Program Management Office Lead

Lavasource are global consultants, system & service partners—helping enterprises to choose, implement, and benefit from Workforce, HR, and Payroll technologies. With a distributed team of ~100 employees across the UK, Mauritius, India, and North America, we are a challenger brand known for deep expertise, exceptional partner relationships, and a commitment to customer success. We are building a professional PMO function to scale delivery excellence and establish the governance infrastructure that supports predictable, reliable project execution across our growing portfolio. This role is central to that mission. You will work directly with the CEO, delivery and account teams, and delivery partners to establish PMO capability, drive delivery discipline, and implement the systems that enable us to scale professionally. This is a hands-on, strategic role with significant visibility and ownership—which we plan to hire on a contract-to-perm basis. You'll Lead

Delivery Governance & Discipline

Define and enforce delivery standards, gating criteria, status discipline, and escalation paths across all projects.

Establish the operating model and governance framework that protects delivery integrity from ad-hoc interference.

Create repeatable processes and templates that scale with the organization.

Project Health & Portfolio Visibility

Maintain transparent visibility into project schedules, deliverables, scope, quality, risks, and resource allocation.

Own daily/weekly reporting cadence and executive dashboards.

Identify and escalate risks early with clear mitigation paths and decision requirements. PSA Procurement & Implementation

Lead (with CEO and Product stakeholders) the evaluation, selection, and implementation of a PSA system to support project tracking, resource planning, time/cost management, and decision-making.

Work with technology colleagues to define business requirements and operationalize the selected platform.

Ensure the system supports scaling and future audit readiness. PMO Team Building & Development

Hire, train, and develop a small distributed team (starting with 2 junior analysts).

Set standards and establish discipline amongst existing PMs in Mauritius—raising the baseline of delivery practice across the organization.

Establish scalable workflows and accountability across time zones.

Mentor junior talent and existing senior PMs to build PMO capability for long-term organizational growth.

Distributed Delivery

Coordination

Work with senior PMs across Mauritius, India, Philipines & North America to align on scheduling, dependencies, and execution discipline.

Coordinate with delivery and account leaders to protect delivery while managing stakeholder expectations.

Ensure cross-functional alignment (Product, Engineering, Operations, Finance) on delivery outcomes.

Leadership

Reporting

Provide weekly briefings to the CEO and senior leadership.

Deliver clear updates on PMO progress, portfolio health, risks, and decisions required.

Maintain executive-ready dashboards and documentation.

What You

Bring

10+ years PMO or delivery leadership in professional services, SI, or enterprise environments.

Proven experience building PMO functions and operating models from the ground up.

Strong project management discipline—tracking deliverables, timelines, risks, and cross-team coordination under pressure.

Deep background in project governance, delivery discipline, and scaling operations.

Experience evaluating and implementing PSA systems.

Ability to work with distributed teams across multiple geographies and cultures.

Confidence to push back on stakeholders and enforce delivery integrity with good humour and cultural sensitivity.

High comfort with ambiguity and the ability to prioritize ruthlessly. Beneficial

Background in IT/technology delivery or technical infrastructure.

Experience in SaaS, HR tech, or enterprise B2B environments.

Familiarity with PSA platforms (Kimble, Projector, Mavenlink, etc.).

Experience supporting enterprise customer escalations or retention conversations.

Location & Travel

This role is remote, with an initial preference for South Africa. Some travel to Mauritius, India, and potentially North America may be required for partner engagement and delivery coordination.

Why Join

Us?

You'll be stepping into a pivotal role at a critical moment—building the PMO function and delivery discipline that will enable Lavasource to scale from a fast-growing boutique consultancy into a professionally managed services organization. You'll have the autonomy to design the operating model, the support of senior leadership, and the opportunity to turn an interim role in