Senior Officer, Transformation Portfolio Management in London

Save the Children International has an exciting opportunity for a Senior Officer, Transformation Portfolio Management to join our global team.

Team and Role Purpose

Save the Children is evolving its organisational structure in order to stay true to its mission, vision and values, whilst being able to withstand external pressures – be those geo-political demands; increasing stakeholder expectations; challenging funding environments; reduced access to funding; or declining trust in large INGOs. This is driven through our ambitious transformation agenda. Our focus is on championing the rights and interests of children worldwide, putting the most vulnerable children first and to do this we need to ensure we effectively connect with the children and families we support as well as the communities and partners we work.

Over the past 8 years, Save the Children has undertaken significant transformation to ensure alignment in our delivery and efficiency in our processes which was critical following Save the Children International being established. The Transformation Portfolio Management team is responsible for defining and maintaining the standards for portfolio management within the organisation, across 60 Offices and 30 Member organisations.

Role purpose

The Senior Officer, Transformation Portfolio Management is a key member of the Portfolio Management Office (PMO) team. The role holder will act as the PMO business partner for a sub-set of the projects within the Transformation Portfolio and is responsible for portfolio-wide activity including dashboards and reporting, governance support, tooling and document management. The role drives the development and adoption of good practice, and coaches Project Managers and Project Leads in the application of the Transformation Delivery Lifecycle, PMO controls and project management tooling to their projects.

Principal Accountabilities

• Tooling: Support in the training and coaching of Project Managers and Project Leads in the use of project management tooling, including the application of project management best practice using the tooling. Manage and maintain project management tooling guidance, and identify and implement opportunities for continuous improvement in use of tooling.
• Dashboards & Reporting: Manage and maintain PMO dashboards and reporting at both project/initiative and portfolio levels, produce regular PMO reporting and dashboards, support projects to develop project-specific dashboards and reporting, and identify and implement opportunities for continuous improvement.
• Change Request Management: Ensure standard change control procedures and impact assessments are applied, and develop and maintain change request guidance and best practice. Provide a key connection between IT, Transformation Delivery and PMO to ensure clear ownership and accountability for delivery against change requests, oversee the tracking of Transformation Delivery & IT change requests and follow-on actions, and escalate, intervene and facilitate decision-making as needed.
• Document Management: Manage and maintain all PMO documentation and repositories, including PMO best practice, ensuring all content is well structured and up to date. Coordinate inputs to documentation owned and managed by PMO and implement continuous improvement in document management.
• Portfolio Management: Support the Head of Transformation Portfolio Management in portfolio-level management, including management of the integrated plan and portfolio RAID. Maintain awareness of key portfolio-level risks and issues and support projects to identify scenarios for mitigating risks or dealing with issues. Support the design and production of internal communications materials related to Transformation Delivery initiatives and PMO.
• Governance: Support in the preparation, facilitation and follow-up for key governance forums including Transformation Steering Groups, and manage PMO-owned forums such as Portfolio Progress Meetings, including developing and managing guidance and all preparation and follow-up. Guide projects in the preparation of high-quality stage gate and other approval documents. Develop strong, positive relationships with all relevant stakeholders across the Transformation Delivery portfolio.

Experience and Skills

Essential

• Knowledge of project, programme and portfolio management practices, standards and methodologies.
• Considerable experience in a PMO role, ideally in a programme or portfolio management office.
• Experience in the use of project and portfolio management tools and experience of supporting tools and good practice adoption.
• A proactive and solutions-orientated approach, excellent problem-solving skills, and the ability to identify and implement solutions.
• Able to build strong relationships within the organisation and influence others.
• Flexible and pragmatic attitude to work, happy to support others to achieve team goals, with the ability to work at pace while maintaining high quality standards.
• Excellent communication skills, fluent in written and spoken English.
• Confident user of standard Microsoft applications, including MS Project, Excel, PowerPoint and SharePoint.
• Ability to work to tight deadlines with strong attention to detail.
• Maintain a calm disposition and positive outlook particularly when working under pressure.

Desirable

• Self-motivated with ability to work autonomously.
• Commitment to the mission, vision and values of Save the Children.
• Non-profit sector knowledge/experience (especially international development projects).
• Second language – French, Spanish or Arabic.

Education and Qualifications

Essential

• Educated to degree level or equivalent work experience.
• Understanding of a structured project methodology (e.g. PRINCE2) or accredited project management training (APM or PMI), including experience leading a project using such a methodology.

Desirable

• PRINCE2 or Project Management Professional (PMP) qualification desirable.

Working at Save the Children International

Save the Children is the world's leading organisation for children, employing ~25,000 staff. We save children's lives. We fight for their rights. We help them fulfil their potential. Through our work in 116 countries, we put the most deprived and marginalised children first. We know that great people make a great organisation, and that our employees play a crucial role in helping us achieve our ambitions for children. We value our people and offer a meaningful and rewarding career, along with a collaborative and inclusive environment where ambition, creativity, and integrity are highly valued. The work here is challenging but is also immensely rewarding. At Save the Children, you will be in good company, working with talented, like-minded individuals who are determined to ensure that all children survive, learn, and are protected. Your contribution will help ensure children's voices are heard at the highest levels, and that we achieve our global strategy, Ambition for Children 2030, and reach every last child.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Equal Opportunities

DEI is core to our vision, values and global strategy. Save the Children is committed to creating a truly diverse, equitable and inclusive organisation, and one which will support us in our vision to ensure every child attains the right to survival, protection, development, and participation. We are committed to equal employment opportunities, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, race, colour, ethnic origin, nationality, disability, marital or civil partnership status, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, caring or parental responsibilities, age, or beliefs and religion. We are committed to diversifying our staff to better represent the communities we serve and actively welcome underrepresented groups to apply. Reasonable adjustments will be made should any candidate invited to interview require this.

Application Information

Please attach a copy of your CV and cover letter with your application. A full copy of the role profile can be found at SCI Careers. It is recommended that you save a copy of the role profile as it will no longer be available after the advert closes. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and the job advert may be closed earlier than advertised subject to the volume of suitable applicants. Please submit your application at your earliest convenience to avoid disappointment.

Due to the high volume of applications we receive, only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Candidates who are successfully shortlisted should expect to hear from us within 2 weeks of the advert deadline.

Our Recruitment Process

Application review by our recruiting team based on your CV and cover letter. Two-stage competency-based interviews with the hiring team. Some recruitment may include an additional assessment or case study stage, or a third stage interview. If successful, you will receive a conditional offer of employment, followed by your contract subject to passing background checks.

We need to keep children and adults safe so our selection process includes rigorous background checks and reflects our commitment to the protection of children and adults from abuse. All employees are expected to carry out their duties in accordance with our Code of Conduct and all policies and procedures relating to Anti-Harassment, Health and Safety, Safeguarding, and DEI and Equal Opportunities.

Save the Children does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment.