Job at a glance
Job Title - Principal, Program Management Description Drive strategic alignment, portfolio governance, executive reporting and operational excellence across Pearson's Platform Engineering organisation, acting as the operational engine behind one of Pearson's largest technology functions. Known in the market as: Chief of Staff, Technology Chief of Staff, Portfolio Management Lead, PMO Lead, Delivery Management Lead, Portfolio Office Manager, Business Operations Lead, Programme Portfolio Manager or Technology Strategy & Operations Lead.
This role combines business operations, portfolio leadership, governance, strategy and executive engagement to bring structure, visibility and execution discipline to a complex global technology environment. About The Role Pearson, the world's leading learning company, is seeking a Principal, Program Management professional to drive strategic, operational and business alignment across the Platform Engineering organisation within the Office of the Chief Technology Officer (OCTO).
Platform Engineering is the technical backbone of Pearson, providing cloud services, infrastructure, enterprise tooling, digital workplace technology, networking, database services and operational governance capabilities that support Pearson's products, colleagues and learners globally. Platform Engineering partners closely with development teams and business technology leaders across Pearson to deliver secure, reliable and scalable services.
This newly created role will establish and lead the Platform Engineering Business Office, helping to drive organisational alignment, portfolio governance, executive reporting, strategic planning, communications, business operations and continuous improvement across a large global technology function. Success in this position will come from bringing structure, visibility and operational rigour to a fast-moving environment while building trusted relationships with senior stakeholders across OCTO and the wider business.
What You'll Do Cross-Functional Alignment & Business Operations Partner with leaders across Cloud, SRE, Networks, Digital Workplace Services and Enterprise Operations to drive organisational alignment. Coordinate strategic planning, operational reviews and cross-functional initiatives. Establish business office operating mechanisms, governance processes and delivery frameworks. Drive follow-through on leadership priorities, actions and commitments.
Support finance, compliance, people and operational planning activities across the organisation. Enterprise Portfolio & Demand Management Own and govern the portfolio demand intake process across Platform Engineering. Build and maintain a consolidated portfolio view aligned to business priorities. Facilitate governance forums, portfolio reviews and leadership reporting activities. Monitor programme health, risks, dependencies and delivery outcomes.
Support prioritisation decisions using business value, capacity and strategic objectives. Performance Metrics & Executive Reporting Design and maintain KPI, OKR and performance measurement frameworks. Create dashboards and reporting mechanisms that provide a single source of truth for leadership. Translate technical and operational data into clear executive-level insights. Identify trends, risks and opportunities that support data-driven decision making.
Coordinate organisational reporting for senior leadership audiences. Communications & Organisational Engagement Own executive presentations, leadership updates and strategic communications. Maintain service catalogues, knowledge repositories and business office content. Support preparation of leadership reviews, board updates and executive meetings. Coordinate and standardise outward-facing communications across the function.
Ensure Platform Engineering's priorities, achievements and value are effectively communicated across Pearson. Strategic Partnership Act as a trusted partner across Platform Engineering lead