At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead retail transformation projects, ensuring smooth governance and oversight.
- Company: Join a leading UK retail organisation driving significant change.
- Benefits: Competitive day rate, hybrid working, and potential for contract extension.
- Other info: Dynamic environment with opportunities for continuous improvement and career growth.
- Why this job: Be at the forefront of retail innovation and make a real impact.
- Qualifications: Experience in PMO roles and strong retail background required.
Contract: 3 Months Initial Contract (Potential to Extend)
Day Rate: £500–£600 per day (Inside IR35)
Location: Waterloo, London (Hybrid – 2-3 days per week onsite)
Overview
We are supporting one of the UK's leading retail organisations through a significant transformation portfolio and are seeking an experienced Retail PMO Lead to provide governance, oversight and assurance across multiple business change initiatives. This role will establish a dedicated Retail PMO capability, ensuring that all projects impacting stores, colleagues, customers and retail operations are appropriately assessed, governed and delivered successfully. This is not a project delivery role; it is a portfolio-level PMO and assurance position. The successful candidate will provide visibility across the transformation roadmap, identify retail impacts, manage risks and ensure the wider retail function is prepared for upcoming change.
Key Responsibilities
- Retail Impact Identification & Portfolio Oversight
- Maintain a live view of all active and planned projects impacting retail operations.
- Identify, assess and classify retail impacts across technology, processes, colleague experience, customer experience and trading activity.
- Work with project teams to ensure retail impacts are understood early and appropriately managed.
- Escalate key risks, dependencies and potential operational impacts to senior stakeholders.
- Support the integration of retail impact assessments into wider portfolio governance processes.
- Retail Readiness & Change Assurance
- Lead structured retail impact assessments for projects entering delivery and go-live phases.
- Define and track retail readiness criteria to ensure stores and operational teams are prepared for change.
- Challenge project teams where retail impacts have not been sufficiently considered.
- Identify risks around deployment timelines, operational capacity and potential disruption to trading performance.
- Stakeholder Management & Communication
- Act as the key point of contact between Portfolio Delivery teams and Retail leadership.
- Provide a consolidated view of upcoming change, dependencies, risks and delivery timelines.
- Develop and maintain a Retail Change Calendar to improve visibility across impacted teams.
- Support Steering Committees and governance forums where retail input is required.
- Governance & Reporting
- Own the Retail PMO risk and issue log, ensuring risks affecting stores and colleagues are tracked and managed.
- Provide retail impact assessments to support change approvals and governance decisions.
- Produce clear reporting and insights for senior stakeholders.
- Ensure consistent governance standards are applied across transformation activity.
- Continuous Improvement
- Identify opportunities to improve how retail change is planned, sequenced and delivered.
- Recommend improvements to portfolio governance, processes and ways of working.
- Support annual planning activities by providing insight into retail capacity, demand and change impact.
Essential Skills & Experience
- Proven experience working within a PMO, Portfolio PMO or Programme Assurance role.
- Previous experience supporting large-scale transformation programmes within a retail environment.
- Strong understanding of retail operations, store environments and the impact of change on frontline teams.
- Experience managing governance frameworks including: Change control, Steering Committees, Portfolio reporting, Risk and issue management, Investment governance.
- Strong stakeholder management skills, with experience engaging senior business leaders.
- Ability to analyse complex information and translate it into clear risks, actions and recommendations.
- Comfortable challenging project teams and influencing decisions without direct authority.
- Experience operating in complex, fast-paced and cross-functional environments.
Desirable Experience
- Experience using portfolio management tools such as Planview or similar platforms.
- Experience supporting retail technology, store transformation or customer-facing change programmes.
- PMO / Project Management certifications such as P3O, MSP or PRINCE2.
Retail PMO Lead in London employer: Morson Edge
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StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Retail PMO Lead in London
✨Tap into Consulting Networks
Get active in local management consulting networks and organisations. Attend meetups, workshops, or webinars specific to consulting where you can connect with professionals who may know of temporary roles opening up at places like Morson Edge. Don’t underestimate word-of-mouth – it’s massive in our field!
✨Show Off Your Skills in Real-Time
As a temporary hire, you need to demonstrate your value quickly. Consider creating a mini-case study or analysis relevant to the industry and share it on platforms like LinkedIn or even during networking events. This can be an impressive way to showcase your analytical skills and problem-solving prowess – just what consulting firms are looking for!
✨Check for Temporary Roles on Niche Job Boards
Look for temporary roles on specialised job boards for consulting gigs rather than just generic platforms. Websites like Consultancy.uk or even the Careers pages of major firms could have short-term projects or roles that are perfect for you to jump in at Morson Edge.
✨Leverage University and Alumni Resources
If you’re fresh out of uni or connected with a local institution, take advantage of their career services and alumni networks. Many universities have exclusive connections to consulting firms seeking temporary help. Plus, it’s a great way to meet other aspiring consultants who might share leads about opportunities at Morson Edge.
We think you need these skills to ace Retail PMO Lead in London
Some tips for your application 🫡
Showcase Your Analytical Skills:In management consulting, employers love to see your problem-solving abilities right from the get-go. Be sure to highlight any relevant analytical projects you've worked on, particularly those that show how you tackled complex problems. If you’ve done any case studies or analysis during your studies, throw those in your CV!
Tailor Your Experience for the Role:Since this is a temporary position, your application should reflect your adaptability and relevant experience quite clearly. Focus on showcasing experiences that demonstrate your ability to hit the ground running, like previous projects, internships, or freelance gigs in consulting or project management.
Craft a Targeted Cover Letter:Your cover letter is your chance to sparkle! Use it to explain why you're interested in this temporary role at Morson Edge and how your skills suit the specific project needs. Remember to mention how you can provide immediate value based on your past experiences.
Include Certifications or Relevant Training:If you've got any certifications like PMP, Six Sigma, or even coursework that’s super relevant, make sure to list those in your application. Management consulting can be competitive, and these extra qualifications can help you stand out in the recruitment process.
How to prepare for a job interview at Morson Edge
✨Prepare for Case Studies
In management consulting, case study interviews are a big deal. Expect to tackle real-world business problems on the spot. We should practise structuring our thoughts, developing hypotheses, and presenting our solutions clearly, as this is what firms like Morson Edge will want to see.
✨Show Off Your Problem-Solving Skills
You’ll need to demonstrate strong analytical skills and logical reasoning. Brush up on frameworks like SWOT or Porter's Five Forces, as these can come in handy. Think of instances from your experience where you tackled a complex issue—this could set you apart when speaking to Morson Edge.
✨Highlight Your Adaptability
Since this is a temporary role, it's crucial we showcase our ability to hit the ground running. Have examples ready that illustrate how we've adapted quickly in past positions or projects. This shows that we can contribute effectively from day one at Morson Edge.
✨Be Ready to Discuss Cultural Fit
Temporary roles often come with a focus on team dynamics. Prepare to discuss how we align with the values and culture at Morson Edge. We want to highlight our teamwork experiences and how we can mesh with their consulting teams, making it clear that we're not just looking to fill a spot but to add value.
