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 PMO Executive 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: PMO Executive

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.

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, and issues across the project portfolio.

• Facilitate project status meetings, steering committee meetings, and governance reviews; prepare agendas and minutes.

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

• Ensure project documentation (charters, plans, change requests, closure reports) is complete, accurate, and centrally stored.

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

• Ensure compliance with organizational project management methodology (Waterfall/Agile/Hybrid as applicable) and audit readiness.

• Coordinate cross-functionally with Finance, Procurement, and Operations teams on project controlling matters (budgets, POs, vendor tracking, etc.).

2. Data Analysis & Insight Generation (Beyond Standard Reporting)

• Consolidate project controlling data (cost, schedule, resource utilization, milestones) from multiple sources into a single reporting framework.

• Go beyond descriptive status reporting — analyze trends, variances, and patterns across the project portfolio (e.g., recurring causes of delay, budget overrun patterns, resourcing bottlenecks).

• Build and maintain dashboards (Excel/Power BI/Tableau or equivalent) that provide real-time visibility into project health.

• Translate raw data into clear, actionable insights and recommendations for the MD and leadership team — not just what happened but why it happened and what should be done.

• Perform root-cause analysis on underperforming projects and propose corrective actions.

• Support portfolio-level analysis (e.g., resource capacity vs. demand, project prioritization, ROI/benefit tracking).

3. Executive Communication & Presentation

• Prepare high-quality, concise presentation decks and reports for MD and senior/higher management review.

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

• Be able to field questions from senior stakeholders on the spot, articulate rationale behind data/insights, and defend recommendations professionally.

• Tailor communication style/detail level appropriately depending on the audience (technical teams vs. executive leadership).

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

4. Teamwork & Stakeholder Collaboration

• Work closely with project managers, department heads, and cross-functional teams to gather accurate and timely data.

• Build strong working relationships across the organization to ensure PMO is seen as a value-adding partner, not just a reporting function.

• Support and mentor junior PMO staff/interns where applicable.

• Contribute positively to team culture, sharing knowledge and best practices with peers.

Job requirements

Experience & Qualifications:

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

• 3–4 years of relevant working experience in a PMO, project controls, project coordination, or business analysis role.

• Experience working in a PMO environment supporting multiple concurrent projects/programs is highly preferred.

• PMP, CAPM, Prince2, or similar project management certification is an advantage (not mandatory).

Technical Skills

• Strong proficiency in Excel (pivot tables, formulas, data modeling) — advanced level required.

• Familiarity with project management tools (MS Project, Jira, Smartsheet, Primavera, or similar).

• Working knowledge of project financials/controlling (budget vs. actual, cost tracking, EVM basics is a plus).

• Comfortable working with large data sets and able to identify data quality issues.

Soft Skills & Attributes

• Strong analytical and critical thinking skills — able to interpret data and translate it into a clear narrative and business insight, not just numbers on a slide.

• Confident communicator and presenter — comfortable presenting to and being questioned by senior/higher management and the MD.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; able to simplify complex information for different audiences.

• Highly organized, detail-oriented, and able to manage multiple priorities/deadlines simultaneously.

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

• Proactive and self-driven; takes ownership rather than waiting for instructions.

• Comfortable operating in a fast-paced environment with shifting priorities.

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What Success Looks Like in This Role

• Leadership receives timely, accurate, and insight-rich project reports (not just raw status updates).

• The MD and senior management trust this person's analysis and recommendations enough to act on them.

• PMO reporting cadence and quality noticeably improve, reducing time leadership spends chasing information.

• Project risks/issues are surfaced early, with proposed solutions, rather than discovered late.

• The individual is seen as a reliable, credible voice in leadership discussions — not just a data compiler.