Head of PMO / Chief of Projects (m/f/d) in Saarbrücken

Overview

As Head of PMO you will lead the end-to-end Project Management and Delivery function across EMEA utilities, spanning energy tech, software, and analytics. You will own delivery from definition to customer rollout, unifying Sales, Product Management, R&D, NPI, Procurement, and Quality into a single execution engine. You will transform a fragmented delivery model into a standardized, cross-BU PMO with clear stage gates and measurable KPIs. You act as the project CEO for on-time, on-quality, and on-cost delivery and interface with major customers. You will drive discipline, cost control, and margin protection across the full lifecycle, with travel required.

Verantwortungsbereiche

• Lead and develop the EMEA Project Delivery organization across customer projects, NPI, and cross-BU programs
• Define and implement organizational setup, governance, and PM career path incl. offshore delivery capacity
• Build a balanced delivery org mixing hardware PM, software/solution delivery, and NPI program mgmt
• Ensure scalability, agility, and clear accountability across all delivery units and sites
• Own end-to-end delivery from definition through development, industrialization, mass production ramp, and handover
• Act as single accountable owner for on-time, on-quality, on-cost execution of customer projects and NPIs
• Drive execution discipline, cost control, and scalable delivery models across multi-site programs
• Establish a common project lifecycle, stage-gate framework, and PMO standards across electricity, gas, thermal, software, and analytics
• Ensure robust project planning, risk management, change control, and claim management
• Chair stage-gate reviews and enforce go/no-go decisions against scope, schedule, cost, quality, and business case
• Lead delivery of integrated HW + SW + Analytics solutions across residential and industrial meters, head-end software, and analytics offerings
• Break down BU silos and orchestrate cross-BU program teams around customer outcomes
• Establish shared solution architectures and reusable delivery playbooks across product families
• Ensure consistent solution scoping, pricing input, and delivery commitments across the portfolio
• Collaborate with Operations on NPI program management from design to ramp and serial production
• Involve NPI, Procurement, Manufacturing, and Quality early in R&D projects
• Drive design-for-manufacturing/cost/serviceability discipline
• Manage ramp readiness: supply readiness, test coverage, production line qualification
• Act as delivery counterpart to Product Management and R&D and translate commitments into feasible delivery plans
• Provide delivery input into bids, contracts, and commercial terms
• Collaborate with Procurement and SCM for supply, lead times, and cost targets
• Collaborate with Quality to embed quality gates and field feedback into governance
• Align with Finance on project controlling, revenue recognition, milestone billing, and cash collection
• Own project delivery cost base and portfolio margin
• Drive margin protection through budget adherence and change control
• Optimize allocation of PM and delivery resources
• Drive make-or-buy-outsource decisions for delivery capacity
• Support business cases and mid-term planning with risk-adjusted estimates
• Lead transformation to increase productivity and predictability
• Standardize and digitalize PMO tooling
• Build a high-performance, customer-centric delivery culture
• Upskill and certify PM community across hardware, software, and solutions
• Ensure compliance with contracts, regulatory, cybersecurity, and quality requirements
• Provide transparent portfolio reporting to CEO and exec team with early warnings on at-risk programs
• Own risk register and drive mitigation

Zentrale Anforderungen

• 15+ years of project/program/delivery leadership in international, matrix settings (VP/SVP level)
• Proven track record leading large cross-functional delivery orgs spanning hardware, software, and integrated solutions
• Experience in B2B customer project delivery in utilities/energy/industrial tech or telecom infra
• Strong NPI and industrialization background from design to serial production and rollout
• Evidence of end-to-end delivery ownership from definition to mass production and acceptance
• Experience running stage-gate/PMO frameworks at scale with improvements in OTD, margin, and predictability
• Commercial acumen: contract/bid/claim management; project P&L; milestone billing and working capital
• Experience driving organizational transformation and productivity improvements
• Global/multi-site experience including near-/offshore delivery
• Exposure to carve-out, integration, or major transformation programs (plus)
• Intercultural leadership across geographies; matrix governance
• Fluent in German and English
• University degree in engineering or related field; MBA or PM certifications a plus
• Strong technical understanding across HW, embedded systems, software, and cloud/analytics
• Mastery of PM methods, stage-gate governance, and scalable delivery models (Agile at scale)
• Data-driven delivery mindset with KPI use and portfolio analytics
• Strong business and P&L awareness; ability to protect margins under pressure
• Ability to connect customer commitments with technical execution and financial outcomes
• ROI-oriented: value-prioritization and program termination when hurdle rates not met
• Decisive leadership under ambiguity in evolving orgs
• Executive-level stakeholder management across CEO, board, customers, suppliers
• Resilience and change leadership in transformation environments
• Ability to attract and retain top program/delivery talent
• Location: Germany

• leadership and people management
• cross-functional collaboration
• stakeholder management
• PMO governance
• stage-gate planning
• end-to-end project management