Job Description

• Provide leadership of the portfolio team and the functions within it. Lead and manage the Portfolio team currently consisting of 15 FTE.
• Provide direct line management for a number of B3 resources.
• The Portfolio team are responsible for Portfolio management across Digital.
• This includes roadmap of change, risk, dependency, benefits and finance management.
• Ownership of the portfolio pipeline, assess and report on portfolio health and support improvements to the delivery of benefits.
• Establish a culture of data driven decision-making.
• Provide support throughout the change lifecycle –working with business stakeholders to identify and priorities change.
• Drive improvements within the Portfolio function.
• Continuously review Portfolio team and functions against best practice.
• Review the resource requirements for Portfolio team, in the light of recent growth of our portfolio demands.
• Provide leadership and direction in providing guidance to programmes and projects in relation to governance and best practice. Ownership of the Intranet Portfolio Hub ensuring staff have access to guidance in relation to Portfolio governance and processes.
• Ensure Portfolio team members are supported and have clear objectives that align to strategic aims.
• Provide coaching to the team and when required wider members.
• Champion Portfolio across the company and develop working relationships with other portfolios to ensure visibility and collaboration in developing the Corporate Portfolio. Identify when activities are not aligned to strategic priorities.

Person specification

• Maintain, and continuously improve governance and controls delivering oversight of the portfolio, ensure compliance with gateway and assurance processes.
• Lead the further development of the Project Management Office (PMO) services within the Digital Portfolio Team.
• Provide effective leadership of the portfolio team and develop capability.
• Responsible for oversight of the budget of £60M+, including supporting budget holders in monitoring costs and risks associated with particular programmes and projects within the limits of their delegated financial responsibility.
• Work as part of the Digital Change senior leadership team to plan and track strategic roadmaps giving direction and challenge when needed.
• Review our Governance Model and source feedback.
• Document how the teams and processes interact and make recommendations.
• Support/lead delivering those recommendations.
• Provide support for prioritization and control of programmes and projects, in line with strategic objectives and capacity to deliver.
• Unlock data to assess portfolio health (incl. risks, issues, dependencies, timelines, and financials) for oversight and for exec reporting.
• Exemplify positive customer service behaviors and promote a culture focused on ensuring customer needs are met.
• Focus on Outcomes and benefits.
• Collaborate with the Corporate Portfolio Office and change portfolios in other Directorates to build capability and drive best practice.
• Push decision making to the right level within their teams, where possible reducing unnecessary bureaucracy and simplifying structure.
• As a member of the Digital Change Senior Leadership team the role holder will act as a champion for the wider Digital agenda.

Behaviors

We'll assess you against these behaviors during the selection process:

• Changing and Improving
• Making Effective Decisions
• Communicating and Influencing

We also offer the following range of benefits:

• Civil Service Pension
• Access to employee savings
• Cycle2Work scheme
• 25 days leave, rising to 30 days after 5 years’ service.
• 1 extra privilege day entitlement to mark the King’s Birthday.
• Competitive maternity, paternity and parental leave
• Flexible working and a family friendly approach to work.
• Childcare vouchers unless already registered with the Government Tax Free Childcare Scheme)

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Established record of leading and continuously improving a Portfolio function.
• Highly developed collaboration and communication skills with a wide range of stakeholders and ability to drive and hold stakeholders and suppliers to account.
• Excellent understanding and experience of Portfolio Management capability, functions and processes.
• Situational awareness of what other portfolios are working on and ability to ensure that working practices are iterated to achieve effective delivery.
• Demonstrable ability to focus on the outcome, challenge and improve disproportionate organizational processes where it impacts the pace of the team.
• Knowledge of planning, forecasting, estimating, managing uncertainty, metrics and measurements, contingency planning and road mapping.
• Exemplify leadership behaviors and management of a team. Ability to give clear direction and set goals aligned to strategic objectives.

During the interview process, candidates may be asked to provide further evidence of their skills and Essential/desirable experience (See the candidate pack).

The essential criteria are the following:

• Established record of leading and continuously improving a Portfolio function.
• Highly developed collaboration and communication skills with a wide range of stakeholders and ability to drive and hold stakeholders and suppliers to account.
• Excellent understanding and experience of Portfolio Management capability, functions and processes.
• Situational awareness of what other portfolios are working on and ability to ensure that working practices are iterated to achieve effective delivery.
• Demonstrable ability to focus on the outcome, challenge and improve disproportionate organizational processes where it impacts the pace of the team.
• Knowledge of planning, forecasting, estimating, managing uncertainty, metrics and measurements, contingency planning and road mapping.
• Exemplify leadership behaviors and management of a team.
• Ability to give clear direction and set goals aligned to strategic objectives.