Project Management Operations Director

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We are seeking an exceptional PMO Lead to serve as the strategic integrator and operational catalyst for a key PDS client account. This senior account-facing leader is responsible for the overall effectiveness of the PDS PMO, operating at two levels simultaneously: leading the bigger-picture agenda of playbook ownership, onboarding, training, governance, special initiatives, and client engagement, while staying close enough to understand team efficiencies, workload pinch points, and operational risk. The role sits above a tactical Operations Manager who manages Project Coordinators, requiring someone who can architect scalable PMO frameworks while maintaining the operational credibility to step in, solve problems, and drive execution when needed.

The PMO Lead functions as the central connector across all account disciplines-bringing together finance, business intelligence, sourcing, human resources, risk management, communications, and facilities management into a cohesive delivery ecosystem. You'll be the person who sees problems before they become crises, assembles the right teams, drives solution development, and holds everyone accountable to execution. Success requires understanding not just what your team does, but how they work, where the friction points exist, and how to eliminate inefficiencies while building capability and maintaining the altitude to lead account-wide governance and continuous improvement.

What This Role Will Do

Strategic Integration & Account Leadership

Drive PMO strategy and operating model evolution for the account, ensuring delivery practices scale with client needs and organizational growth. Serve as the integrator who connects disparate account functions into unified delivery-breaking down silos, facilitating cross-functional collaboration, and ensuring teams understand how their work connects to broader account objectives. Lead client-facing governance discussions with executive presence, translating complex operational realities into clear, actionable insights that drive decision-making and build client confidence. Recommend and collaborate with senior management to resolve strategic issues that affect delivery performance and client satisfaction. Administer business unit policies that directly affect employees and recommend policy changes for the work group or wider team, exercising judgment and discretion on issues of importance to account success.

Proactive Problem Solving & Execution

Identify operational challenges before they escalate, rapidly assemble the right stakeholders, facilitate ideation sessions, and drive development of concrete action plans. Hold teams accountable to execution without micromanaging-knowing when to step back and when to step in. Build a culture where problems surface early and teams respond with urgency and ownership. Frequently work on issues where analysis of situations or data requires review of relevant factors across multiple work groups. Identify issues, gather facts, and resolve operational problems by exercising judgment within defined procedures and policies to determine appropriate action. When critical situations demand it, roll up your sleeves and get directly involved in execution, demonstrating that leadership means doing what's needed to ensure success.

Client System Expertise & Workflow Optimization

Serve as the subject matter expert for TRIRIGA, partnering with the client to develop and execute complex workflows that improve operational efficiency and service delivery. Understand the system architecture deeply enough to identify opportunities for optimization, guide configuration decisions, and troubleshoot sophisticated challenges. Support the client in maximizing platform value through strategic workflow design that aligns technology capability with business process requirements. Apply advanced knowledge of specific professional disciplines to manage significantly complex technical tasks and system integrations.

Knowledge Management & Capability Building

Own development, management, and reinforcement of account playbooks as the authoritative source of truth for how work gets done. Ensure documentation reflects current reality, captures lessons learned, and provides clear guidance for consistent execution. Design and lead comprehensive onboarding programs that accelerate new team member productivity and cultural integration. Serve as an E1 subject matter expert with the ability to train trainers and build capability across the broader team, creating multiplier effects that strengthen overall account performance. Establish goals and priorities that impact the direction for new or revised services, programs, processes, standards, and operational plans across the account.

Team Leadership & Development

Provide leadership, mentorship, and professional development support to the Operations Manager and project coordination function. Oversee a midsized team and may become actively involved, as required, to meet schedules and resolve problems. Create an environment where team members understand the culture of opportunity within JLL and see clear pathways for growth. Monitor team fulfillment, workload balance, and performance dynamics. Estimate staffing needs and schedules, assign project work, and remain ultimately responsible for team success. When needed, support the Operations Manager in holding the team accountable and, if necessary, guide performance management processes with fairness and clarity. Build a high-performing team that takes pride in operational excellence and client service. Receive guidance for complex problem-solving situations while exercising increasing independence in day-to-day operational decisions.

Operational Vigilance & Quality Assurance

Maintain watchful oversight of how teams operate across the account, quickly identifying when groups drift into silos or individuals operate outside their areas of responsibility. Address these situations directly but constructively-calling out inefficiencies while engaging the appropriate teams to course-correct. Ensure clear role definition and accountability without creating bureaucratic barriers. Balance empowerment with governance, giving teams autonomy while maintaining standards that protect delivery quality and client experience. Monitor daily operations and ensure work is performed as prescribed by policies and procedures to achieve productivity, service, and quality standards within the parameters of the operating plan and budget.

Financial Partnership & Forecasting

Partner closely with the account finance team to support monthly forecasting and financial reporting that integrates seamlessly with capital planning processes. Provide operational insights that inform financial projections, helping finance understand delivery velocity, resource utilization, and portfolio health. Translate project-level financial data into portfolio-level trends that enable better planning and decision-making. Bridge the gap between project execution realities and financial planning requirements. Have responsibility for maintaining and monitoring budget, working within moderate financial parameters that may require occasional interaction with senior management on financial matters.

Communication & Stakeholder Management

Deliver efficient, effective communication that cuts through complexity and drives action. Take intricate operational challenges, technical workflows, or multi-faceted account dynamics and distill them into digestible, actionable information for both internal teams and client stakeholders. Know your audience-adjusting depth, framing, and format based on who needs what information to make decisions or take action. Build trust through transparency, clarity, and consistent follow-through on commitments. Frequently interact with functional peer managers and conduct presentations of technical information concerning specific projects, schedules, or operational matters between different parts of the business segment and work groups.

