At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead transformation activities in Finance, ensuring effective reporting and governance.
- Company: Join Sainsbury's, a leading retailer committed to inclusivity and development.
- Benefits: Enjoy discounts, flexible working, private healthcare, and performance-related bonuses.
- Other info: Dynamic team environment with opportunities for continuous learning and career growth.
- Why this job: Shape the future of Finance while driving collaboration and innovation.
- Qualifications: Experience in transformation or portfolio management with strong analytical skills.
The predicted salary is between 55000 - 65000 £ per year.
Location Hybrid – London or Manchester base, with approximately 2 days per week office‑based.
About the team
You’ll join the Finance Operations & Change team at the heart of Sainsbury’s Transformation agenda. Working across Finance, Business Planning and Technology, the team provides clear visibility of change activity, resource demand, and delivery progress. As part of a small, high‑impact team, you’ll help shape how transformation is delivered across Finance—driving consistency, improving connectivity, and supporting informed decision‑making.
More about the role
As Portfolio Manager, you will provide a single, joined‑up view of transformation activity impacting Finance. You’ll ensure consistent data capture, build reporting frameworks, and track programme performance, cost, and delivery milestones. A key part of the role is supporting governance—ensuring projects that are aligned, structured, and progressing effectively—while enabling leadership teams to prioritise with confidence. You will also connect Finance with the wider transformation community by facilitating engagement, supporting alignment sessions, and improving knowledge sharing. Through dependency mapping, resource alignment, and continuous improvement of tooling and processes, you’ll drive collaboration and support effective delivery. You’ll also champion a transformation mindset, enabling agile ways of working and continuous improvement across the organisation.
More about you
You are experienced in working in transformation or portfolio environments, bringing a strong focus on reporting, governance, and programme coordination. Confidence in working with complex data enables the development of your structured approaches and clear outputs that support effective decision‑making. A key strength you bring is creating visibility into transformation demand through consistent data capture and reporting, providing a clear view of change activity, resource requirements, and programme progress. Comfortable in working independently and with ambiguity, you drive activity across multiple stakeholders while building effective relationships. Your communication style adapts to different audiences, including senior stakeholders, ensuring alignment and clarity. You will have regular engagement with wider transformation communities that support collaboration, knowledge sharing, and aligned outcomes across portfolios. Your contribution to decision‑making is demonstrated through supporting the development of metrics, governance frameworks, and milestone tracking, ensuring programmes are structured and delivered effectively. You bring a collaborative mindset that underpins your approach, alongside role‑modeling agile ways of working and a commitment to continuous learning and improvement. You can balance analytical thinking with a pragmatic approach, ensuring delivery at pace while navigating complexity.
Essential criteria
- Proven delivery of transformation or portfolio support, evidenced through structuring, tracking, and reporting on complex programmes and change initiatives.
- Established Management Information and reporting frameworks, demonstrating measurable use of data and dashboards to monitor delivery progress and outcomes.
- Coordinated cross‑functional projects and resource plans, with clear evidence of mapping dependencies and supporting governance and milestone tracking.
- Influenced and aligned stakeholders across business functions, demonstrating tailored communication to drive collaboration and decision‑making.
- Applied structured problem‑solving approaches, evidencing the ability to work independently, navigate ambiguity, and progress competing priorities to completion.
We are committed to being a truly inclusive retailer so you’ll be welcomed whoever you are and wherever you work. Around here, there’s always the chance to try something new — whether that’s as part of an evolving team or somewhere else across the business - and we take development seriously and promise to support you. We also recognise and celebrate colleagues when they go the extra mile and, where possible, offer flexible working. When you join our team, we’ll also offer you an amazing range of benefits. Here are some of them:
- Starting off with colleague discount, you'll be able to save 10% on your shopping online and instore at Sainsbury's, Argos, TU and Habitat, and we regularly increase the discount to 15% at points during the year.
