Champion continuous improvement, knowledge sharing and pragmatic application of best practice.
- Perform other duties as directed by the PQ& G Director or Senior Management.
Skills, Knowledge & Abilities
- Demonstrates in-depth Senior PMO experience with proven leadership of governance and assurance across complex portfolios.
- Good knowledge of the insurance or financial services industries preferred.
- Advanced proficiency in Planview or equivalent tooling, MS Project, Excel and PowerPoint; able to design reporting standards and dashboards.
- Demonstrated success in designing and leading governance and assurance frameworks, not just executing them.
- Strong financial acumen (forecasting, accruals, benefits realisation) and ability to present insights to executive audiences.
- Excellent matrix management skills and ability to balance competing priorities in time sensitive situations. Capable of prioritising and managing multiple tasks simultaneously.
- Excellent interpersonal skills, able to build strong working relationships within the team, business departments, and 3rd parties with ease.
- Have a flexible approach to working hours to meet business requirements.
- Exceptional communication, facilitation and influencing skills; comfortable challenging and guiding senior stakeholders.
- Comfortable operating as a trusted deputy and representing the function at senior forums.
The Company
CNA Hardy is a leading specialist commercial insurance provider for clients within the Lloyd’s and company markets. We offer a highly specialised and comprehensive portfolio of innovative and market leading products. Coverage is available to businesses of all sizes for domestic, international and global exposures.
