DIRECTOR, PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT OFFICE (PMO)

DIRECTOR, PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT OFFICE (PMO)
Recruitment Agency: Morgan Philips Specialist Recruitment
Location: Stevenage, Northern Home Counties, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom
Industry: Energy and Utilities
Employment Type: Permanent, Full-time
Working Arrangement: Hybrid
Annual Salary: £145,000–£155,000
Bonus: Up to the equivalent of three months' salary
Car Allowance: £720 per month

1. ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY

Strong governance, coordinated execution and clear ownership are essential to turning strategy into measurable outcomes.

As Director of Portfolio Management Office, you will lead the governance, coordination and delivery discipline that enables Group IT to execute its strategy.

You will provide an enterprise-wide view of technology change, direct priority strategic projects and coordinate the function's integrated delivery and execution plans.

By connecting strategy, investment, capacity, dependencies, risks and benefits, you will help leaders make timely decisions and ensure commitments translate into practical, controlled delivery.

1. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

A. Strategy Execution and Functional Coordination
You will:

Translate Group IT strategy and leadership priorities into an integrated functional delivery and execution plan.

Coordinate plans across technology towers and enabling teams, creating clear ownership, milestones, outcomes and decision points.

Establish the planning and review cadence for the function, connecting strategic objectives, operational commitments and change activity.

Support the CTO and wider Technology Leadership Team with structured planning, executive briefings, performance insight and follow-through of agreed actions.

Maintain a consolidated view of progress against functional commitments and drive corrective action where required.

Enable effective coordination across Group functions, divisions, suppliers and delivery partners.

B. Portfolio Governance, Investment, Capacity and Financial Control
You will:

Define, maintain and evolve governance frameworks, policies, standards and decision rights that support strategic technology objectives.

Lead portfolio prioritisation, investment planning and capacity planning, balancing value, affordability, resources, risk and delivery confidence.

Create a single enterprise-wide view of technology demand, projects, programmes and product change.

Embed robust business case governance, cost tracking, change control, reforecasting and benefits realisation disciplines.

Align portfolio commitments with financial controls, workforce plans, architecture, cyber, commercial and operational requirements.

Maintain oversight of portfolio spend, forecasts, variances, financial risks and benefits.

Provide decision-quality insight on portfolio health, delivery performance, constraints and trade-offs.

Own and manage the PMO functional budget, ensuring expenditure remains within approved funding and supports agreed priorities.

Control functional expenditure, including purchase commitments, supplier spend, contract costs, accruals and efficiency opportunities.

Ensure governance is proportionate, practical and focused on enabling delivery rather than adding unnecessary bureaucracy.

C. Strategic Projects and Enterprise Delivery
You will:

Sponsor or direct priority strategic projects and cross-functional initiatives on behalf of the CTO and Technology Leadership Team.

Establish clear delivery structures, accountabilities, plans and controls for high-value, complex or business-critical assignments.

Drive successful mobilisation, execution and transition into business-as-usual, ensuring intended outcomes are sustained.

Remove organisational blockers, accelerate decisions and bring together senior stakeholders to enable delivery.

Balance long-term strategic intent with pragmatic actions that deliver near-term value.

Provide hands-on leadership when critical initiatives require recovery, additional control or renewed alignment.

D. Dependencies, Risk, Assurance and Benefits
You will:

Lead the identification, active management and resolution of cross-programme dependencies, constraints and systemic risks across the portfolio.

Establish and maintain a consistent assurance framework that provides visibility and enables escalation and timely interventions across the technology portfolio.

Strengthen traceability from strategic objectives and investment decisions through to delivered outcomes and tangible, realised benefits.

Ensure material delivery, financial, resource, supplier and operational risks are transparent and supported by credible actions.

Oversee post-implementation reviews and use lessons learned to improve future planning and execution.

Provide clear, concise reporting to executive and governance forums, highlighting decisions required and business impact.

E. PMO Leadership and Continuous Improvement
You will:

Build and lead a capable Portfolio Management Office with clear services, standards and accountabilities.

Define and evolve the PMO operating model and delivery framework, ensuring governance, portfolio management and delivery practices remain aligned to organisational needs.

Develop portfolio, programme and project management capability across Group IT and its delivery partners.

Simplify tools, data and processes to improve visibility, consistency and decision-making.

Define meaningful measures for delivery confidence, throughput, value, benefits realisation and governance effectiveness.

Promote a high-performance culture based on inclusion, innovation, constructive challenge and accountability.

As a senior leader, you will also set clear direction, build a high-performing and inclusive team, develop future leadership capability and promote accountability, collaboration and continuous improvement across the PMO and the wider technology function.

1. REQUIRED EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS

Essential Requirements
Strategic Portfolio and Governance Leadership

Proven experience as a director or senior leader in portfolio, programme, governance or strategic delivery within a complex organisation.

