Job vacancy: PMO Manager, Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust, Wickford

Job summary

Main area: ITT
Grade: NHS AfC: Band 8a
Contract: Permanent
Hours: Full time - 37.5 hours per week
Job ref: 364-A-9570

Employer: Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust
Employer type: NHS
Site: The Lodge
Town: Wickford
Salary: £55,690 - £62,682 per annum
Salary period: Yearly
Closing: 09/12/2025 23:59

PMO Manager

NHS AfC: Band 8a

Our Trust cares for more than 100,000 patients at any one time across our community health, mental health and learning disability services across Essex and parts of Bedfordshire and Suffolk.

We want you to be part of our journey of transformation, where our patients and their families are at the heart of everything we do and to achieve our vision to be the leading health and wellbeing service in the provision of mental health and community care.

You’ll be part of a Trust where you will be supported to be your authentic self and be the best you can be, where we will help you to grow, develop and thrive.

The Trust is recognised by the University of Essex and is a top provider of apprenticeships for people looking to be an assistant practitioner, senior health care support worker (CAP). Our trailblazing CAP apprenticeship won a national HSJ Award.

We are also recognised as a Veteran Aware Trust and holder of gold accreditation from the Ministry of Defence Employment Recognition Scheme. Our services are highlighted as an exemplar of good practice, producing the best care for more than 3.500 armed forces veterans in the past seven years.

We have been shortlisted and won national awards. We are an inclusive organisation and Level 3 Disability Confident Leader Trust.

We are constantly innovating and looking for new ways to deliver care, such as using technology to enhance patient care and working with partners to launch new services such as the Basildon Mental Health Urgent Care Department, virtual hospitals and falls response cars.

Join us and you’ll do the best work of your life – and make a difference to other people’s lives. What we do together, matters.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

ntegration

· Develop and maintain the single pathway for new change, project and programme requests into the directorate

· Develop and maintain the portfolio list allowing ongoing management and forward-facing forecast

· Review and standardisation of documentation used in the delivery of programmes and projects within the directorate

· Develop and maintain standardised reporting across all levels of the portfolio

· Reviewing current and future projects / programmes against the new standards

· Oversee delivery of agreed plans and milestones

· Acting as the central point of contact, receiving complex information, identifying solutions to problems identified and ensuring that cross cutting themes are managed appropriately.

· To prepare and present monthly high quality written and verbal reports to the Digital Strategy Group.

· To prepare and present high quality written and verbal reports to the Executive Team and Board of Directors as appropriate

· Management of financial resources allocated to the projects.

· Organisation and facilitation of workshops, engagement events and meetings that contribute to the set up and ongoing management of the Digital PMO

· Lead in the creation and write up of portfolio action plans and reports for leadership and Executive audiences

Governance and Processes

· Ensure that new Digital PMO management processes are created and adopted ensuring that they are and remain fit for purpose

· Research, analyse and interpret policy and best practice guidance in relation to system governance and other associated needs for the relevant implementation

· Recommend and facilitate implementation of improvements to existing systems, structures, policy and process in the Trust and within the directorate

· Develop the portfolio of projects and effectively coordinate delivery of improvement projects and programmes

· Develop related policies and strategies in the Trust.

Management and Reporting

· Coordinate the collection and presentation of high quality, timely and accurate data and written reports that together create a holistic view of the Digital portfolio. Tailoring such reports to suit the audience.

· In depth analysis, interpretation, and production of complex and multiple reports.

· Take action to address identified gaps in availability of information and/ or quality in conjunction with senior management colleagues via written highlight reports

· Identify, escalate and take action as appropriate to mitigate any risks to the portfolio identified, via risk reports

· Represent the Trust at STP / ICS meetings to present reports and data, answer queries and agree action required

· Provide specialist advice and prepare strategic reports and briefings for directors and stakeholders.

· Support the identification and sharing of best practice to support service improvement.

Portfolio, Programme and Project Management

· To develop the portfolio of projects and programmes, obtaining agreement of yearly delivery including finances, resources and priorities

· Working across departments to ensure the delivery of agreed plans

· As a senior lead working internally and externally with project teams to develop plans and methodology

· Facilitation of issue and risk management strategies

· Creation of complex business cases and presentation of these to the Executive Team

· Development of effective monitoring and reporting

· Development of assessment criteria, facilitation of options appraisals and identification of benefits realisation

· Utilisation of appropriate quantitative and qualitative research methods

· Collection, analysis, interpretation and dissemination of a wide range of information specific to the portfolio associated programmes and projects as required

· Effective analysis of financial and performance data to underpin projects

· Develop and oversee benefits management processes to ensure that internal Digital service developments deliver measurable improvements.

· Pro-actively manage stakeholders, respond to and resolve conflict when this arises through facilitation or other appropriate mechanisms.

· Be responsible for a high standard of work supporting the delivery of projects within the portfolio on time, to quality standards and in a cost-effective manner.

· Maintain the Portfolio documentation and associated plans with regular team meetings to monitor progress and resources within the Delivery and Portfolio arms.

· Demonstrate effective stakeholder management.

