Director, Project Management Office

1. Role Overview

The Project Management Office (PMO) is the implementation backbone of the organization's transformation function, responsible for tracking, monitoring, and reporting on the progress of all strategic initiatives. The PMO ensures that initiatives are delivered within scope, time, and budget, while managing interdependencies and risks across the initiative portfolio. The PMO comprises two sub-functions: Program Management, and Reporting.

2. Job Description

The PMO Director provides operational leadership for the day-to-day management and oversight of transformation initiative implementation. The Director serves as the primary interface between the central transformation function and Initiative Managers, ensuring adherence to PMO standards and processes, tracking deliverable milestones, and escalating risks and issues as needed. This role is accountable for maintaining a comprehensive, real-time view of the initiative portfolio and providing periodic progress reports to senior leadership and the Executive Committee.

3. Key Responsibilities

Implementation Oversight

• Supervise the implementation progress of all active initiatives to ensure completion within time, scope, and budget.

• Serve as the main day-to-day interface between the transformation function and Initiative Managers across business units and delivery teams.

Risk & Issue Management

• Identify initiative risks and suggest mitigation measures in coordination with the Strategy Office.

• Monitor and escalate risks, approving proposed mitigation measures for Initiative Owners and Delivery Teams.

• Monitor and manage the Change Request process across the initiative portfolio.

Reporting & Transparency

• Prepare and submit periodic reports on initiative status, challenges, risks, and milestones to senior leadership.

• Show progress on key milestones and budget status across the entire initiative portfolio.

• Provide periodic updates to the Executive Committee and key stakeholders on overall transformation progress.

• Ensure delivery of performance dashboards and initiative trackers.

Process & Governance

• Review all initiative documents (e.g., Scope of Work, Project Plans) for completeness and quality.

• Provide guidance and support to Delivery Teams on PMO standards and processes.

• Confirm and validate proper involvement of internal resources to support initiatives as needed.

• Follow up on initiative progress with external partners and maintain structured internal archives.

• Sign off Certificate of Completion (CoC) from the PMO perspective.

Team Leadership

• Lead and manage the Program Management and Reporting teams.

• Manage the interdependencies across initiatives and ensure portfolio-level coordination.

• Scale team capacity in line with initiative volume and complexity levels.

4. Qualifications & Requirements

Education

• Master's degree in project management, Public Administration, Business Administration, Engineering, or related field.

• Project management certification strongly preferred (e.g., PMP, PRINCE2, MSP).

Experience

• Minimum 10 years of professional experience in project/program management, ideally within large-scale transformation programs.

• At least 5 years in a senior leadership role managing complex, multi-stakeholder initiative portfolios.

• Proven track record of delivering enterprise-level programs on time and within budget.

• Experience with vendor management, procurement processes, and contractual compliance

Languages.

• Fluency in Kurdish and Arabic (spoken and written) is required; proficiency in English is preferred.

5. Core Competencies

• Operational leadership with strong portfolio and program management capabilities.

• Advanced risk identification, mitigation planning, and issue escalation skills.

• Expertise in project management methodologies, governance frameworks, and reporting standards.

• Strong analytical and data-driven decision-making abilities.

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills for multi-stakeholder coordination.

• Ability to manage complexity and interdependencies across a large initiative portfolio.

• High level of discretion, integrity, and confidentiality when handling sensitive information.

• Proficiency in Kurdish, Arabic, and ideally English to facilitate effective stakeholder engagement.