Experience establishing or transforming portfolio governance, planning and management office capabilities.

Strong understanding of investment prioritisation, portfolio controls, capacity planning, assurance and benefits management.

Strategy Execution and Delivery Leadership

Experience translating strategy into integrated execution plans, measurable outcomes and coordinated delivery activity.

Track record of leading complex, cross-functional programmes or recovering high-risk strategic initiatives.

Ability to combine strategic perspective with hands-on intervention and delivery discipline.

Executive Stakeholder Leadership

Excellent communication and influencing skills, with the ability to make complex delivery and governance issues clear to senior leaders.

Experience working across business, technology, finance, commercial, risk and operational functions.

Collaborative and pragmatic leadership style, able to create alignment while providing constructive challenge.

People, Partners and Performance

Experience building and leading high-performing multidisciplinary teams.

Experience managing internal teams, professional services and delivery partners against clear outcomes.

Ability to establish meaningful performance measures and use insight to drive action and improvement.

Methods, Tools and Qualifications

Practical experience of portfolio and project management tooling and executive reporting.

Working knowledge of Agile, product-aligned and traditional delivery methods, and when each is appropriate.

Degree-level education or equivalent relevant experience.

Professional qualification such as APM, MSP, PRINCE2, MoP or equivalent.

Desirable Requirements
Experience in infrastructure, utilities, engineering, construction or another federated and operationally complex sector.

Experience supporting technology operating model transformation or enterprise-wide change.

Knowledge of financial planning, commercial governance and supplier management in a technology environment.

Experience developing portfolio maturity models, communities of practice and professional career pathways.

1. THE CURRENT CHALLENGES

The organisation has identified that overall PMO maturity needs to evolve to meet its framework and strategic direction.

The main areas requiring improvement include:

Team capability and professional development.

Organisational buy-in and commitment.

Improved reporting, following implementation of a new PPM tool.

Clear, understood and regularly reviewed IT roadmaps.

Effective prioritisation of portfolio activities.

The successful candidate will be expected to strengthen these areas and improve the overall effectiveness of the PMO.

1. FIRST SIX MONTHS: KEY PRIORITIES

During the first six months, the successful candidate will be expected to focus particularly on:

1. Improving demand versus supply prioritisation

Improving visibility of demand against available delivery capacity and helping leadership make informed trade-offs about what the organisation can realistically deliver.

1. Improving team capability

Developing the skills, effectiveness and performance of the PMO team to support the organisation's strategic delivery requirements.

1. PORTFOLIO SCALE AND FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

The successful candidate will oversee a substantial technology portfolio.

The organisation has provided the following figures:

Several hundred items across the portfolio, including backlog and in-flight activities.

Approximately 200 small change items in delivery at any one time.

Approximately 60 medium, large and transformational projects in flight at any one time.

Capital expenditure projects valued at approximately £10 million to £15 million or more annually.

This requires an experienced portfolio leader capable of managing complex priorities, resources, risks, dependencies and financial commitments.

1. WHAT WILL MAKE AN EXCEPTIONAL CANDIDATE?

The organisation is looking for someone who demonstrates:

A logical problem-solving mindset.

Strong strategic thinking.

The ability to motivate and develop people.

The confidence to act as a sounding board for the CIO/IT Director.

The ability to help drive the strategic direction of IT.

Real drive, ambition and dynamism.

The successful candidate should be comfortable providing constructive challenge, influencing senior leadership and translating strategic direction into measurable delivery outcomes.

1. PMO STRUCTURE AND ORGANISATIONAL INTEGRATION

All IT delivery is expected to come through the Group IT PMO.

There should not be separate divisional PMO teams independently delivering technology change.

The organisation operates an IT Strategic Portfolio Management Office (SPMO) framework. This framework is not intended to govern non-IT divisional activities, such as rolling out a new business process or other organisational changes.

However, the Group IT PMO framework can work alongside divisional frameworks when supporting wider transformation programmes, such as tenant migration.

1. PROJECT MANAGEMENT METHODOLOGIES

The organisation currently operates primarily using Waterfall methodology, with some hybrid delivery approaches.

There are existing extensions to the framework that explain how Agile projects should be delivered.

However, the organisation is not yet sufficiently mature to adopt Agile delivery more extensively.

The successful candidate will therefore need a practical understanding of Waterfall, hybrid and Agile approaches, together with the judgement to apply the appropriate methodology according to organisational maturity and delivery requirements.

1. COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

The position offers:

Annual base salary of £145,000–£155,000.

Annual bonus of up to the equivalent of three months' salary.

Monthly car allowance of £720.

Permanent employment.

Hybrid working arrangement.

Senior leadership responsibility within Group IT.

The opportunity to influence enterprise-wide technology strategy and portfolio execution.