Person specification

Education

Essential criteria

• Degree level qualification • Postgraduate diploma or equivalent experience or training • Evidence of continuing professional development and specialist knowledge or experience which can be demonstrated to be equitable to a master’s degree

Knowledge

Essential criteria

• Proven programme and project management methodology experience • Advanced IT skills, database/spreadsheet applications, MS Excel/Word and PowerPoint

Desirable criteria

Knowledge of Portfolio Management

personal qualities

Essential criteria

• Highly developed influencing and negotiating skills • Highly developed verbal and written skills • Ability to engage at all levels in a large complex organisation and achieve effective co-operation • Highly developed presentation skills • Successful conflict resolution • Convey confidence • Political acumen • Exercising judgement to deliver solutions • Tenacity and drive to achieve required objectives • Team working and delivering on team / corporate decisions • Manage competing priorities and achieve objectives • Deliver on non-negotiable deadlines. • Prepared to put forward alternative views • Actively develops themselves and supports others to do the same • Embrace change, viewing it as an opportunity to learn and develop

Knowledge

Essential criteria

• Proven knowledge of application development techniques • Project and Programme Management qualifications • Portfolio Management qualification • Knowledge of risk analysis/management and the ability to plan, manage and deliver programmes and projects with minimum supervision • Experience of building effective cross functional working relationships to drive organisational agenda

Skills

Essential criteria

• Previous experience within large complex organisation in related area of activity • Development of complex plans • Excellent presentation and report writing skills • Evidence of implementing change in governance related activity/ area • Experience of working with and the ability to influence a wide range of individuals at Senior Manager/Director level • Evidence of continuing professional development • Highly developed analytical and problem solving skills • Ability to communicate contentious and highly complex issues to large groups composed of senior staff and gain their approval or agreement to alternative action • Highly developed communication skills with the capability to analyse, review and make sense of highly complex, sensitive or contentious information across a diverse range of subjects relevant to the post portfolio • Ability to identify risks, anticipate issues and create solutions and to resolve problems in relation to project or service delivery. • Ability to understand a broad range of complex information quickly and making decisions where opinions differ/no obvious solution. • Evidence of planning and delivering programmes and projects and services on time. • Ability to work without supervision, providing specialist advice to the organisation, working to tight and often changing timescales. • Demonstrable experience developing, managing and motivating teams/individuals to ensure success • Experience of delivering against competing priorities and deadlines while also directing the work of teams/individuals

Desirable criteria

Experience of working in a planning, project or change management environment Development of option appraisals, feasibility studies and business cases

Personal Qualities

Essential criteria

• Highly developed influencing and negotiating skills • Highly developed verbal and written skills • Ability to engage at all levels in a large complex organisation and achieve effective co-operation • Highly developed presentation skills • Successful conflict resolution • Convey confidence • Political acumen • Exercising judgement to deliver solutions • Tenacity and drive to achieve required objectives • Team working and delivering on team / corporate decisions • Manage competing priorities and achieve objectives • Deliver on non-negotiable deadlines. • Prepared to put forward alternative views • Actively develops themselves and supports others to do the same • Embrace change, viewing it as an opportunity to learn and develop

Important note: please ensure that as part of your application, you include professional references with business contact information covering your last three years of employment history. We are unable to accept personal or character references.

As a newly appointed employee, you are responsible for incurring the cost of your initial DBS check relevant to your post; the amount will be deducted from your first salary with the Trust.

Our Trust is an Equal Opportunities Employer. We particularly welcome applications from people with experience of using mental health services. We also hold the Disability two tick symbol and have made the pledge to commit to employing more people with learning disabilities, we encourage people with a disability to apply. If you require this application form in another format i.e. Braille or audio tape etc, please contact the Recruitment Department on 01375 364513 or email [email protected] and we can arrange for this to be dispatched to you.

The Trust has the right to expire vacancies prior to the closing date if they so wish. The Trust makes every attempt to contact all applicants and we strongly advise that you check the email account which is registered with NHS Jobs regularly, we would advise however due to the high number of applications we receive that if you have not heard from us within three weeks of the closing date your application has been unsuccessful on this occasion.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults, and expect all staff to undertake this commitment. Applicants will be subject to robust safer recruitment processes.

Important Notice: Recently the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) (Amendment) (Coronavirus) Regulations 2021 (the Regulations) which amended on 22 July 2021 and come into force on 11 November 2021 that anyone directly employed to work in a Care Home or who are required as part of their role to be deployed to a CQC registered care home are required to have had both their COVID vaccinations, unless they are exempt. This is therefore a requirement of this role and will form part of our pre-employment checks.

Please note - staff who are formally at risk within the organisation will be given priority in securing alternative employment. Should it come to light that a post being advertised by the Trust is considered ‘suitable alternative employment’ to an individual who is at risk, the recruiting manager will be advised and the post will be withdrawn from NHS Jobs.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Applications for this role should be written by the applicant. If artificial intelligence (AI) programmes are used then the application may be rejected due to this document being an important part of the assessment process. This does not prevent applicants seeking appropriate support with applications should they need to for the purposes of any declared disability.