Project Oversight Board Terms of Reference

Project Overight Board (POB)

Terms of Reference

1. Role of the Project Oversight Board

The Board is responsible for determining the appropriate level of governance for new projects in the Office.

The Project Oversight Board shall:

• Review and interrogate all new projects to evaluate the level of governance required, decide on the appropriate governance model and inform the programme/project manager;
• Monitor the progress of projects with a focus on adherence to overall high-level objectives/milestones;
• Ensure realistic, honest reporting of progress and issues, to enable well-informed decisions around projects;
• Resolve any competing priorities or other areas of disagreement that may arise from time to time and escalate issues as appropriate;
• Work with, support and guide project teams to ensure delivery of stated objectives;
• Steer implementation of project recommendations;
• Review projects risks on behalf of the Risk Board, ensure appropriate mitigation actions are developed and acted upon in response to those risks and escalate risks of concern to the Risk Board where appropriate;
• Provide visibility into the decision-making process and communicate decisions to the appropriate people (other boards, project managers, wider office, etc.).
• Produce quarterly programme progress reports for MB;
• Oversee but not manage the projects.

 
2. Governance Structure

3. Decision Rights

The MB has delegated responsibility for governance of the designated projects to the Project Oversight Board, which remains answerable to the MB. The Project Oversight Board shall keep MB informed of progress and make MB aware of any issues of significance in a timely fashion. The Project Oversight Board will provide timely quarterly reports to the MB and shall escalate issues/projects to Risk Committee when risks are high or are increasing in a manner which raises concern.

Decisions on significant resourcing issues, e.g. hiring new permanent staff, remain under the remit of the Management Board.

4. Working Methods

Pre-Meeting:

• The secretary shall arrange a pre-meeting briefing with the Chairperson of the Project Oversight Board at least 2 days in advance of the meeting;
• Documentation shall be circulated to the Project Oversight Board members at least 4 days in advance of the meeting;
• Project Oversight Board members shall familiarise themselves with the material in advance of the meeting.

At the Meeting:

• Meetings can proceed provided there is quorum of 51% membership present;
• The chairperson will enable and facilitate open and constructive discussions;
• Participation shall be professional and courteous with open, critical, challenging and objective input from board members;
• Decisions shall be made collectively as a board and members shall respect the confidentiality of board discussions regarding individual opinions expressed;
• The board shall regularly review developments across other governance bodies focusing on cross-cutting issues of relevance;
• The secretary of the Project Oversight Board shall provide a synopsis (8-10 bullet points) of ongoing work and developments to other Governance Boards, highlighting key cross-cutting issues.

Post-Meeting:

•  Draft actions arising shall be circulated to board members within 2 days of each meeting and board members shall highlight any corrections or amendments within 1 week.
• Draft minutes shall be circulated to the board within 1 week of the meeting and board members shall respond with feedback/corrections within a week of receipt of the minutes, following which the minutes shall be made public to internal staff;
• Minutes shall be published within 2 weeks of the meeting.

Reporting to MB:

•  The secretariat on behalf of the Project Oversight Board shall submit quarterly reports to MB.
•  Any action that requires escalation to MB shall be communicated by the secretary of the Project Oversight Board to the secretary of the MB in a timely manner.

General Project Oversight Board Information:

• The Project Oversight Board shall agree and publish a schedule of meetings.
• The Project Governance Unit will maintain an inventory of projects overseen by the board and shall update this as necessary throughout the year.
• The Project Governance Unit will provide the secretariat and organisational support to the Project Oversight Board.
• The secretary to the Project Oversight Board shall maintain a log for recording longer term actions and will keep the Chair informed of any outstanding actions.

5. Membership

The membership of the board shall be set by MB and shall be reviewed annually or as vacancies arise in line with the following guidance:

• Management Board shall appoint the Chairperson and members of the Project Oversight Board.
• There shall be a minimum board membership of six, including the Chairperson, at any one time.
• The secretary shall maintain a record of attendance of board members.