Head of Technical Project Management Office

Oxford Quantum Circuits · Reading

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At OQC, we aren’t just theorising about the future; we’re building it. Born from a philosophy of bold innovation, we’ve successfully transitioned quantum computing from an academic dream into a commercial reality. The most exciting thing is that we’re just getting started and we’ve recently closed our £260 million Series C funding round which is the largest fundraise ever completed by a quantum computing company in Europe.

The Purpose

As Head of Technical Project Management Office, you will lead OQC’s Technical Project Management Office (TPMO), creating a professional home for project and programme management across our priority technology and delivery programmes.

This role is central to making delivery across OQC more integrated, transparent, controlled and predictable. You will establish the standards, governance, resources and operating model needed to strengthen programme delivery, portfolio visibility and effective escalation, while partnering closely with Programme Owners, VPs, functional leaders and the COO.

The Role

You will lead a centralised project and programme management capability across OQC, ensuring Project and Programme Managers are embedded effectively within the programmes they support.

You will provide professional leadership for the TPMO function, set consistent delivery standards, create portfolio-level visibility, and ensure senior leaders have the information they need to make clear, timely decisions. Programme Owners will retain accountability for outcomes, technical decisions, priorities, budgets and functional resource commitments, with the TPMO enabling delivery discipline, insight and control.

What You'll Be Working On

• Leading the TPMO function, setting its strategy, operating model, priorities and minimum delivery standards in line with OQC’s technology roadmap, external commitments and operational plans.
• Owning the live enterprise and technology portfolio view, providing clear insight across milestones, delivery confidence, dependencies, resource demand, financial position and external commitments.
• Establishing project and programme management standards, tooling, templates and controls that improve consistency without creating unnecessary bureaucracy.
• Providing professional leadership, coaching and line management for OQC’s Project and Programme Managers, including capability development, performance management and career progression.
• Allocating and prioritising PM capacity across programmes in agreement with Programme Owners and the COO, ensuring the highest-value and highest-risk programmes receive appropriate support.
• Owning cross-programme dependency management and providing early warning of material milestone, resource, supplier, facilities, cost and external-commitment risks.
• Working with Finance, functional leaders and senior stakeholders to create clear visibility of programme financials, resource demand, unresolved capacity conflicts and escalation points.

What We're Looking For

• Experience leading a PMO, programme or portfolio function in a complex technology, engineering or R&D environment.
• Experience building or scaling a PMO and broader portfolio-management capability.
• Experience managing and developing Project or Programme Managers, including setting professional PM standards and building capability.
• A track record of overseeing multiple complex, interdependent programmes with competing priorities.
• Experience establishing portfolio reporting across milestones, RAID, dependencies, resources, financials and escalation.
• Strong understanding of how to connect programme plans with Finance, Supply Chain and resource information.
• Strong judgement, communication and influencing skills, with the ability to operate effectively amid changing priorities and technical uncertainty.

The 'Nice-to-Haves'

• Experience in deep technology, quantum, semiconductor, aerospace, defence or a similar sector.
• Experience leading programmes across research, engineering development, industrialisation or deployment.
• Experience managing externally funded, government-facing or strategically sensitive programmes.
• Experience working across facilities, equipment, supplier and technical dependencies in multi-site programmes.
• APM, PMI, PRINCE2, MSP, P3O or equivalent recognised qualification.
• Relevant technical, engineering, business or portfolio-management qualification.

Why Join OQC

You will join a world-class team at the forefront of the next computational era. We offer a culture of bold innovation, the chance to work with unique lab infrastructure, and the opportunity to see your work redefine the limits of computation.

Learn more about our benefits and positive work culture here: https://oqc.tech/company/careers-at-oqc/

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