Head of PMO

Job summary

Ofgem is Great Britain’s independent energy regulator. Our primary responsibility is to protect energy consumers, especially the most vulnerable, while at the same time working with government, industry and consumer groups to deliver a clean, more affordable and secure net-zero energy system at the lowest cost to consumers and drive economic growth.

Ofgem has a culture of inclusion that encourages, supports and celebrates the diverse voices and experiences of our colleagues. It fuels our innovation and helps ensure we can best represent the consumers and the communities we serve. Everyone is welcome - as an inclusive workplace, our employees are comfortable bringing their authentic selves to work.

Role Purpose:

The Head of PMO plays a key leadership role in enabling effective oversight of delivery across the Change Office, leading and continuously improving programme and delivery governance, ensuring Steering Groups and senior forums receive timely, decision-ready information to support effective oversight and course-correction. The role sets and embeds consistent PMO standards, tools and ways of working across programmes and major change initiatives to increase delivery confidence, transparency and alignment. It provides integrated reporting on delivery progress, benefits, spend and capacity at a programme and cross‑cutting initiative level, proactively highlighting exceptions and recommending remedial action.

The role oversees delivery risks, dependencies and assurance activity, ensuring issues are identified early and escalated appropriately. Acting as a trusted adviser to senior leaders and Steering Groups, the Head of PMO supports clear decision‑making on priorities, sequencing and trade‑offs, enabling accountable follow‑through and successful delivery. The role operates in a developing delivery environment and will play a key part in bringing structure, consistency and clarity to governance, reporting and oversight.

Job description

Key Accountabilities:

• Own and maintain effective governance and oversight across programmes and major change initiatives, ensuring senior forums have clear, timely and decision-ready insight on delivery performance, benefits, spend and capacity.

• Ensure delivery risks, dependencies and assurance findings are identified early, actively managed and escalated appropriately to protect outcomes.

• Advise senior leaders and Steering Groups on priorities, sequencing and delivery trade‑offs, providing evidence and insight to support clear decision-making priorities.

• Drive continuous improvement in PMO capability, tools and assurance approaches to strengthen delivery confidence and organisational maturity.

• Lead, develop and deploy PMO capability to support current and future change activity, fostering a high‑performing, inclusive and resilient team.

Key Responsibilities:

PMO Governance & Decision Support

• Lead PMO governance and decision support for programmes and major change initiatives, enabling multidisciplinary teams to deliver agreed outcomes.

• Run end‑to‑end governance cycles, including forums, agendas, papers and actions, ensuring decisions are clearly recorded and followed through.

• Use governance forums to surface risks, challenge delivery confidence and support effective decision-making.

Delivery Reporting & Performance Insight

• Produce high‑quality reporting and management information covering delivery progress, milestones, benefits, spend and capacity.

• Highlight exceptions, risks and emerging issues, recommending evidence‑based actions to keep delivery on track.

Risk, Dependency & Assurance Management

• Maintain an integrated view of delivery risks and dependencies across programmes and major initiatives.

• Coordinate assurance activity, including internal reviews and gateway‑style checkpoints, ensuring findings are tracked and escalated appropriately.

Standards, Tools & Continuous Improvement

• Define, embed and continuously improve PMO and programme management standards, templates and ways of working.

• Use feedback, insight and delivery performance data to strengthen assurance, transparency and delivery confidence.

Leadership & Capability

• Lead and develop the PMO team, setting clear priorities and accountabilities aligned to delivery and governance needs.

• Build PMO and assurance capability across the Change Office and role‑model inclusive, collaborative and high‑performance leadership behaviours.

Person specification

Essential Criteria:

• Significant experience leading PMO, governance or assurance for complex change programmes involving multiple workstreams and senior forums. (Lead Criteria)

• Demonstrable experience operating as a trusted internal adviser, providing evidence-based insight and constructive challenge to senior stakeholders.

• Strong track record of delivering high-quality governance, reporting and assurance that supports effective decision-making and delivery oversight.

• Experience working collaboratively across multidisciplinary teams to manage risks, dependencies and delivery performance.

• Professional qualification or equivalent experience in programme/project delivery (e.g. PRINCE2, MSP, Agile, P3M3).

Desirable Criteria:

• Experience working in complex regulated environments.

Qualifications

Professional qualification or equivalent experience in programme/project delivery (e.g. PRINCE2, MSP, Agile, P3M3).

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Delivering at Pace
• Changing and Improving
• Seeing the Big Picture
• Making Effective Decisions

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £63,443, OFGEM contributes £18,379 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).Ofgem can offer you a comprehensive and competitive benefits package which includes; up to 30 days annual leave. Excellent training and development opportunities. The opportunity to join the Civil Service pension arrangements which include a valuable range of benefits. Flexible working hours and family friendly policies. Restaurant and subsidise gym (London only). Interest free season ticket loan.

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.

When you press the ‘Apply now’ button, you will be asked to complete personal details (not seen by the sift panel), your career history and qualifications.

Candidates are required to provide an anonymised CV and tailored supporting statement of no more than 1250 words, providing evidence against the essential criteria. Candidates who do not provide a tailored supporting statement will not be invited to interview.

Should we receive a high number of applications a pre-sift on the lead criteria will be conducted. "Significant experience leading PMO, governance or assurance for complex change programmes involving multiple workstreams and senior forums".

The interview will include a short presentation. The title will be confirmed and made available to candidates invited to interview.

Due to high volumes of applications, we are only able to provide feedback at interview.

Please refer to Civil Service candidate advice on the acceptable use of Artificial intelligence within the recruitment and selection process - Artificial intelligence and recruitment , Civil Service Careers

The personal information we have collected from you will be shared with Cifas who will use it to prevent fraud, other unlawful or dishonest conduct, malpractice, and other seriously improper conduct. If any of these are detected, you could be refused certain services or employment. Your personal information will also be used to verify your identity. Further details of how your information will be used by us and Cifas, and your data protection rights, can be found by [https://www.cifas.org.uk/fpn].

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : Dominique King
• Email : dominique.king@ofgem.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : dominique.king@ofgem.gov.uk

Further information

If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Civil Service Commission Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, you should email The Head of Talent Acquisition at: Recruitment@ofgem.gov.uk in the first instance. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission. More detailed information can be found on the Civil Service Commission website.

Attachments

Head of PMO final Opens in new window (pdf, 109kB)Candidate Pack Head of PMO Opens in new window (pdf, 533kB)Terms and Conditions Apr25 Opens in new window (pdf, 335kB)