Head of CPO & Business Management

About Haringey Haringey is a fantastic place to live and work - the world in one borough. A place brimming with creativity, personality, radicalism, and community. It is a place where we stand up for each other. A place that is proudly distinctive. We'll be celebrating all this and more as the "rebel borough" when we are the 2027 London Borough of Culture.
Our history champions change-makers and everyday rebels; revelling in our differences, battling discrimination, championing equality, and doing things our own way. Haringey's people are a huge asset, with knowledge, expertise, and passion. Our staff members embody our organisational values: Caring, Creative, Courageous, Collaborative and Community-focused. These values keep us looking forward, ambitious for the future, and continuously striving to do our very best for all of our residents.
About the role We are looking for an exceptional and strategic leader to shape our Corporate Portfolio Office and Business Management function at a pivotal point in its development. Reporting to the Chief Digital and Innovation Officer, you will bring together portfolio leadership, programme delivery and business management to create a modern, ambitious function that connects organisational priorities, investment and capacity-and turns them into clear, measurable outcomes.
You will build from strong foundations, with an established team already in place, while having genuine scope to set the direction and make your mark. You will develop new service strands, build fresh capabilities and bring together talented, curious and motivated people who want to make a difference. This is a rare opportunity to create a high performing, forward looking function that gives leaders a portfolio wide view, strengthens governance and assurance, unlocks decisions and maximises the value of change across the organisation.
About the team The Digital and Change service is where strategic ambition is turned into delivery, driving transformation, innovation and continuous improvement across the organisation. At its centre, the Corporate Portfolio Office and Business Management function brings together portfolio oversight, programme delivery and business management capability. It will provide the clarity, grip and momentum needed to deliver the Council's most important priorities, including the Corporate Delivery Plan and Financial Sustainability Plan, while directly leading complex, high profile programmes that create measurable impact.
You will lead a skilled team of PMO professionals, programme specialists and business management staff, creating a confident, connected function built on collaboration, accountability and high standards. Working closely with senior leaders, elected members, partners and suppliers, you will ensure the right conversations happen at the right level, barriers are addressed and the organisation's investment in change delivers lasting benefits for residents, communities and services.
About you You will be a visible, credible and highly strategic leader with substantial experience of steering large-scale, complex portfolios, programmes and business management functions in a demanding and politically aware environment. You will see the whole organisational picture-translating priorities into a coherent and deliverable portfolio, aligning investment and capacity to the work that matters most, and creating the conditions for successful delivery.
You will bring exceptional leadership, judgement and stakeholder management skills, with the authority to build trusted relationships and influence at the highest levels of the organisation. Confident working with senior leaders, elected members and external partners, you will communicate complexity with clarity, provide constructive challenge and know when to intervene, escalate or bring the right people together to unlock decisions and maintain momentum.
You will bring deep expertise in project, programme and portfolio leadership, alongside a strong command of financial planning, budget management, risk, benefits realisation and performance reporting. You will know what excellent delivery looks like, spot early where value or progress is at risk, and use evidence and insight to sharpen priorities, strengthen accountability and support timely, well informed decisions.
Most importantly, you will be ambitious for the function, the organisation and the communities it serves. You will develop high-performing teams, create a culture of curiosity and continuous improvement, and balance strategic leadership with a firm grip on delivery. Resilient, decisive and focused on outcomes, you will ensure that investment in change translates into meaningful savings, stronger services and lasting benefits for residents and communities.