Head of Portfolio Management

The Central Portfolio Office (CPO) sits at the heart of GSTT’s strategic transformation agenda, shaping and managing the portfolio of change projects and programmes to deliver the Trust’s strategy – ‘Better, faster, fairer healthcare for all’.

The Trust has an ambitious capital programme with significant investments in digital technology, medical equipment and estates as well as a wider transformation agenda to transform public healthcare in the UK.

Your role will lead on the delivery and improvement of Portfolio Management across the Trust’s Clinical Groups and Corporate Functions.

To be effective in the role, you will already have experience of supporting organisations to prioritise and deliver their change agendas. If you are passionate about innovation and transformation in public healthcare, and possess strong organizational and communication skills, we invite you to apply.

Main duties of the job

Strategy and Prioritisation: Lead a team of business partners to design, manage and continuously improve the Portfolio Management governance process for Clinical Groups and Corporate Functions.

Benefits Management: Lead on Benefits Management for the Trust. Create and maintain a Trust wide benefits register and ensure regular reporting on benefits realisation to leadership teams and the board to ensure the Trust achieves its strategic objectives.

Major Programmes: Support the Head of Major Programmes and Portfolio to provide assurance on the major programme portfolio (ongoing assurance, gateway reviews, programme health checks).

Team Leadership: As a member of the CPO’s senior leadership team, support the management and development of a team of high performing, senior portfolio management professionals. Lead and deliver special projects as required by the Deputy CEO.

Headlines from Person Specification

• Formal qualification in Project or Programme management (PRINCE 2 or MSP) or equivalent.
• Expert knowledge of operations and/or programme management methodologies and techniques.
• A leader by example with a strong sense of quality and equality and highly effective people and project management skills.
• Excellent interpersonal, communication (written, oral, presentation, facilitation), networking and negotiation skills, including where performance is a cause for concern or delivery objectives are at risk.

About us

Please note: Interviews are due to be scheduled on 25 Feb, however alternative dates may be considered if shortlisted candidates are unavailable on that date.

Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust values

We are…

Caring – we put patients first

Ambitious – we innovate and strive for excellence

Inclusive – we respect each other and work collaboratively

Job description

Job responsibilities

Duties and responsibilities

Strategy and prioritisation

• Work with the wider DCEO team to shape the Trust’s portfolio of programmes and projects in order to deliver its strategy and performance objectives.
• Lead for the Central Portfolio Office on the annual refresh of the Trust Medium Term Capital Plan, working with the strategic finance department. Lead the team of business partners to identify any requirements for capital investment and coordinate the development of high-quality concept cases as an input to prioritisation.
• Influence the annual business planning process to help Clinical Groups and Corporate Functions to identify their top priorities and to align the change portfolio to available bandwidth and resources.
• Provide direct support to Corporate Functions leadership teams to identify their local priorities, and to develop concept cases as an input to the Trust prioritisation process.
• Support the annual business planning process in the Clinical Groups, working with leadership teams to identify transformation priorities and to align the project portfolio with available resources and organizational bandwidth.
• Work in a matrix management style and foster close working relations with other stakeholders across the organization.

Portfolio Management

• Lead the team of business partners to design, manage and continuously improve the Portfolio Management governance process for Clinical Groups and Corporate Functions across the Trust. Act as an expert advisor on portfolio management best practice to Clinical Group and functional leadership teams.
• Actively manage the portfolio management board meetings across the Trust working directly with operational and clinical leaders in order to develop agendas, support the production of papers, and provide chairs briefs.
• Provide challenge to Clinical Group and corporate function leadership teams regarding the progress of specific projects and the alignment of the overall portfolio. Deliver challenging messages constructively to support leadership teams to make difficult decisions regarding the shape of the project portfolio.
• Proactively monitor progress to ensure the portfolio is managed in line with the Trust’s strategy and values, standing financial instructions and project management processes.
• Support and shape the development of multi-year programmes in an evolving, complex and sometimes ambiguous environment.
• Facilitate information and flow of communication between Clinical Group stakeholders and delivery teams across the Trust.
• Own the Trust Project Playbook, a repository of Trust Policy documentation that sets out how change is delivered in GSTT, continuously updating and improving this to effectively communicate how to deliver change.
• Manage change control for the Trust’s change portfolio, applying the new project gateway assessment to any proposals for new work.
• Champion and ensure the use of appropriate project management practices including the use of the digital PPM tool. Provide training and support to Clinical Group stakeholders on the PPM tool.
• Support the Head of Major Programmes and Portfolio to provide assurance on the major programme portfolio (ongoing assurance, gateway reviews, programme health checks).
• Support the development of, and provide assurance on, programme reports going to TEC and TMP.

