Global PMO & Portfolio Director @ Katoen Natie

1. Purpose of the position

As part of the PMO department, the key mission of the Program/Project Portfolio manager is to ensure the alignment of the global Program/Project Portfolio with the KTN business & IT Strategy and to enable the successful execution of investments via Programs & Projects.
Currently there is a team of 12 PM's / Program Managers but there is no formalized PMO department in place.

The Program and Portfolio Management Officer (PMO) is responsible for orchestrating the creation of a formal PMO, oversight and execution of an organization's IT program and project portfolio, ensuring seamless integration, resource allocation and adherence to established methodologies. By designing a robust framework, managing cross-program dependencies and coordinating reporting to senior stakeholders, the PMO ensures effective governance and decision-making. He/She also contributes to budget negotiations, role clarity and compliance, while fostering collaboration among project teams. The PMO's role extends to strategic evaluation, performance monitoring and continuous improvement, with a focus on optimizing project outcomes and processes within the organization
 
1.1  Tasks and responsibilities
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• Creation of a global formalized PMO. Co-ordinate the creation, governance, and delivery of the KTN IT portfolio of programs & projects, ensuring integration and prioritization of programs and constituent projects and appropriate allocation of resources.
   
• Ensure strong  global PMO alignment with al Business Unit Directors. Gain trust by creating predictability and good , uniform and documented reporting. Remove of silo thinking on program level.
   
• Strong collaboration with Enterprise Architecture
   
• The PMO leader is responsible for designing the framework within which projects are created, prioritized, managed and completed. Ensure PMO creation of the methodologies, standards, formats and dependencies according to which projects are designed.  Ensure cross-program dependencies are managed and the dependency log is accurately maintained.
   
• Contribute to reporting to senior leadership and/or other stakeholders on progress against portfolio, including milestones, benefits and KPI’s via relevant portfolio governance body including steering committees, change boards, business and/or IT decision boards. 
   
• Review and/or create proposals with regards to PMO governance structure evolution.  
   
• Co-ordinate the negotiation and deployment of annual and longer-term program and project resource budgets, working closely with multiple Business & IT departments to provide regular forecasts and presenting variances with narrative at appropriate review points to ensure effective utilization. Create structure in the program portfolio to understand time, budget, resources, interdependencies and predictability.
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• Ensure that roles and responsibilities are clearly defined within the large program/project delivery and PMO teams, and ensure program and project compliance with the organization’s wider governance structures, stakeholders and processes.
   
• Coordinate the process for strategic rationale review and validation at the Management committee level (priorities)regarding all significant investments exceeding x millions Euro's.
   
• Establish an effective, positive and collaborative working relationship with project/program teams to support the delivery of the portfolio, providing coaching and guidance as and when required.
   
• Review the implementation and performance of strategic programs through regular inputs on health and execution status, including a regular update to the Leadership team and follow up on decisions.
   
• Prepare, analyze and report project status (e.g. Planned Vs Actual for project financials, schedule, milestone progress, completion %, critical issues & risks).
   
• Collect lessons learned from projects and propose improvement actions plans.
   
• Drive improvements to Demand and PMO processes, tools and workflows.
   

2.  Objectives for the first 12 months

2.1 Establish PMO framework and methodologies. Creation of uniform way of working, documentation and templates. 

Within the first 6 months, the Program and Portfolio Manager should focus on creating a robust PMO framework that includes methodologies, standards and governance structures. This includes developing project management processes, defining roles and responsibilities, establishing reporting mechanisms and establishing templates for project documentation. This is critical because it provides the basis for consistent and effective project and portfolio management across KTN..

2.2 Successful initiation and integration of the initial / existing portfolio. Ensure cross-program dependencies are managed and that the dependency log is accurately maintained.

By the end of the first year, the Program and Portfolio Manager must lead the initiation and seamless integration of the initial portfolio of programs and projects. This includes working with cross-functional teams to prioritize projects, allocate resources and define project scope and objectives. Ensuring that selected projects align with the organization's strategic goals and are launched effectively paves the way for successful execution and realization of benefits.

2.3 Implementation of effective reporting and communication. Ensure strong  global PMO alignment with al Business Unit Directors. Gain trust by creating predictability and good , uniform and documented reporting. Remove of silo thinking on program level.

Within the first 3 to 6 months, the Program and Portfolio Manager should establish a streamlined reporting and communication process. This includes designing comprehensive project status reports that capture key milestones, progress, benefits, KPIs, risks and issues. These reports should be presented to senior executives and stakeholders through the relevant governing bodies. Implementing clear and regular communication channels ensures transparency, facilitates decision making in KTN  and increases trust between stakeholders.

3. Reporting

The Global Program & Portfolio Management Officer reports directly to the CEO of IT / CIO.

4. Reason for the vacancy

Currently, there is no formalized PMO department in place. However  it is the intention to define this separate part of the organization next to the existing functions/teams (IT INFRA/APPLICATIONS/ENTERPRISE ARCHITECTURE/VMO/HR). In the PMO, the needed capabilities will have to be put in place in order to accommodate ‘reporting’, ‘resource management’, ‘change & communication’.