Croydon Council and Arras
Recruiting the right PMO staff
"We are delighted; when we hit a difficult situation you were pragmatic and we were confident you would find the right candidate, which you did! We look forward to working with you in the future!"
Croydon Council, like other local government organisations across the UK, are experiencing a prolonged period of change and renewal. Internally, the council's programme and project management capability was undergoing a large transition in terms of restructuring across the main departments throughout the whole council.
PMO and P3O Requirements
The new P3O guidance was used by Croydon Council to create a new Corporate PMO structure; Arras People had already recruited the new PMO Manager a few months previously to head up the challenge of implementing the new PMO services. The Council then needed an experienced and knowledgeable P3O professional as Programme Support Officer within the newly constructed Corporate PMO.
The Support position was required in regards to embedding the processes and procedures. Due to the nature of the organisation – budgets were tight and location was not ideal for most seasoned P3O professionals. The client required a good deal of experience for a budget constrained salary.
Finding P3O Professionals - A Hard Task When its Just a Year Old
Having already placed the Corporate PMO Manager with the client we had a good idea of the type of candidate who would be able to quickly add value to the PMO. Next came the search, having exhausted our personal networks (something we at Arras are keen to do is ensure we have a good pool of available project and programme professionals ready to take up a new challenge ASAP) it became apparent a more honed search was required. Having interviewed a number of potential candidates it became apparent who were the strong contenders – a shortlist of three strong candidates was submitted for review by the client and interviews were then arranged.
Exceptional Candidates
An exceptional candidate with a good breadth of PMO support experience and great knowledge of the requirements for successful PMO execution has secured a permanent position within a progressive organisation which will also lend further experience and exposure to PMO set ups and embedding.
Working Outside a PSL
Croydon Council already has a PSL in place and approached Arras People to work outside that PSL as a niche recruitment business. We often work outside PSLs because high street recruiters have little knowledge and understanding of terms like P3O.
Other public sector organsations can work with Arras People outside PSLs when their requirements are below the £50K procurement rules (contact us for more information) and you can also engage Arras People for contract roles through our Buying Solutions agreement.
Project Managers
Salford City Council's approach to project management recruitment of a number of staff for a Corporate Transformation Programme was led by innovation. Recruiting a large number of project manager's to join a local government, to start all at the same time, is no mean feat. Find out how working with Arras People enabled Salford City Council to successfully complete a project management recruitment campaign.
Procurement PM
Wycombe District Council have worked with Arras People for a number of years; using cost effective project management recruitment solutions to bring on board project professionals on a contract basis. A procurement and tendering project manager was required for a fixed term to drive through a new leisure facility project. Coming on board at the tendering stage, the project manager worked with the council's procurement specialists to manage the OJEC process through to completion.