Job Description

The Head of Projects & Portfolio Management works into the Director of Corporate systems and alongside the Heads of Product and Programme Managers to actively plan, shape and optimize the Corporate Systems portfolio through ownership of the integrated transformation roadmap and by providing the senior leadership team and key stakeholders with the insight to inform portfolio optimization.

Main Responsibilities

• Ensures transparency and accountability measures are clear at outset.
• Works with Director Corporate Systems, Corporate Systems Leadership team and Project Delivery and Change and Engagement teams to ensure projects are delivering expected benefits and outcomes.
• Maps benefits against strategic objectives.
• Works to manage and shape the transformation portfolio with the Heads of Product, Delivery teams and programme managers.
• Knows what is in the pipeline and what potential blockers exist.
• Works closely with stakeholders, Heads of Product and Director, Corporate Systems to actively shape the portfolio by identifying areas where projects are not delivering or meeting strategic objectives.
• Holds the integrated view of all Corporate Systems (CS) transformation activity, and shares this with CS SLT and key stakeholders as required.
• Provides leadership to the Delivery Teams (project managers) and gathers and produce appropriate reporting at required regularity to enable effective management across the portfolio.
• Works closely with Head of Products and Programme Managers to make recommendations for people resource and budget re-allocation to deliver or defund projects and fund new ideas.
• Gives confidence in the performance of the portfolio, particularly in relation to progress against plan; risk, issue and dependency management; and return on investment (cost v. benefits).
• Runs a regular Portfolio Strategy and Prioritization forum with our Senior Business Stakeholders across the landscape to keep them informed on projects in flight and planned, help ensure prioritization on funding and resourcing and unblock major blockers preventing those in flight or in the pipeline. 
• Works with Heads of Product, Lead PMs, Business Analysts, Change and Engagement, and Programme Managers to identify project resource requirements for CS Programmes and Projects and coordinate appropriate support for each.
• Works closely with key partners in HR and CS Senior leadership team to secure appropriate people resource to ensure delivery across the portfolio.
• Works closely with key partner in Finance and the SLT to track, report and manage spend across the portfolio during the financial year.
• Potential to line manage project management and change management teams within CS.

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Experience of working within a fast paced and complex delivery landscape with multiple stakeholders and domains especially related to SAP projects.
• Demonstrable experience of Portfolio Management for medium and complex delivery within SAP and non-SAP projects. The current CS portfolio comprises >30 programmes and projects, many of them large and/or complex.
• A recognized project/programme management qualification (e.g. PRINCE2 Practitioner, APMP/PQ or Managing Successful Programmes (MSP)).
• Good understanding of, and approach to, benefits management, from strategy to realization.
• Sound financial capability, including cost versus benefit analysis (CBA) and forecasting, and the ability to see the wider implications of financial variance.
• Financial and commercial aptitude; experience of cost Centre management.
• Strong interpersonal skills and a proven ability to develop, maintain and enhance relationships with a variety of internal and external contacts.
• A demonstrable capability for leading teams, motivating colleagues, thinking and communicating in a strategic way which encourages participation in decision making.
• Ability to deal with complexity, ambiguity and change in business focus.
• Negotiation, influencing and facilitation skills required to get things done, convince or persuade others who may be more senior or not under direct managerial control.
• Effective line management and performance management skills, setting and maintaining high standards for themselves and others including ensuring strict controls, standards and governance for our delivery.
• Experience of implementing new initiatives through projects, programmes and change, and balancing the competing demands.
• Has contributed to two or more programmes or change initiatives of substantial duration.
• Experience and knowledge of applying good practice in all aspects of project management and change management.
• Demonstrates an approach to work characterized by commitment, motivation and energy with the ability to remain assured under pressure.
• Experience running a cross domain portfolio senior stakeholder group to aid prioritization and ensure pan portfolio governance and decision making.
• Experience of working with multiple 3rd parties to deliver complex change projects sometimes with hard dependencies between them.
• Current knowledge and understanding of the technologies, workflows and business processes that underpin the delivery of SAP and non-SAP projects and programmes.
• Current knowledge and understanding of technologies that are within the HR, Resource Scheduling, Finance, Procurement, Legal and Safety domains.