Head of IT Project Management

The Head of IT Project Management will establish and lead the organization’s IT project management office (PMO) from the ground up. This role involves building the PMO discipline, methodology, and team necessary to deliver high-impact technology initiatives, including enterprise ERP implementations such as Oracle Fusion and Rise with SAP, along with business process re-engineering (BPR). The successful candidate will ensure projects are delivered on time, within budget, and meet quality standards expected by business leadership. Reporting directly to the Chief Information Officer (CIO), this position requires strong leadership to standardize project governance, manage a diverse project portfolio, and serve as the primary accountability point for program delivery to executive stakeholders.

Key Responsibilities

- PMO Governance, Methodology & Standards: Establish a fully functioning PMO within 6 to 12 months, implementing standardized methodologies, project charters, gating processes, and consistent reporting templates across all active IT projects.

- ERP & Major Program Delivery: Lead the successful delivery of ERP implementations (Oracle Fusion and/or Rise with SAP) and BPR initiatives, ensuring adherence to scope, budget, timelines, and milestone reviews with zero critical go-live failures.

- Project Portfolio Management & Prioritization: Achieve an on-time, on-budget delivery rate of approximately 85% across the IT project portfolio, proactively identifying and escalating variances early.

- Benefits Realization & Business Value: Ensure all major projects have clear business cases and conduct post-implementation reviews to track and realize expected benefits such as cost savings, process efficiencies, and capability improvements.

- Risk & Issue Management: Maintain proactive risk and issue tracking, ensuring no major risks arise without prior escalation to the CIO and project sponsors.

- Team Leadership & Capability Development: Build, mentor, and retain a high-performing project management team with defined career paths and measurable improvements in delivery maturity year over year.

- Vendor & Implementation Partner Management: Govern system integrators and consultants through enforced service level agreements (SLAs) and contract milestones, conducting formal performance reviews at each project phase.

- Executive Stakeholder & Change Management: Effectively manage senior executive relationships, drive organizational change adoption, and communicate program status, risks, and trade-offs clearly and transparently.

- Commercial & Risk Judgment: Demonstrate strong financial acumen in managing project budgets and risks, with the ability to escalate issues early rather than absorbing risk silently.

Required Qualifications

- Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Business Administration, Information Technology, Engineering, or a related field.

- PMP, PRINCE2, or equivalent project management certification is mandatory; Agile or SAFe certification is a plus.

- 12 to 15+ years of progressive project and program management experience, including direct leadership of at least one large-scale ERP implementation (Oracle Fusion, SAP, or comparable Tier-1 platform) from initiation through go-live.

- Proven experience managing a team of project managers and running a formal PMO, preferably within manufacturing or a multinational/large-group environment.

- Demonstrated expertise in business process re-engineering (BPR) and organizational change management.

Preferred Qualifications and Benefits

- Strong ability to design and implement PMO governance structures and methodologies (waterfall, agile, or hybrid) in organizations lacking formal project management disciplines.

- Exceptional skills in building project management capabilities and fostering accountability within teams.

- Experience managing vendor relationships and system integrators, including contract enforcement and dispute resolution.

- Cultural fit includes a founder’s mindset with ownership and accountability, transparency under pressure, team-building focus, and commitment to continuous improvement.

This role is ideal for a dynamic leader who thrives in building project management functions from scratch and delivering complex transformation programs with high visibility and impact.