Head of Portfolio Management Office at Omnia (Pty) LTD

ROLE IMPACT

• Lead the BME Portfolio Management Office (PMO), which is the single point through which BME's strategic initiatives and business-critical projects are proposed, approved, governed, delivered and reported.The role ensures that projects start with a sound business case and a named business sponsor, are prioritised against available capacity, are delivered to plan, and achieve the benefits they promised. It gives Exco one clear and honest view of the full project portfolio, so that decisions on what to start, accelerate, re-scope or stop are made on time and on good information. The PMO provides the framework, the discipline, project management capability and independent oversight. Business sponsors and business owners remain accountable for the success of their projects and for realising the benefits. Over time, the role will develop the BME PMO approach into a model that can be extended to Omnia Group strategic initiatives outside BME, where mandated.

The PMO governs all projects that meet agreed entry criteria (for example value, capital spend, cross-functional or cross-country impact, or level of risk). This includes:

• Strategic initiatives: projects arising directly from the BME strategy and annual business plan.
• Business-critical projects: projects that arise during the year and are critical to the business or to strategy delivery, even though they were not part of the original strategy (for example systems implementations, localisation, operating model changes, capacity and plant projects, regulatory and customer-driven projects, and integration of acquisitions).
• Capital projects: above the agreed threshold, in conjunction with Finance and the capital approval process.
• Projects below the threshold are run within the functions and regions, using PMO standards and light-touch reporting.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Project governance framework:

• Design, implement and own the BME project governance framework: how projects are proposed, approved, prioritised, started, reviewed and closed.
• Define clear entry criteria for which projects are governed by the PMO and which are managed within functions.
• Run approval checkpoints at key stages (idea, business case, start of delivery, go-live and closure), with the business sponsor taking the decision.
• Agree with sponsors the limits on time, cost and scope within which each project may operate, so that only real exceptions are escalated.
• Act as secretariat to the portfolio governance forum, ensuring decisions are recorded, actioned and followed up. 

Portfolio planning and prioritisation

• Maintain one integrated register of all strategic and business-critical projects, with each project linked to a strategic objective or clearly marked as business-critical.
• Recommend to Exco which projects to start, sequence, accelerate, re-scope or stop, based on value, risk, capacity and dependencies.
• Plan and monitor the capacity of key people and functions across projects, and flag overload before it causes delays.
• Align the portfolio with the annual business plan, budget cycle and capital approval process.

Project delivery

• Provide project management capability from the PMO team to deliver selected high-priority and cross-functional projects, on behalf of the business sponsor.
• Ensure every project has a named sponsor and business owner, an approved plan, budget and benefit targets before work starts.
• Support business-led projects with standard tools, templates and coaching.
• Lead, develop and manage the performance of the PMO project managers and analysts.

Independent oversight and reporting

• Provide an independent view of project health, separate from the delivery teams, and challenge optimistic or incomplete reporting.
• Produce a monthly portfolio report for Exco covering progress, spend, risks, issues, decisions required and benefits.
• Give early warning of projects at risk and recommend corrective action, including stopping projects that no longer justify continued investment.
• Work with Enterprise Risk Management to ensure significant project and portfolio risks are reflected in the BME risk register.

Benefits tracking

• Ensure benefits are defined in measurable terms when a project is approved, with a named owner.
• Track benefits with business owners and Finance after projects close, and report realised versus planned benefits to Exco.
• Conduct post-project reviews and build lessons learnt into the framework.

Capability and culture

• Build project management capability across BME through standard methods, tools, training and coaching of sponsors and project managers.
• Promote a culture of disciplined delivery, clear accountability and honest reporting.
• Select, implement and maintain portfolio management tools and reporting systems.

Group extension 

• Develop BME PMO methods, tools and governance to a standard that can be adopted for Omnia Group strategic initiatives.
• Work with Group Portfolio Management and Group Strategy and, where mandated, support the roll-out of PMO ways of working, governance and oversight to Group strategic initiatives outside BME.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

Qualifications

• Degree in Commerce, Business Science, Economics, Engineering or Science. 

Experience

• 15+ years' experience, including at least 5 years leading a PMO or portfolio of strategic and business projects, and 3+ years in mining, industrial or manufacturing environments. Multi-country experience advantageous.
• MBA or equivalent; recognised project or programme management certification; experience setting up or maturing a PMO (Advantageous)

Key Competencies

• Business Acumen
• Conflict Management
• Customer Focus
• Functional technical skills
• Innovation management
• Integrity and Trust
• Problem solving
• Ability to lead under pressure
• Critical thinking
• Facilitating change