Governance, Visibility & Performance Management

Establish and maintain governance frameworks that provide real-time visibility into project health, delivery trends, resource constraints, and operational performance across the portfolio. Develop reporting mechanisms that give leadership and clients the information they need without overwhelming them with data. Identify leading indicators of risk or opportunity, enabling proactive intervention rather than reactive firefighting. Drive consistency in how projects are initiated, executed, monitored, and closed across the account. Apply established processes and operational policies in selecting methods and techniques for obtaining solutions while making recommendations to senior management regarding strategic policies when needed.

Continuous Improvement & Special Initiatives

Lead special initiatives that strengthen PMO capability, enhance delivery quality, and elevate client experience. Identify process inefficiencies, workflow bottlenecks, or capability gaps and develop targeted improvement plans. Champion innovation in how the PMO operates, testing new approaches and scaling what works. Create feedback loops that capture lessons learned and translate them into actionable improvements that prevent recurring issues. Lead definition and direction for new or revised services, programs, processes, standards, and operational plans based upon business sub-segment strategies while receiving assignments in the form of objectives and determining how to use resources to meet schedules and goals.

What We're Looking For

PMO & Operational Leadership Experience: Proven track record leading project management offices, delivery operations, or program controls functions in complex, multi-stakeholder environments. Direct relevant experience in field of work, which may include management experience. Typically requires university degree or relevant certification. Experience managing through team structures and developing operational capabilities.

Integration & Connection Mindset: Natural ability to see how pieces fit together across disciplines, functions, and teams. Comfortable operating at the intersection of technical delivery, finance, human resources, risk, and client relationship management. Advanced knowledge of specific professional disciplines in addition to operational knowledge of related work groups.

Builder Mentality: Energized by creating structure from ambiguity, improving what exists, and getting hands-on when needed. Not someone who just directs-someone who builds, tests, and refines alongside their team. May spend a portion of time performing individual tasks related to the work group, but primarily delivers work through delegation and team coordination.

Technical & System Proficiency: Deep expertise with TRIRIGA or comparable enterprise workplace management systems. Ability to design complex workflows, optimize configurations, and serve as a trusted advisor to clients on system strategy. Applies in-depth professional, technical, or industry knowledge to manage significantly complex tasks.

E1 & Training Capability: Subject matter expertise in project management fundamentals with proven ability to train trainers and build scalable capability across teams. Possesses specific knowledge, skills, and abilities to fulfill tasks, duties, and responsibilities while developing others.

Operational Awareness: Strong grasp of day-to-day realities-understanding capacity constraints, workload dynamics, service level pressures, and how tactical decisions impact strategic outcomes. Full knowledge of own area with ability to interpret and adjust policies and procedures as circumstances require.

Problem-Solving Agility: Pattern recognition that spots problems early. Ability to rapidly assess situations, engage the right stakeholders, facilitate collaborative solution development, and drive execution with accountability. Works on issues where analysis of situations or data requires review of relevant factors, exercising judgment within defined procedures and policies.

Communication Excellence: Exceptional ability to synthesize complexity into clarity. Skilled at adjusting communication style, depth, and format based on audience needs-whether presenting to executives, collaborating with peers, or guiding frontline teams. Interaction normally requires the ability to gain cooperation of others and conduct presentations of technical information concerning specific projects or schedules.

Financial Acumen: Comfortable working with budgets, forecasts, and financial planning processes. Ability to translate operational performance into financial implications and support finance teams with accurate, timely inputs. Has some responsibility for managing minimal financial or external risk that requires occasional interaction with senior management.

Leadership & Accountability: Demonstrated ability to hold teams accountable while building trust and psychological safety. Comfortable having direct conversations when performance or behavior requires course correction. Skilled at developing talent and creating pathways for growth. Oversees teams by assigning tasks, maintaining schedules, and ensuring work meets productivity, service, and quality standards.

Client-Facing Presence: Executive presence and confidence in client governance settings. Ability to build credibility through competence, transparency, and consistent delivery on commitments. Frequently interacts with functional peer groups and client leadership on matters of operational and strategic importance.

Why This Role Matters

This role ensures that projects are delivered with strong governance, operational efficiency, and consistent execution quality across a complex account ecosystem. By serving as the integrator who connects functions, the problem-solver who addresses challenges proactively, and the builder who strengthens PMO capability over time, the PMO Lead directly impacts client satisfaction, account performance, and team effectiveness.

The role creates leverage-building systems, processes, and capabilities that enable better outcomes at scale. It protects delivery quality while enabling growth. It provides visibility that enables better decisions while maintaining the operational discipline that ensures reliable execution. The PMO Lead has direct impact within their scope, estimates staffing needs, schedules and assigns project work, and establishes goals and priorities that influence the direction for new or revised services, programs, processes, standards, and operational plans across the account.

This position does not provide visa sponsorship. Candidates must be authorized to work in the United States without sponsorship.

Expected compensation for this position:

Final compensation packages are determined by various considerations including but not limited to candidate qualifications, location, market conditions, and internal considerations.

Location:

If this job description resonates with you, we encourage you to apply, even if you don't meet all the requirements. We're interested in getting to know you and what you bring to the table!

Personalized benefits that support personal well-being and growth:

JLL recognizes the impact that the workplace can have on your wellness, so we offer a supportive culture and comprehensive benefits package that prioritizes mental, physical and emotional health. Some of these benefits include:

• 401(k) plan with matching company contributions
• Comprehensive Medical, Dental & Vision Care
• Paid parental leave at 100% of salary
• Paid Time Off and Company Holidays
• Early access to earned wages through Daily Pay

At JLL, we harness the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to efficiently accelerate meaningful connections between candidates and opportunities. Using AI capabilities, we analyze your application for relevant skills, experiences, and qualifications to generate valuable insights about how your unique profile aligns with the specific requirements of the role you'repursuing.

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