Head of Portfolio Planning - Director

Here at SMBC Group, we want to help you find the next step in your career so read on to discover if this opportunity is the one for you. We like to recognise potential in our people, so we welcome your application even when your experience doesn't perfectly align with the job description. Whilst we'll always strive to be better, we're proud of our inclusive culture, and encourage our applicants and colleagues to be their authentic, unique selves.

United by a sense of purpose towards our customers - to be a trusted partner for the long-term - and our universal banking platform in EMEA, SMBC Group has an international growth agenda and award-winning products, meaning we provide exciting opportunities to work on a diverse range of projects and initiatives. We deliver a full suite of corporate finance products and solutions to our customers as well as investment banking and advisory services, and a range of innovative solutions in global capital markets. Read on to find out how you could enhance your skills and gain valuable experience, by joining us to support our clients transition to a sustainable future.

Purpose of Job

We are looking for a Head of Portfolio Planning (Director) to join our Transformation and Change Management team. You will be responsible for:

• Leading the portfolio planning team providing holistic strategic oversight and visibility across the EMEA change portfolio to enable informed decision making, prioritisation, and optimisation of key initiatives, ensuring effective budget/resource allocation and risk management.
• Overseeing and managing the TCMG change portfolio including demand management, prioritisation proposal of projects and programmes, monitoring & executive reporting at portfolio level and managing the PPM system.
• Managing TCMG budget/headcount including forecasting and tracking.
• Leading annual planning activities for EMEA Transformation & Change Management Group covering project demand, budget and headcount.

You will bring:

• Proven experience in Transformation, Change, Governance, Planning or COO functions, ideally within financial services, with a track record of driving improvements and delivering strategic initiatives.
• Strong analytical and organisational skills, with advanced Excel, PowerPoint and reporting capabilities, able to translate complex data into actionable management insights and manage competing priorities effectively.
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills, with the ability to influence senior stakeholders, operate effectively in an international environment, and build consensus while maintaining a continuous improvement mindset.

Background

The Transformation and Change Management Group (TCMG) provides the SMBC enterprise professional project, programme and portfolio management (P3M) resource and expertise to the organisation. It was established as an independent, centralized business function operating at a strategic level to provide enterprise-wide oversight, standards and delivery of change. The oversight function includes governance, guidance, best practices, mentoring and up-skilling project managers from other departments and BAU staff.

Accountabilities and Responsibilities

• Lead annual planning cycle, aligning portfolio investments with business objectives, co-ordinating across various teams involved in the delivery of Change and Transformation.
• Own the multi-year financial (spend and benefits).
• Provide insights and analysis to inform prioritisation and enable senior management decision making.
• Act as a trusted advisor to senior leadership on portfolio health and optimization opportunities.

Executive Reporting & Governance

• Manage delivery of high-quality executive reporting (Board / RiskCo / GSGM / Transformation Committee) on portfolio performance, change agenda progress, and strategic alignment.
• Lead Transformation governance forums with insights, and recommendations to inform decision-making.
• Development of planning tools and processes to ensure efficiency and transparency.
• Ensure transparency and traceability of decisions.

Change Demand & Portfolio Oversight

• Manage the intake, triage, and prioritization process for change initiatives across the business.
• Maintain a clear view of demand vs. capacity and ensure alignment with strategic priorities.
• Collaborate with delivery leads to monitor progress, risks, and interdependencies across the portfolio.

Budget & Resource Management

• Manage the end-to-end portfolio budget, including forecasting, tracking, and variance analysis.
• Oversee team-level expense management and headcount planning in alignment with demand.
• Partner with Planning, IT & Finance to ensure accurate and timely reporting of financials and resource.
• Headcount management: providing a consolidated view of headcount requirements across IT and non-IT for the purpose of robust budget management, prioritisation and identification of efficiency opportunities.
• Spend management: providing a consolidated view of expense (Opex) and investment (Capex) spend across all Change & Transformation related activities.

Knowledge, Skills, Experience and Qualifications

Essential

• Previous experience in Transformation / Change, Planning, Governance and/or COO (5+ years) preferably within financial services.
• Strong analytical skillset - able to derive management insight from complex data.
• Strong experience of working with MS Excel, Word and PowerPoint.
• Strong organisational skills including ability to set and communicate operating cadence/timelines.
• Ability to efficiently multitask.
• Clear verbal and written communication skills at multiple levels (English) in an international context.
• Ability to remain calm under pressure.
• Proven ability to engage stakeholders at multiple levels and capable of influencing to gain agreement and resolve conflict.
• Embracing a mindset of continuous improvement.

Desirable

• Experience of developing Transformation processes and strategy.
• Experience of working with financial and/or headcount planning tools (e.g. Anaplan).
• Experience of design and build of Operational Management Information (MI) including use of relevant tools/systems (e.g. QlikSense, GCP Analytics, PowerBI, Tableau etc.).
• Financial Management or other relevant professional qualifications.

Challenges

The current management information in this domain is relatively immature and enhancement will require co-ordination across a number of internal teams. Not all of the programmes/projects and associated budget is owned by TCMG so require co-ordination between a number of other teams e.g. ITSD, STPD.

What we offer

For all the expertise and experience you bring to help us make a difference, it's only sustainable if we support you to build your career and be your best self so we offer competitive company benefits, centred around promoting positive well-being and work-life balance. We also believe in fostering a diverse and inclusive work environment, where all team members' perspectives and contributions are valued.

Initiatives in place which promote a diverse and inclusive culture and healthy work life balance include hybrid working, Sport & Social Clubs and Diversity and Inclusion networks. As an employee of SMBC you have access to a host of both useful and exciting benefit offerings.

• Hybrid and flexible working.
• Competitive paid leave days.
• Benefits to support your physical wellbeing, including private medical insurance and life and invalidity insurance.
• Various policies to support your mental wellbeing, including a robust behavioural health network with counselling and coaching services.
• Access a wide range of learning and development opportunities and career progression opportunities.
• Ambitious remuneration package.

We recognise our role as a bank to support social change and welcome all applications, including those from groups often under-represented in financial services. We value the uniqueness of professional and personal backgrounds and perspectives as they play a vital role in continuing the sustainable growth of our organisation. We'll ensure reasonable adjustments to our recruitment process are offered due to a disability or long-term condition whenever requested. We are committed to transparent and equitable pay practices. Compensation is determined using objective criteria, including skills, experience, and role responsibilities, and applied consistently throughout our recruitment processes. We do not request candidates' pay history and are committed to preventing unjustified pay disparities.