PMO Practice Lead in Redditch

About us

Halfords is on a journey - building the future of motoring and cycling and looking for people who want to help shape what comes next. We’re a place for cocreators: people who want to make a real impact, take ownership and be part of something that’s still evolving. Technology at Halfords is at a turning point. We’re modernising our foundations, sharpening our delivery, and ensuring every technology decision is connected to real commercial and customer outcomes. We're looking for people who act as trusted advisors to the business, take end-to-end accountability for outcomes, and can balance pace with long-term architectural integrity. Innovation here means practical, scalable solutions, not ideas that stay on whiteboards.

Halfords operates a hybrid working policy – this position will be based 3 days per week at our support centre in Redditch, West Midlands.

About the role

As PMO Practice Lead within our Technology Portfolio and Programme Management function, you'll bring strategic structure to a complex, fast-moving transformation environment. This is a senior, highly visible role spanning portfolio governance, programme oversight, and financial management, with two direct PMO reports and matrix management of 6 Project Managers. You'll be the critical connection between technology delivery and the Transformation Office, consolidating reporting, aligning the tech laydown of work, and giving the Executive a clear, transparent view of progress and positioning. The role blends strategic oversight with elements of hands‑on delivery; you'll need the stature to lead from the front and the tenacity to get stuck in when needed. You'll own benefit realisation coordination, drive a consolidated view of Capex and Opex spend across the full tech project portfolio, and cut through the complexity of multi‑year programmes spanning Retail, Garages, and Fleet.

If you've operated at a senior level in a large matrix organisation, and you know how to make governance add value rather than noise, this could be the role for you.

Key responsibilities

• Own the portfolio governance framework across portfolio, programme, and project environments, ensuring governance is pragmatic, value‑adding, and consistently applied across all business areas.
• Be the bridge between technology delivery and the Transformation Office, aligning the tech laydown of work, coordinating dependency management, and ensuring the right things are visible at the right level.
• Consolidate and own executive reporting across the full tech portfolio, producing a clear, pertinent overarching report that gives the exec an accurate picture of status, risk, and progress without the noise.
• Drive a consolidated view of capex and opex spend across the full tech project portfolio, working with Finance and Procurement to maintain a single, accurate picture of total investment on a monthly basis.
• Coordinate benefits realisation activity, ensuring delivery is clearly linked to commercial outcomes and that enablement is tracked, owned, and connected to the P&L.
• Lead RAID management across the portfolio, ensuring risks and dependencies are surfaced early, owned at the right level, and linked into the Enterprise Risk Framework.
• Contribute to the 3 to 5 year technology delivery plan, working with the Transformation Office to sequence multi‑year programmes and ensure the organisation stays on the front foot.

About you

• Proven PMO background with experience operating across portfolio, programme, and project environments in a large, complex matrix organisation, with a P3O qualification being a strong advantage.
• Demonstrable experience at a senior level, whether in‑house or through a Big 4 or major consultancy background, ideally within retail, financial services, or a similarly complex transformation environment.
• Strong financial management capability, with a solid understanding of capex and opex, consolidated spend reporting, and the ability to work with Finance and Procurement to produce a single, accurate view of total tech investment.
• Experience coordinating benefits realisation, linking delivery activity to commercial outcomes and clearly articulating how technology enablement connects to the P&L.
• Confident and credible communicator who can lead stakeholder engagement at executive level, cutting through complexity to give a clear picture of status, risk, and cost without the noise.
• A track record of both PMO leadership and hands‑on delivery, comfortable moving between strategic oversight and getting stuck into the detail when the work demands it.
• Vocal, tenacious, and resilient, with the confidence to challenge what needs challenging and the rationale to back it up.

A fair and competitive salary evaluated against market data, annual discretionary bonus scheme, car allowance, pension, life assurance, 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays and enhanced family leave. Commitment and dedication to your ongoing personal and professional development. We help you to own and grow your potential so you can be at your best in your current role and to support your future career aspirations. We offer hybrid working with a blend of working in our Support Centre and from home. You will have access to a wealth of employee discounts across the Halfords suite of products and services. Wellbeing and inclusion are at the heart of our colleague experience. We offer resources and ongoing support to enhance your wellbeing at work and active Colleague Networks supporting inclusion initiatives across Halfords.

Not sure you meet all the criteria? We'd encourage you to take the wheel and apply anyway! At Halfords we are committed to creating an inclusive workplace for our colleagues. We're an equal opportunities employer and proud to welcome applications from all backgrounds and embrace diversity within our one Halfords Family.