Head of PMO

About Rhaelm

Rhaelm is a UK-based AI infrastructure and software solutions provider building the next generation of sovereign-grade AI data centres across EMEA. Designed for resilience, security, and scale, we enable commercial and government customers to deploy advanced AI with confidence in environments where performance, reliability, and compliance are non-negotiable. Focused on regulated and mission-critical sectors including Government, Defence, Healthcare, and Financial Services, we are creating the trusted foundations for AI adoption at scale, combining robust infrastructure with disciplined governance to support long-term innovation and national-level capability.

This Role

As Head of PMO, you will provide strategic leadership of programme and project governance across our infrastructure portfolio, setting the planning, reporting, risk, and assurance standards that every programme is held to. You'll give leadership, clients, and regulators confidence that our delivery is governed to a single, defensible standard.

You will build and lead the PMO function itself, shaping the standards other delivery roles work to and acting as a senior voice on portfolio risk and performance.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the design, implementation, and continuous improvement of PMO services, standards, and governance frameworks
• Own portfolio-level governance, ensuring consistent planning, risk, reporting, and change control across all programmes
• Build, lead, and develop the PMO team, including recruitment and capability development
• Establish and chair portfolio governance boards, producing clear reporting for senior leadership and clients
• Own the Programme Governance Framework, reflecting defence, government, and regulated-sector assurance requirements
• Lead audits, gate reviews, and readiness assessments across the portfolio
• Drive change management discipline, ensuring a gated, auditable process for scope, schedule, and cost change
• Partner with Finance, Commercial, and Risk to align project controls to a single set of source data
• Act as the senior advisor to the Head of Infrastructure Operations and Governance on portfolio-wide risk and delivery confidence

Experience

• Substantial experience leading a PMO function within complex, multi-programme portfolios
• Track record operating in regulated or security-sensitive sectors such as government, defence, or critical infrastructure
• Proven experience building and leading a PMO team, including line management and capability development
• Demonstrated ability to establish governance frameworks that withstand external audit and client scrutiny
• Experience presenting portfolio risk and performance to senior leadership and board-level stakeholders
• Track record of driving process and tooling improvement across a PMO function

Skills

• Deep expertise in programme and portfolio governance frameworks, including gated assurance and change control
• Strong command of project controls, planning, and reporting tools
• Excellent stakeholder management, able to influence senior leadership, clients, and regulators
• Strong people leadership skills, with the ability to build a high-performing PMO team
• Clear, structured communicator, able to translate complex portfolio risk into decisions
• Sound judgement balancing governance rigour with delivery pace

Qualifications

• Degree in business, engineering, or a related discipline (or equivalent experience)
• Recognised programme or portfolio management qualification (e.g. MSP, MoP, P3O) essential
• Eligible to obtain and hold UK security clearance (SC); existing clearance advantageous