At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead governance and assurance activities across programmes, ensuring robust oversight and value addition.
- Company: Join NPL, a leader in change management with a collaborative culture.
- Benefits: Hybrid working, competitive salary, and opportunities for professional growth.
- Other info: Dynamic environment with a focus on continuous improvement and excellence.
- Why this job: Make a real impact by shaping change and influencing outcomes at a senior level.
- Qualifications: Significant experience in PMO roles and strong stakeholder management skills.
The predicted salary is between 50000 - 60000 £ per year.
Location: Teddington (Hybrid – typically 2 days per week on site, with flexibility to reduce to 1 day depending on business need)
The Portfolio Office sits at the centre of NPL’s change agenda. We provide integrated oversight, governance, prioritisation, assurance and insight across NPL’s internal and external portfolios – enabling the right change to be delivered at the right time, in the right way, with the right support. We are now seeking a Senior Portfolio Officer to take a visible, influential leadership role within this model. This is not a passive or purely coordinating PMO role – it is a hands-on, delivery facing leadership position where your judgement, challenge and assurance directly influence outcomes.
Operating within a Hub and Spoke model, based centrally within the Portfolio Office (the Hub), and embedded within a major programme (a Spoke), flexing to where senior governance, assurance and decision support are most needed. You will be expected to spend around two days per week on site in Teddington, building strong relationships and providing effective challenge face to face. This may reduce to one day per week over time, but candidates must be comfortable with hybrid working and flexibility.
What You’ll Be Doing
- Lead Governance & Assurance: You will take ownership of assurance activity across programmes and projects, ensuring it is robust, proportionate and genuinely adds value. Lead health checks, start up reviews, stage gates and deep dive assurance activity. Ensure governance cycles run effectively, with clear, high quality evidence presented to boards and committees. Provide independent, constructive challenge to test readiness, controls and delivery confidence. Capture lessons learned and embed them across the portfolio.
- Operate as a Senior Leader: This role requires demonstrable leadership. You’ll be expected to set direction, influence outcomes and act as a trusted authority — not simply work within existing structures. Act as a senior point of contact for delivery teams on PPM frameworks, standards and assurance expectations. Provide leadership and direction to Portfolio Office colleagues when embedded in programmes. Communicate confidently and credibly with senior sponsors, executives and board level stakeholders. Be comfortable challenging assumptions and decisions in a constructive, evidence based way.
- Manage Risk, Dependencies & Value: You’ll play a key role in ensuring NPL understands where its real risks and value lie. Monitor and escalate major risks, issues and dependencies surfaced through governance and assurance. Ensure RAID information is credible, consistent and aligned to agreed standards. Provide informed commentary on benefits, outcomes and value delivery. Champion a culture of benefits realisation and value led decision making.
- Provide Financial & Portfolio Insight: When embedded within programmes, you’ll support financial discipline and portfolio level insight. Support budget tracking, forecasting and financial inputs. Provide analysis to inform prioritisation, sequencing and resource planning. Contribute to evidence based decision making at portfolio level.
- Drive Continuous Improvement: You won’t just operate the system — you’ll improve it. Lead enhancements to governance frameworks, assurance approaches and portfolio processes. Benchmark against external good practice to keep NPL’s standards credible and effective. Actively shape how the Portfolio Office evolves as a Centre of Excellence.
About You
Essential:
- Significant experience in a senior PMO, Portfolio Office or assurance role within complex change environments.
- Strong understanding of portfolio, programme and project governance and assurance.
- Proven ability to lead, influence and challenge senior stakeholders, not just collaborate.
- Excellent analytical skills, sound judgement and confident communication.
- Comfortable operating in delivery facing environments where credibility matters.
Highly Desirable:
- Experience working within a Hub and Spoke or Centre of Excellence model.
- Background in complex, multi stakeholder or public sector organisations.
- Professional qualification or equivalent experience (e.g. APM, MSP, P3O).
- Experience supporting portfolio prioritisation and benefits led decision making.
We actively recruit citizens of all backgrounds, but the nature of our work in specific departments means that nationality, residency and security requirements can be more tightly defined than others. You will be asked about this throughout the recruitment process. To work at NPL, you will need to obtain BPSS security clearance. Please note: Applications will be reviewed, and interviews conducted throughout the duration of this advert therefore we may at any time bring the closing date forward. We encourage all interested applicants to apply as soon as possible.
Senior Portfolio Officer employer: National Physical Laboratory
At NPL, we pride ourselves on being an exceptional employer that fosters a collaborative and innovative work culture. As a Senior Portfolio Officer in Teddington, you will benefit from a hybrid working model that promotes flexibility while engaging directly with senior stakeholders to drive impactful change. We are committed to your professional growth, offering opportunities for continuous improvement and leadership development within a dynamic environment that values diverse perspectives and encourages meaningful contributions.
Contact Details:
National Physical Laboratory Recruitment Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Senior Portfolio Officer
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Reach out to current or former employees at NPL on LinkedIn. A friendly chat can give you insider info and maybe even a referral, which can really boost your chances.
✨Tip Number 2
Prepare for the interview by understanding NPL's change agenda. Familiarise yourself with their governance and assurance processes so you can speak confidently about how your experience aligns with their needs.
✨Tip Number 3
Showcase your leadership skills during interviews. Be ready to share examples of how you've influenced outcomes and challenged assumptions in previous roles. This is key for a Senior Portfolio Officer!
✨Tip Number 4
Don’t forget to apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets seen by the right people. Plus, it shows you're serious about joining the team.
We think you need these skills to ace Senior Portfolio Officer
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your Application:Make sure to customise your CV and cover letter to highlight your experience in governance and assurance. We want to see how your skills align with the Senior Portfolio Officer role, so don’t hold back on showcasing your relevant achievements!
Showcase Leadership Skills:This role is all about influence and leadership. Use your application to demonstrate how you've led teams or projects in the past. We’re looking for examples where you’ve made a real impact, so be specific!
Be Clear and Concise:When writing your application, clarity is key. We appreciate straightforward language that gets to the point. Avoid jargon unless it’s relevant to the role, and make sure your key points stand out.
Apply Through Our Website:We encourage you to submit your application through our website. It’s the best way for us to receive your details and ensures you’re considered for the role. Plus, it’s super easy to do!
How to prepare for a job interview at National Physical Laboratory
✨Know Your Governance Inside Out
Make sure you understand the governance and assurance frameworks relevant to the role. Be prepared to discuss how you've successfully led assurance activities in the past, and think of examples where your challenge and judgement made a difference.
✨Showcase Your Leadership Skills
This role is all about influence and leadership. Prepare to share specific instances where you've set direction and influenced outcomes. Think about how you can demonstrate your ability to communicate confidently with senior stakeholders.
✨Be Ready to Discuss Risk Management
Familiarise yourself with risk management principles and be ready to talk about how you've monitored and escalated risks in previous roles. Highlight your analytical skills and how they’ve helped you provide informed commentary on value delivery.
✨Emphasise Continuous Improvement
Prepare to discuss how you've driven improvements in governance frameworks or portfolio processes. Think about examples where you've benchmarked against best practices and how that has shaped your approach to enhancing systems.
