Portfolio Manager( Maternity Cover) in Orpington

Direct message the job poster from Specac Ltd

Reports to: Head of Innovation

Direct Reports: None

Peers: Product Development Engineers, NPD Leads, Product Management, Process/Production Engineers, Procurement, Customer Support, Quality & Third-Party Partners.

Key Stakeholders:

Internal: Product Management, Sales, Marketing, and Production.

External: Key Customers, OEM Representatives, and Dealers

Position Summary:

We are seeking a strategic and results-driven R&D / NPD Portfolio Manager to oversee and optimise our innovation pipeline. This role is responsible for managing the full portfolio of research and development (R&D) and new product development (NPD) projects, ensuring alignment with corporate strategy, market demands, and financial goals. The ideal candidate will combine strong program management skills with strategic insight to drive innovation from ideation to commercialisation, while implementing structured processes, dashboards, and tracking systems to ensure visibility, efficiency, and timely fulfilment of all projects—including custom and special orders.

Key Responsibilities:

• Portfolio Management: Oversee the end-to-end R&D/NPD portfolio, ensuring projects are prioritized, resourced, and aligned with strategic objectives.
• Strategic Planning: Collaborate with senior leadership to define innovation priorities and long-term development roadmaps.
• Process Development: Establish, implement, and continuously improve standardized portfolio management processes, ensuring transparency and efficiency across all projects.
• Dashboards & Reporting: Design and maintain portfolio dashboards and reporting tools to track project status, resource allocation, timelines, and ROI for leadership decision-making.
• Project Definition and requirement evaluation: Collaborate with Product Managers at the Define Stageto to create detailed project requirements, perform risk assessments, and ensure alignment with strategic objectives and resource availability. Assess project feasibility, risk, and ROI, making recommendations for continuation, re-prioritisation, or termination.
• Custom & Special Orders Management: Track, manage, and coordinate the development, production, and fulfilment of custom and special orders, ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and alignment with customer requirements.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work closely with R&D, marketing, operations, regulatory, and finance teams to ensure seamless execution of development projects and special orders.
• Resource Allocation: Optimise allocation of budgets, talent, and other resources across projects to maximise portfolio impact.
• Performance Tracking: Monitor progress against timelines, budgets, and milestones; provide regular portfolio status updates to leadership.
• Innovation Metrics: Develop and maintain metrics to track portfolio performance, innovation impact, time-to-market efficiency, and special order fulfilment performance.
• Stakeholder Communication: Facilitate transparent communication between project teams, customers (for custom orders), and internal stakeholders regarding portfolio decisions and trade-offs.
• Continuous Improvement: Identify opportunities to streamline development processes, enhance collaboration, and increase portfolio value.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Life Sciences, Engineering, Business, or related field; MBA or advanced degree preferred.
• Proven ability to manage portfolios or programs and drive innovation across R&D or NPD initiatives, preferably in a related industry. Strong portfolio management, program management, and analytical skills.
• Proven ability to prioritise and manage multiple projects simultaneously.
• Experience establishing processes, dashboards, and systems for tracking portfolio performance and special orders.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills; able to influence cross-functional teams.
• Experience with portfolio management tools and software is a plus.
• Strategic thinker with strong business acumen and a results-oriented mindset.
• Understanding of product lifecycle management & stage-gate frameworks.
• Process design and optimisation
• Risk assessment and decision-making
• Program, resource, and order management
• Analytical and problem-solving skills
• Collaboration and stakeholder management
• Innovation-focused mindset

Seniority level

Mid-Senior level

Employment type

Full-time

Job function

Finance, Sales, and Product Management

Industries

Medical Equipment Manufacturing