Principal Consultant - PMO Transformation Lead

Milestone Technologies, Inc.; Greater London; On-site; GBP 100,000 - GBP 140,000; Full time

Job summary

A global consultancy firm based in the UK is seeking a seasoned professional with over 15 years of experience to lead project management initiatives across multiple functions. The ideal candidate will excel in building relationships, managing complex stakeholder dynamics, and transitioning organizations to professional service delivery. This role emphasizes collaboration with senior leadership and influencing without authority. If you have a proven track record in regulated industries and are passionate about driving transformation, we want to hear from you.

Qualifications

• 15+ years of experience in building PMO capabilities in global matrix organizations.
• Proven ability to scale from informal practices to professional service delivery.
• Experience in regulated industries such as pharmaceutical or FMCG.

Responsibilities

• Lead stakeholder alignment across Finance, Supply, HR, Technology functions.
• Design and launch POCs based on stakeholder input.
• Ensure knowledge transfer through coaching and responsibility handover.

Skills

Building relationships

Managing political complexity

Diplomatic influence

Understanding of shared services models

Job description

What You'll Lead

Months 1-6: Design Through Active Validation

• Conduct stakeholder alignment across Finance, Supply, HR, Technology functions spanning 6 countries
• Design operating model, service catalogue, and governance frameworks based on stakeholder input
• Launch POCs testing Version 1.0 methodologies with willing participants
• Refine approaches based on real project evidence, not theoretical discussions
• Build champion network through demonstrated results and peer advocacy

Months 7-12: Scale and Transfer

• Roll out proven methodologies across organization with comprehensive training
• Transition accountability to Senior PMO Director who shadowed the design work
• Ensure knowledge transfer through coaching and progressive responsibility handover
• Establish sustainable operations with quarterly advisory support model
• Launch enablement with technology

Your Key Challenges

Complex Stakeholder Dynamics: Building consensus across multiple functional areas that historically operated in siloes to enable 500+ PMs with varying skills, entrenched practices, and competing priorities. You\'ll need diplomatic skills to create coalitions through demonstrated value, not executive mandate.

Technology Strategy Decisions: Guiding enterprise PMO platform optimization while preparing for future platform migration. Our technical specialists handle implementation; you ensure business logic transfers across platforms seamlessly.

AI and Automation Opportunity Identification: The client has comprehensive AI governance and existing enterprise AI investment. You\'ll identify where AI adds genuine value and work with our Data & AI team to implement.

Enable Vendor Strategy: Supporting the client\'s goal to internalize some of contractor spend through strategy and execution.

What We Need

Transformation Track Record:

• 15+ years building PMO capabilities in global matrix organizations
• Proven success moving organizations from informal practices to professional service delivery
• Experience in pharmaceutical, FMCG, consumer goods, or other highly regulated industries preferred
• Track record of sustainable capability building, not consultant dependency

Leadership and Navigation Skills:

• Exceptional at building relationships and managing political complexity
• Comfortable working with C-suite while maintaining hands-on delivery accountability
• Ability to convert resistance through results and diplomatic influence
• Experience leading pilots and "test and learn" approaches before scaling

Business and Opportunity Judgment:

• Understanding of shared services/GBS models with service catalogues and pricing
• Ability to identify where AI/automation creates genuine value vs. hype
• Experience connecting PMO capabilities to quantified business outcomes
• Comfort working alongside technical specialists while focusing on business strategy

What You Don\'t Need to Be

Technical Implementation Expert: We have ServiceNow specialists, Data & AI engineers, and integration architects. You guide strategy and identify opportunities; they handle technical execution.

AI/ML Specialist: You need business judgment about where AI adds value, insights and ensure governance compliance. Our technical team builds the actual capabilities.