Global Head of Projects

You'll be:

The Global Head of Projects leads Jellycat's project delivery function, building and running a robust project portfolio management capability across the business. Reporting to the Global Business Transformation Director, this role leads and develops 2 sub teams of Project Managers (divided between strategic and tactical projects), embeds consistent governance and methodology across all initiatives, and drives clear, proactive stakeholder communication - ensuring projects are delivered on time, on budget and aligned with Jellycat's strategic priorities.

Project Portfolio Management

• Owning and maintaining end to end visibility of Jellycat's project portfolio, covering scope, resourcing, interdependencies, risks and benefits across all live and pipeline initiatives.
• Partnering with the Global Business Transformation Director and senior stakeholders to prioritise, sequence and resource projects in line with strategic objectives and organisational capacity.
• Establishing and maintaining portfolio level reporting, dashboards and KPIs that provide leadership with a clear, real time view of progress, risk and value delivery.
• Identifying interdependencies and conflicts across projects, and proactively managing trade-offs in scope, timeline, budget and resource.
• Leading regular portfolio review forums with senior stakeholders, recommending decisions on prioritisation, investment, and de-scoping or closure where needed.

Team Leadership & Management

• Leading, managing and developing a team of Project Managers, setting clear objectives and creating a culture of accountability, quality and continuous improvement.
• Allocating Project Managers to initiatives based on skills, capacity and business priority, balancing workload and development opportunities across the team.
• Building team capability through coaching, structured development plans and access to relevant training and certifications.
• Leading the recruitment and onboarding of project management talent as the team and portfolio grow.
• Fostering strong, collaborative working relationships between the project team and functional and business teams across Jellycat.

Governance & Methodology

• Designing, implementing and continuously improving a consistent project management methodology, framework and toolkit suited to Jellycat's scale and culture.
• Establishing clear governance structures and escalation routes.
• Ensuring every project has a clear scope, business case, success criteria, budget and benefits tracking from initiation through to closure and post-implementation review.
• Embedding rigorous risk and issue management practices, ensuring risks are identified, owned and mitigated throughout the project lifecycle.
• Championing consistent use of project management tools and systems, driving standardisation, quality and audit-readiness across the team.
• Monitoring compliance with governance standards and taking corrective action where projects deviate from agreed processes.

Stakeholder Communication & Engagement

• Building strong, trusted relationships with senior stakeholders and sponsors across Jellycat, acting as a key point of contact for project delivery.
• Designing and delivering clear, tailored communications for different audiences, from working-level updates through to Executive Committee reporting.
• Ensuring stakeholders are engaged early and appropriately throughout the project lifecycle, managing expectations and building buy-in for change.
• Representing the project management function in senior forums, presenting portfolio status, risks and recommendations with clarity and confidence.
• Acting as an escalation point for project issues, working with sponsors and the Global Business Transformation Director to resolve blockers quickly.

You'll have:

Essential

• 10+ years' experience in project and programme delivery, including significant experience managing a portfolio of concurrent projects across multiple functions.
• 5+ years' experience leading and developing Programme Managers and Project Managers, with strong people leadership and coaching skills.
• Deep expertise in project governance and methodologies (e.g. PRINCE2, MSP, Agile, PMI/PMBOK), with the ability to adapt frameworks pragmatically to organisational needs.
• Excellent stakeholder management skills, with a track record of building credibility and influence at senior and Executive level.
• A strong track record of establishing or significantly improving a PMO or project management function.
• Outstanding written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to translate complex project information into clear, actionable insights for different audiences.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with confidence working with data, budgets and reporting tools.
• Experience operating within a fast-paced, international organisation.

Desirable

• A formal project or programme management qualification (e.g. PRINCE2 Practitioner, MSP, PMP or Agile/Scrum certifications).
• Experience within retail, FMCG, licensing or a global consumer brand.
• Experience using project and portfolio management tools such as MS Project, monday.com or Jira.
• Experience supporting broader business transformation or organisational change initiatives.
• Experience working within a matrix environment, ideally across multiple geographies.