Senior PMO Consultant

Company Overview: cbs APAC is a leading international consultancy headquartered in Heidelberg, Germany. We deliver high-end quality consulting and technology services to large industrial corporations that run SAP. For more information about our company, please visit our website at cbs APAC.

Job overview:
We are looking for a proactive and analytically strong Senior PMO Consultant to support project governance, controlling, and reporting across the organization. Beyond standard PMO duties, this role requires someone who can go past routine status tracking to generate meaningful insights from project data, and who is confident communicating findings and recommendations directly to senior/higher management, including the MD.

Position: Senior PMO Consultant
Location: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Added Input: This is an ideal role for someone who enjoys structure and process but also has a curious, analytical mindset and wants exposure to strategic decision-making conversations.

Reporting Line & Key Interfaces

• Reports to: Head of PMO / Logistics Consulting Director

• Key Interfaces: Project Managers, Department Heads, Finance, Managing Director, Senior Leadership Team, and other cross-functional stakeholders.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Core PMO Roles & Responsibilities

• Maintain and continuously improve PMO governance frameworks, templates, and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) across projects.

• Track project timelines, budgets, resources, risks, issues, and dependencies across the project portfolio.

• Facilitate project status meetings, steering committee meetings, and governance reviews, including agenda preparation and meeting minutes.

• Maintain and monitor project RAID logs (Risks, Assumptions, Issues, and Dependencies) and follow up on action-item closure.

• Ensure project documentation, including project charters, plans, change requests, and closure reports, is complete, accurate, and centrally maintained.

• Support Project Managers with project scheduling, resource allocation tracking, and change control processes.

• Ensure adherence to organizational project management methodologies, including Waterfall, Agile, or Hybrid approaches, as applicable.

• Support project audit readiness and governance compliance.

• Coordinate with Finance, Procurement, and Operations teams on project controlling activities, including budgets, purchase orders, vendor tracking, and related matters.

2. Data Analysis & Insight Generation

• Consolidate project controlling data, including cost, schedule, resource utilization, and milestones, from multiple sources into a centralized reporting framework.

• Analyse trends, variances, and patterns across the project portfolio, going beyond standard status reporting to identify recurring causes of delays, budget overruns, and resource bottlenecks.

• Build and maintain dashboards using Excel, Power BI, Tableau, or equivalent tools to provide clear and timely visibility into project and portfolio health.

• Translate data into clear, actionable insights and recommendations for the Managing Director (MD) and leadership team, highlighting what happened, why it happened, and what action is required.

• Perform root-cause analysis for underperforming projects and recommend appropriate corrective actions.

• Support portfolio-level analysis, including resource capacity versus demand, project prioritization, and ROI/benefit tracking.

3. Executive Communication & Presentation

• Prepare high-quality, concise presentation decks and management reports for the MD and senior leadership.

• Present project status, portfolio insights, key risks, and recommendations confidently in leadership and steering committee meetings.

• Respond effectively to questions from senior stakeholders, clearly explaining the rationale behind data, insights, and recommendations.

• Tailor communication style and level of detail to different audiences, from technical/project teams to executive leadership.

• Escalate critical risks and issues to management in a timely, structured, and solution-oriented manner.

4. Teamwork & Stakeholder Collaboration

• Work closely with Project Managers, Department Heads, and cross-functional teams to collect accurate and timely project information.

• Build strong working relationships across the organization and position the PMO as a value-adding business partner, rather than solely a reporting function.

• Support and mentor junior PMO team members and interns, where applicable.

• Contribute positively to team culture by sharing knowledge, insights, and PMO best practices.

Experience & Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Engineering, IT, Project Management, or a related field.

• At least 5 years of relevant experience in PMO, project controls, project coordination, business analysis, or a similar role.

• Experience working within a PMO environment supporting multiple concurrent projects or programs is highly preferred.

• PMP, CAPM, PRINCE2, or a similar project management certification is an advantage but not mandatory.

Technical Skills

• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel, including Pivot Tables, formulas, data analysis, and data modelling.

• Familiarity with project management and collaboration tools such as MS Project, Jira, Smartsheet, Primavera, or equivalent.

• Working knowledge of project financials and project controlling, including budget vs. actuals, cost tracking, forecasting, and basic Earned Value Management (EVM).

• Strong ability to work with large and complex datasets, identify data quality issues, and ensure data accuracy and consistency.

• Experience with Power BI, Tableau, or similar data visualization tools is an advantage.

Soft Skills & Attributes

• Strong analytical and critical-thinking skills, with the ability to interpret data and translate it into clear business insights and actionable recommendations.

• Confident communicator and presenter, comfortable presenting to and responding to questions from senior management and the Managing Director (MD).

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to simplify complex information for different audiences.

• Highly organized and detail-oriented, with the ability to manage multiple priorities, stakeholders, and deadlines simultaneously.

• Strong team player who is collaborative, dependable, and able to work effectively with cross-functional stakeholders at all levels.

• Proactive and self-driven, with a strong sense of ownership and accountability.

• Comfortable working in a fast-paced environment with changing priorities.

What Success Looks Like in This Role

• Leadership receives timely, accurate, and insight-driven project reporting, rather than basic status updates.

• The MD and senior management can confidently use the individual's analysis and recommendations to support decision-making.

• PMO reporting cadence, quality, and consistency improve, reducing the time leadership spends following up for information.

• Project risks, issues, and potential delays are identified and escalated early, with clear recommendations and corrective actions.

• The individual is recognized as a reliable and credible PMO partner who brings analysis and insight to leadership discussions, rather than simply compiling data.