Head of Programme Management Office

The role 

The Head of Programme Management Office (PMO) plays a critical leadership role within the Transformation Office, responsible for enabling the successful execution of the firm’s firm-wide transformation agenda. The role provides end-to-end oversight of the transformation portfolio, ensuring that strategic initiatives are translated into well-governed, executable programmes that deliver measurable business outcomes. Acting as the connective link between the firm's CC@40 strategy, investment, delivery, and value realisation, the Head of PMO ensures that change is prioritised correctly, delivered predictably, and governed transparently. This role requires the ability to operate confidently at executive level while remaining deeply connected to delivery realities. The Head of PMO sets the standards for how transformation is governed and delivered, while continuously evolving PMO capabilities to support changing business priorities.
 

Who you will work with

This role sits in the Programme Management Office (PMO) which is part of the Transformation Management Office (TMO). The TMO provides stewardship of the firm's global investment portfolio, ensuring the investments advance the firm's strategy, are effectively governed and the outcomes delivered. The TMO works across the firm's governance model, collaborating with the firm's executive leadership to define, organise, govern and deliver transformational change in a coordinated and effective way.

The TMO provides a central location and expertise to support, enable and deliver the firm’s transformation strategy. These changes may affect all functional and geographic areas within the Firm (including both legal and non-legal teams) and, as such, there are multiple complex projects and programmes that require sophisticated yet pragmatic programme and change management to ensure the delivery of successful outcomes and maximum business benefits. In this role, you will work across the firm, partnering closely with senior leaders and delivery teams to enable successful transformation outcomes.

You will collaborate with:

• Executive Leadership and Transformation Sponsors to provide visibility, assurance, and decision support on strategic initiatives and to align transformation execution with firm strategy and priorities
• Finance Teams to manage investment governance, financial controls, and benefits realisation
• Risk, Compliance, and Governance Functions to ensure transformation initiatives meet regulatory and control expectations
• Change, Communications, and People Teams to align delivery with firm readiness and adoption
• Programme Directors, Portfolio Managers, Project Managers, and PMO Professionals to build delivery capability and consistency across the firm

You will act as a trusted advisor, integrator, and orchestrator, enabling collaboration across silos while maintaining clear accountability for transformation delivery and outcomes.
 

What you will be responsible for

• Overall governance of the firm-wide transformation portfolio
• Alignment of transformation initiatives to the firm's strategy, priorities, and value outcomes
• Effectiveness and maturity of the Programme Management Office within the Transformation Office
• Ensure consistent application of firm governance, stage-gates, and delivery standards
• Decision-orientated, data-driven transformation reporting and executive insights, enabling timely intervention
• Delivery predictability, risk management, and dependency management across programmes
• Realisation of approved benefits and return on transformation investments
• Effective prioritisation and sequencing of transformation demand, underpinned by high-quality, well socialised business cases, which are progressed through robust review and governance processes
• Early identification and escalation of systemic delivery risks and execution bottlenecks
• Confidence of executive leadership in transformation oversight and decision-making
• Capability, performance, and development of the PMO leadership and delivery community
• Continuous improvement of PMO tools (including the core PPM tool), processes, and ways of working including the use of AI
• Compliance with financial, risk, regulatory, and internal control requirements across transformation initiatives
• TMO level resource, capacity, and skills planning across the transformation portfolio
   

What you will do

• Establish and operate a fit-for-purpose PMO within the Transformation Office, including governance, standards, single source of data in the PPM tool and ways of working
• Translate firm strategy into structured programmes, roadmaps, and delivery plans
• Be the custodians of the firm-wide Transformation Methodology and drive pragmatic adoption of consistent delivery disciplines across Agile, Waterfall, and Hybrid models
• Design and run stage-gates, investment reviews, and governance forums
• Lead firm-wide demand intake, prioritisation, and portfolio planning processes
• Provide ongoing portfolio-level oversight of scope, schedule, cost, risk, and dependencies/ interdependencies
• Partner with Finance to govern investment decisions, funding controls, and benefits tracking
• Produce clear, decision-oriented dashboards and executive reporting that enable timely intervention
• Conduct or commission delivery assurance reviews on critical and high-risk initiatives
• Actively manage cross-programme dependencies, conflicts, and resource constraints
• Escalate risks and issues early with data-backed options and recommendations
• Coach and develop Programme Directors, PMs, and PMO professionals
• Improve PMO effectiveness through tooling, automation, and AI-enabled insights; proactively identify opportunities to enhance decision-making and ways of working. Stay abreast of the firm's Artificial Intelligence tools identifying opportunities for application and improvement in the 'as-is' ways of working
• Influence senior stakeholders to drive accountability, pace, and outcome ownership
• Act as a trusted advisor to executives on transformation delivery risks and trade-offs
• Lead TMO level resource, capacity, and skills planning across the transformation portfolio
   

Your experience

• MBA or advanced degree in a related field from a reputed institute.
• Significant experience of working within a department/firm wide PMO ideally in a Professional Services environment.
• Proven ability to build relationships with cross-functional teams of diverse styles, skill sets, and experience levels and achieve results.
• Organised and detail-oriented with the ability to prioritize.
• Demonstrated ability to work as part of a team and inspire others.
• Ability to manage resources and multiple projects simultaneously under pressure and within deadlines.
• Willingness to work hard, take direction, and creatively solve problems the answers for which are not obvious or known.
• Ability to think critically and demonstrate good judgment.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Data analytics skills and experience of dashboarding tools such as PowerBI, drawing conclusions and insight from the data.
• Willing to ‘get their sleeves rolled up’ and ‘get things done’.
   

Who we are

As a global law firm our work spans jurisdictions, cultures, and languages – and so do our people.

Our culture is collaborative and inclusive — where diverse perspectives are recognised and valued. Where performing to your highest ability, unlocks equal access to opportunities to learn, thrive and grow. 

We combine deep legal expertise and commercial intelligence to grow, transform, protect, and defend our clients' businesses, across every critical moment.

We operate in the sectors and regions that matter to our clients. With forward-thinking insights and innovative, tech-enabled solutions that combine deep knowledge of their sectors and markets.

You’ll build connections and work with colleagues as one global team. You’ll unlock opportunities for clients, across borders, cultures, legal and commercial disciplines.

Join us to work with colleagues as one global team – empowering each other to be exceptional and create advantage for our clients.

Our India team is a well-established and integral part of the firm’s global operations, delivering high-value support across a wide spectrum of functions. With over 800 business professionals based in Gurugram and Hyderabad, we’ve been driving operational excellence and innovation for more than 15 years.

We contribute to global success in areas such as Information Technology, Finance, Human Resources, Risk & Compliance, Legal Support, Research & Knowledge, Document Production, Virtual Executive Assistance, Programme Management, Client & Market Development, and Continuous Improvement.
 

How we will support you

From your first day with us, you will have varied opportunities to continuously grow and development your skills and knowledge. From formal training, informal coaching and mentoring through to skills-based and technical training and on the job learning.

You can also get involved in a variety of employee affinity groups. There is also opportunity to be part of charitable events and volunteering.
 

Equal opportunities

At Clifford Chance we understand that our true asset is our people. Inclusion is good for our team and their families, our firm and society.

We are committed to treating all employees and applicants fairly and equally regardless of their gender, gender identity and expression, marital or civil partnership status, race, colour, national or ethnic origin, social or economic background, disability, religious belief, sexual orientation, or age.  This applies to recruitment and selection, terms and conditions of employment including pay, promotion, training, transfer and every other aspect of employment.

Our goal is to deliver an equality of opportunity, an equality of aspiration and an equality of experience to everyone who works in our firm. Find out more here.