Benefits Management

• Lead on Benefits Management for the Trust, owning the Trust’s policies and standards for benefits management across the project lifecycle. Identify opportunities to continually improve the process.
• Lead the development and maintenance of a Trust wide benefits register and ensure regular reporting on benefits realisation to the appropriate governance forums. Work collaboratively with the finance function and the operational productivity team to avoid any double counting of benefits.
• Provide expert support to Clinical Groups and Corporate Functions on business case development and benefits realisation.
• Provide direct support and coaching to individual SROs and project teams developing business cases in line with GSTT policy and Treasury best practice.
• Support project SROs to run benefits workshops during business case development to create high quality benefit registers and benefit maps.
• Work with SROs and project teams to produce pre and post go-live benefit reports as requested by the Investment Portfolio Board. Provide constructive challenge where benefits are not being managed effectively.

Major programmes

• Support the Head of Major Programmes and Portfolio to provide assurance on the major programme portfolio (ongoing assurance, gateway reviews, programme health checks).
• Build relationships with major programme teams, acting as the CPO representative on Major Programme project meetings and deputising for the Head of Major Programmes and Portfolio when required.
• Support the development of, and provide assurance on, programme reports going to TEC and TMP.
• Work with the Head of Major Programmes to improve the quality and diversity of reporting on the Trust’s Transformation programme to the Board.

Project Assurance

• Work with the CPO Delivery Leads to define and continuously improve the project assurance process across both capital and non-capital projects.
• Represent the CPO on relevant project and programme boards (both capital and non-capital) in their clinical group, playing an active role to shape and steer top priority projects and provide ongoing assurance.
• Lead on assurance of key programmes across the portfolio, including business case reviews, gateway assurance and project health checks.
• Audit reporting compliance of portfolio, including progress against plan, RAID and finances for non-delivery group projects. Work with project teams to improve the quality of information being provided to senior stakeholders. Apply personal judgement to identify where issues are not being reported and to escalate these to senior decision makers.
• Clearly communicate assurance outputs, including complex and contentious findings and information, to SROs, governance boards and senior decision makers in order to ensure that corrective action is taken for non-delivery group projects.
• Proactively mitigate risk across the delivery portfolio and provide assurance to leadership of effective risk and dependency management for non-delivery group projects.

Financial Management

• Ensure that project-related business plans are underpinned by detailed and robust financial plans through budget planning and negotiation of appropriate budgets.
• Actively monitor expenditure against budget and address problems at an early stage. Work with project teams to improve the quality of financial reporting and forecasting.
• Proactively monitor resource allocation across the clinical group to ensure alignment to the Trust’s strategic priorities.
• Support the commissioning and procurement of products, equipment, services, systems and facilities, as required for the delivery of the clinical group’s portfolio.

Team leadership and development

• Lead a team of four CPO business partners, with full direct line management responsibility for 2 x 8Bs. Support recruitment across the CPO.
• Functional management of other CPO team members (e.g. governance and secretariat).
• Provide peer support to other staff in the CPO, working on cross-CPO projects as required.
• Actively contribute to the wider CPO, proactively identifying opportunities to improve the team’s ways of working.
• Work on special projects for the Head of Major Programmes and Portfolio as required.
• Regular horizon scanning of best practice and ways of working within the sector and within project management.

Personal Development

• Maintain up to date knowledge of a range of relevant skills including project and portfolio management best practice and be responsible for developing and maintaining own CPD programme.

Person Specification

Qualifications/ Education

Essential

• Relevant Masters, equivalent professional qualification or equivalent experience.
• Formal qualification in Project or Programme management (PRINCE 2 or MSP) or equivalent.
• Evidence of recent Continuing Professional Development.

Desirable

• Training or qualifications in Portfolio Management.
• Relevant qualification or equivalent experience in digital/construction programme management and delivery.

Previous experience

Essential

• Evidence of leading successful programme and/or operational performance and improvement at a strategic level including programme management, business case preparation, service initiation/commissioning, contract negotiation, and the development and monitoring of output and outcome measures.
• Extensive programme management experience in large complex organisations, including design, development, implementation and management of change in a multiple stakeholder environment.
• Experience working at senior level in a PMO (programme or business).
• Experience of senior staff performance management, including motivating, developing and coaching.
• Extensive experience facilitating group discussions to design, plan and progress programmes and projects.
• Significant knowledge and understanding of risk management and issue resolution gained through experience.
• Extensive experience developing, monitoring and managing budgets/delivering substantial benefits associated with programmes.
• Experience of continuously improving delivery processes in a complex project environment.

Desirable

• Highly developed knowledge and understanding of the changing NHS environment, strategy, and policy agendas.
• Experience of Enterprise wide portfolio management function.
• Experience of setting up or leading PMO or portfolio management functions.

Skills / Knowledge / Ability

Essential

• Expert knowledge of operations and/or programme management methodologies and techniques.
• Experience of managing complex digital and/or construction programmes.
• Excellent understanding and track record of successful change and programme management.
• A leader by example with a strong sense of quality and equality and highly effective people and project management skills.

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