- We've also got you covered for your future with our pensions scheme and life cover.
- You'll also be able to share in our success as you may be eligible for a performance‑related bonus of up to 20% of salary, depending on how we perform.
- Your wellbeing is important to us too. You'll receive an annual holiday allowance, and you can buy up to an additional week's holiday, and we provide private healthcare.
- We also offer other benefits that will help your money go further such as season ticket loans, interest free car loan of up to £10k, cycle to work scheme, health cash plans, salary advance (where you can access some of your pay before pay day) as well access to a great range of discounts from hundreds of other retailers.
- And if you ever need it there is also an Employee Assistance Programme.
- Moments that matter are as important to us as they are to you which is why we give up to 26 weeks’ pay for maternity or adoption leave and up to 4 weeks’ pay for paternity leave.
Please see www.sainsburys.jobs for a range of our benefits (note, length of service and eligibility criteria may apply).
Portfolio Manager in London employer: 慨正橡扯
Sainsbury's is an exceptional employer that prioritises employee growth and well-being, offering a dynamic work culture where innovation and collaboration thrive. With a commitment to inclusivity and flexible working arrangements, employees enjoy a range of benefits including generous discounts, performance-related bonuses, and comprehensive health coverage. The hybrid working model in vibrant cities like London or Manchester allows for a balanced professional and personal life, making it an ideal place for those seeking meaningful and rewarding employment.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Portfolio Manager in London
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Reach out to people in the finance and transformation sectors on LinkedIn. Join relevant groups, attend webinars, and don’t be shy about asking for informational interviews. You never know who might have the inside scoop on job openings!
✨Tip Number 2
Prepare for those interviews! Research Sainsbury’s transformation agenda and think about how your experience aligns with their goals. Practice common interview questions and come up with examples that showcase your skills in governance and programme coordination.
✨Tip Number 3
Show off your data skills! Be ready to discuss how you’ve used data to drive decision-making in past roles. Bring along any dashboards or reports you've created to demonstrate your ability to provide visibility into transformation activities.
✨Tip Number 4
Apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets seen. Plus, it shows you’re genuinely interested in being part of the Sainsbury’s team. Don’t forget to follow up after applying; a little persistence can go a long way!
We think you need these skills to ace Portfolio Manager in London
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your Application:Make sure to customise your CV and cover letter to highlight your experience in transformation and portfolio management. Use keywords from the job description to show that you understand what we're looking for.
Showcase Your Data Skills:Since this role involves a lot of data capture and reporting, don’t shy away from showcasing your analytical skills. Include examples of how you've used data to drive decision-making and improve processes in your previous roles.
Demonstrate Your Communication Style:We value clear communication, especially with senior stakeholders. In your application, give examples of how you've adapted your communication style to different audiences and facilitated collaboration across teams.
Apply Through Our Website:We encourage you to apply directly through our website. It’s the best way to ensure your application gets into the right hands and shows your enthusiasm for joining our team at Sainsbury's.
How to prepare for a job interview at 慨正橡扯
✨Know Your Transformation Stuff
Make sure you brush up on your knowledge of transformation processes and portfolio management. Be ready to discuss how you've structured, tracked, and reported on complex programmes in the past. This will show that you understand the role and can hit the ground running.
✨Data is Your Best Friend
Since this role involves a lot of data capture and reporting, come prepared with examples of how you've used data to drive decision-making. Think about specific metrics or frameworks you've developed and be ready to explain how they improved visibility and governance.
✨Stakeholder Engagement is Key
You’ll need to influence and align various stakeholders, so think of examples where you've successfully communicated with different audiences. Tailor your communication style to show that you can adapt and ensure clarity across all levels of the organisation.
✨Show Off Your Agile Mindset
This role champions agile ways of working, so be prepared to discuss how you've implemented agile practices in your previous roles. Share specific instances where you navigated ambiguity and drove collaboration to achieve successful outcomes.