The Financial Project Management Office (FPMO) is a new shared-services capability responsible for executing Harris commercial governance framework across the project lifecycle. Working in partnership with the Commercial Project Management Office (CPMO), Finance, Procurement, Project Orchestration and Delivery teams, the FPMO will provide consistent commercial controls, financial project administration and operational oversight across a high-volume portfolio of research projects.

As the FPMO Program Lead, you will establish and lead this new capability. You will translate commercial policies and standards into practical workflows, controls and service routines; manage and develop an initial team of two Financial Project Coordinators; and ensure that projects are supported from contract and setup through billing, vendor administration and closeout. This is a hands-on leadership role for someone who can build structure in an evolving environment while maintaining strong day-to-day execution.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

Establish and Lead the FPMO

Establish the FPMO as a scalable operational capability, defining team workflows, service standards, ownership and escalation paths.
Lead, coach and develop Financial Project Coordinators, balancing daily operational delivery with the build-out of the new function.
Partner with the CPMO to translate commercial policies, pricing and procurement standards into clear operating procedures and controls.
Develop and maintain SOPs, process documentation, trackers, reporting routines and governance materials that create consistency across project teams.
Build trusted relationships across Finance, Procurement, Operations, Project Orchestration, Delivery and Research leadership.

Project Commercial Governance

Oversee commercial administration across the full project lifecycle, from contract readiness and project setup through delivery, billing and project closeout.
Confirm that required documentation, approvals, commercial assumptions, billing requirements and vendor arrangements are in place before work progresses.
Monitor project commercial health, including budget status, billing progress, purchase orders, vendor commitments, scope changes and outstanding actions.
Ensure risks, exceptions and items outside agreed parameters are identified early, documented and escalated to the appropriate owner.
Provide clear commercial status reporting and financial snapshots to project teams, Finance and leadership.

Contract and Procurement Administration

Coordinate the operational review and administration of client and vendor contracts, statements of work and related project documentation.
Validate legal entities, billing schedules, payment terms, templates, approval routing and authorized signatories against established Harris standards.
Coordinate purchase order creation, vendor onboarding, invoice review and payment follow-up in partnership with Procurement, Finance and project owners.
Use approved tools, including AI-assisted comparison where appropriate, to support version review and identify deviations for escalation; the role does not provide legal advice or replace formal Legal approval.

Financial Project Administration and Closeout

Oversee accurate project-level financial records, billing schedules, vendor invoices, project costs and other required commercial information.
Partner with project owners to track actual and committed spend against budget and ensure financial records remain current throughout delivery.
Confirm that contractual deliverables, billing actions, vendor obligations and required documentation are complete before financial closeout.
Identify unbilled revenue, unresolved costs, missing purchase orders, outstanding invoices and other exceptions that may delay project closure.

Controls, Delegated Authority and Escalation

Administer predefined approvals where documentation, thresholds and governance requirements have been satisfied in accordance with Harris SOPs and delegated authority.
Escalate requests outside delegated authority, policy or agreed commercial parameters to the appropriate CPMO, Finance, Procurement, Legal or business owner.
Maintain clear audit trails and ensure sensitive commercial and financial information is handled accurately and confidentially.

Continuous Improvement and Systems Adoption

Identify recurring issues, control gaps and opportunities to simplify or automate commercial workflows.
Use operational insights from the FPMO to recommend improvements to the CPMO and other process owners.
Support the transition from manual trackers to more integrated workflows as Workfront adoption matures, while maintaining continuity and data quality during the transition.
Promote consistent use of Workfront, Maconomy, Salesforce, Excel and other approved systems and reporting tools.
Help define practical measures of service quality, compliance, workflow adoption, project visibility and timely closeout.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED

Experience

Bachelor's degree in Business, Finance, Operations Management, Commercial Management or a related discipline.
6–8+ years experience within Commercial Operations, Finance Operations, Shared Services, Business Operations, PMO or a similar operational environment.
Experience leading or developing operational support teams within a high-volume, service-oriented organisation.
Demonstrated experience supporting the commercial lifecycle of projects, including contracts, financial administration, procurement coordination, billing or operational governance.
Experience establishing or improving operational processes, governance frameworks and standard operating procedures.
Proven ability to work across multiple business functions, partnering with Finance, Operations, Delivery, Procurement and business stakeholders to improve operational performance.
Experience working within fast-paced organisations undergoing operational change, systems implementation or business transformation.

Technical Skills

Strong commercial and operational acumen, with the ability to balance governance, efficiency and stakeholder service.
Advanced Microsoft Excel skills, with confidence analysing data, producing reports and identifying trends.
Experience using ERP, financial or workflow management systems such as Maconomy, SAP, Oracle, NetSuite, Workfront or similar platforms.
Ability to develop reporting, dashboards and operational controls to improve commercial visibility and decision-making.
Comfortable learning and adopting new technologies, automation tools and AI-enabled operational workflows.

Leadership & Personal Attributes

A builder's mindset, with the ability to establish new processes, challenge existing ways of working and drive continuous improvement.
Strong organisational skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities while maintaining exceptional attention to detail.
Excellent stakeholder management skills, with the confidence to influence and collaborate across all levels of the business.
Commercially minded, with sound judgement and the confidence to operate within delegated authority while recognising when escalation is required.
A proactive, solutions-focused approach, with a strong sense of ownership and accountability.
Passion for developing people, creating scalable operational practices and building high-performing teams.

Financial Project Management Office Coordinator