Project Controls Assurance Consultant

Company cultures & job summary

Our client is a well-regarded management consultancy embedded within the UK Defence sector, delivering critical programme support to some of the most complex government portfolios around. They work closely with MOD stakeholders at pace, and the quality of their assurance output directly influences major investment and delivery decisions. This team is supporting a significant portfolio, working alongside Delivery Managers, PMO teams and senior stakeholders to keep large-scale digital and technology programmes on track. It's a high-visibility environment where your expertise will genuinely shape delivery outcomes not just sit in a report. To hit the ground running, you'll need deep, proven experience in project controls assurance, we're talking scheduling, risk, change control, financial forecasting, RAIDO, the lot. You need to be comfortable challenging delivery plans at pace, interrogating MI and producing clear, independent assurance outputs for senior audiences. Sound like you? APPLY TODAY and let's talk.

Working Patterns and location – Hybrid – 3 days on site per week

·        Conduct delivery maturity assessments with Delivery Managers, providing expert coaching and practical recommendations to improve project controls.

·        Lead project controls assurance reviews across programmes, assessing compliance with governance frameworks, standards and methodologies.

·        Review and challenge project schedules, critical paths, milestones and delivery forecasts to ensure they are robust and realistic.

·        Provide assurance across schedule, risk, dependency, change control, financial tracking, resource planning and benefits tracking processes.

·        Conduct regular RAIDO reviews, ensuring risks, issues and dependencies are identified, escalated, mitigated and tracked to closure.

·        Analyse MI across project, programme and portfolio level to identify trends, root causes and areas requiring management intervention.

·        Develop clear assurance reports with prioritised recommendations for senior stakeholders to improve delivery outcomes.

·        Drive consistency in project controls standards, tools, templates and reporting methodologies across the Live Service portfolio.

·        Significant experience in Project Controls, PMO Assurance or Programme Assurance within complex delivery environments.

·        Strong working knowledge of project controls disciplines including planning, scheduling, risk, change control, cost management and governance.

·        Proven experience conducting project assurance reviews, health checks, maturity assessments and control effectiveness reviews.

·        Advanced experience managing and assuring RAIDO processes with effective governance and escalation of delivery risks.

·        Strong ability to interrogate delivery plans, challenge critical path assumptions and identify schedule risks.

·        Experience designing and implementing MI dashboards, KPI frameworks and performance reporting for senior stakeholders.

·        Strong analytical capability — able to transform complex management information into clear, actionable insights.

·        Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills, with the ability to influence decisions at all levels.

The client would also like to see some of the below, but this is not essential:

·        Experience working within MOD or wider UK Government programme environments.

·        Familiarity with NGFN or similar large-scale Defence Live Service portfolios.

·        Professional qualification in project management or controls, such as APM PMQ, P3O or Managing Successful Programmes (MSP).

·        Experience coaching or upskilling Delivery Managers in project controls disciplines.

Our client is committed to providing a diverse and inclusive workplace and welcomes applications from all backgrounds.

Part-time opportunities/flexible working is available to suit individual needs.

Please note that the client has determined that the off-payroll working rules will apply to this assignment and therefore this contract will be run through an Umbrella Company. Income tax and primary national insurance contributions will be deducted at source from any payments made to the intermediary.

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