Senior Portfolio Manager

Job number COO01081

Faculties Chief Operating Officer (COO) Team

Salary or Salary range: £68,005 – £77,703 per annum

Location/campus: South Kensington and White City Campus – Hybrid

Contract type work pattern: Full time – Open ended

Posting End Date: 23 Jan 2025

About the role

Imperial is recognised worldwide for being at the forefront of education and research and, at the foundations of our academic excellence, our professional support services play an essential role.

The Strategic Programmes and Change Team at Imperial exists to ensure successful delivery of strategic programmes which deliver business value to enable Imperial’s Strategy as a world changing global powerhouse. The team is organised across three strategic capability areas of Portfolio/Programme, Service Design and Change, and operate a matrix model of working providing resource as determined by the strategic priorities agreed upon by the Operations and Infrastructure Committee. Team members will be expected to work as a blended multi-disciplinary team alongside colleagues in faculties and professional services.

As a Senior Portfolio Manager, you will be joining our team at an exciting time as it expands to lead project, programme and portfolio management across a range of strategic programmes at Imperial which aim to transform our campuses, services and technology in support of our academic endeavour.

We are looking for an experienced Portfolio Manager who is excited by delivering transformation on an organisational scale, with expertise in developing and implementing portfolio management practices across a multi-billion-pound portfolio of digital, people/organisational and infrastructure transformation.

What you would be doing

As a Senior Portfolio Manager, you will be responsible for implementing a portfolio management approach across a varied and complex portfolio of change and transformation programmes.

Your responsibilities will include all aspects of enterprise portfolio management, including implementing a performance evaluation approach to provide quality insights to the Portfolio Board, leading portfolio governance and oversight, portfolio planning, dependency management and resource allocation, programme assurance, and working with our PMO managers to develop and implement programme management frameworks such as risk management, stakeholder engagement and benefits realisation.

Our strategic programmes portfolio includes several ambitious organisation wide change programmes, including the delivery of a new ERP system, development of a new campus, transformation of our existing campus at South Kensington and digital transformation of services for staff and students. Together, these programmes enable the delivery of Imperial’s strategy and academic endeavour and play a key role in realising our mission of science for humanity.

You will work closely with the Project/Programme Managers and Strategic Change team to ensure delivery of these high-profile programmes remains aligned to organisational objectives, and that dependencies are managed effectively within the portfolio and wider in the organisation to maximise the delivery of benefits.

As a senior member of the Portfolio team, you will also play an active role in developing our team culture, and the project delivery capability of our team and wider University.

What we are looking for

To play a leading role in delivering this transformation, we are looking for a qualified and experienced portfolio manager skilled in managing an enterprise level transformation portfolio and adapting a range of programme management approaches to develop best practice across our strategic programmes. You will also be experienced in operating at a senior level to deliver large scale transformation successfully through your combination of technical expertise and stakeholder management skills.

A summary of the key skills/experience we are looking for is below, and you can find the full person specification in the job description.

• Experience setting up and delivering an enterprise portfolio management office function
• Experience in data analysis for portfolio and programme performance, including tracking of benefits and key performance indicators
• Experience in delivering organisation wide or large scale transformation, business change or strategic programmes
• Experience in supporting the delivery of quality, benefits, outcomes and value for money in a range of strategic organisation wide projects or programmes
• Experience of establishing and managing cross organisation project delivery frameworks and processes, including governance, benefits and risk management, and assurance and readiness assessments
• Experience of negotiating and working with a broad range of stakeholders on large programmes
• Experience driving change in a complex organisation, ideally in HE sector or similar environment
• Knowledge of portfolio management practices and how to implement these across a complex portfolio of varied methodologies and programmes
• Knowledge of a range of project management delivery methodologies and how to successfully apply them in different settings
• Confident user of computer software packages at intermediate level, including Microsoft Office products (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook), with additional experience using project management tools (MS Project, Asana, Jira or similar)
• Ability to lead and motivate a team across multiple disciplines and functions with enthusiasm and tenacity
• Ability to engage with stakeholders at all levels, gaining their confidence and trust, with the ability to influence and manage the expectations of others using excellent interpersonal skills
• Ability to take an innovative and forward thinking approach, and able to anticipate and solve problems pragmatically.

What we can offer you

• A leading role in delivering an ambitious transformation agenda within a world leading institution, in support of our mission of science for humanity
• The opportunity to develop your portfolio, programme and change management expertise through managing a varied portfolio of strategic and organisational wide programmes
• An active role in our senior management team, helping to shape our culture of innovation and continuous improvement and develop Imperial’s project delivery capability
• Benefit from sector-leading salary and remuneration package (including 39 days off a year and generous pension schemes)
• Get access to a range of workplace benefits including a flexible working policy from day 1, generous family leave packages, on-site leisure facilities and a cycle-to-work scheme
• Interest-free season ticket loan schemes for travel
• Be part of a diverse, inclusive, and collaborative work culture with various staff networks and resources designed to support your personal and professional wellbeing.

Further information

If you require any further details on the role please contact Zoe Cheung ( )

Please note that job descriptions are not exhaustive, and you may be asked to take on additional duties that align with the key responsibilities mentioned above.

We reserve the right to close the advert prior to the closing date stated should we receive a high volume of applications. It is therefore advisable that you submit your application as early as possible to avoid disappointment.

About Imperial

Welcome to Imperial, a global top ten university where scientific imagination leads to world-changing impact.

Join us and be part of something bigger. From global health to climate change, AI to business leadership, here at Imperial we navigate some of the world’s toughest challenges. Whatever your role, your contribution will have a lasting impact.

As a member of our vibrant community of 22,000 students and 8,000 staff, you’ll collaborate with passionate minds across nine London campuses and a global network.

This is your chance to help shape the future. We hope you’ll join us at Imperial College London.

Our Culture

We work towards equality of opportunity, to eliminating discrimination, and to creating an inclusive working environment for all. We encourage applications from all backgrounds, communities and industries, and are committed to employing a team that has diverse skills, experiences and abilities.

Our values are at the root of everything we do and everyone in our community is expected to demonstrate respect, collaboration, excellence, integrity, and innovation.

#J-18808-Ljbffr