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- Tasks: Lead IT Portfolio Management for Supply Chain and R&D, ensuring tech investments drive business success.
- Company: Join a leading company focused on innovation and inclusivity in the workplace.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, career growth opportunities, and a supportive work environment.
- Other info: Dynamic role with opportunities to mentor and develop high-performing teams.
- Why this job: Make a real impact by shaping technology strategies and driving transformation in key business areas.
- Qualifications: 10+ years in Supply Chain or Technology roles, with strong leadership experience.
The predicted salary is between 80000 - 100000 £ per year.
We are seeking an experienced IT Portfolio Director to lead on IT Portfolio Management and operate as a Programme Director across our Supply Chain and R&D domains, ensuring that technology investments deliver desired business outcomes across Discovery to Launch, Planning, Manufacturing, Logistics, Procurement, and Order‑to‑Cash processes. This position combines strong business partnership, delivery assurance, financial acumen and functional expertise to drive the execution of our strategy and delivery of technology solutions. The Director plays a pivotal role in assessing, shaping, initiating and overseeing the Supply Chain and R&D project roadmaps, influencing technology investment decisions; and developing our project, programme and portfolio management capabilities and teams.
Key Responsibilities
- Portfolio Leadership & Programme Delivery
- Oversee delivery of Supply Chain and R&D technology project and programmes, ensuring on‑time, in‑scope, and on‑budget completion.
- Define and evolve the Project, Programme and Portfolio Management Approaches across the Supply Chain and R&D Portfolio; in alignment with the Change Delivery Framework and IT‑wide governance processes.
- Manage demand intake, prioritization, and sequencing of initiatives in line with business strategy and available capacity.
- Manage major programme‑level risks and dependencies.
- Manage financials and overall cost management across the portfolio.
- Provide portfolio visibility and reporting to senior stakeholders and governance forums.
- Ensure effective collaboration with architecture, platform, data, and infrastructure teams for cross‑domain project delivery.
- Business Partnership & Strategic Alignment
- Build strong business partnership across Wella's extended Supply Chain and R&D leadership teams; managing key stakeholders and supporting them in delivering against our business strategy.
- Support the definition of our business technology strategy and multi‑year roadmaps.
- Partner with Finance, Planning, Procurement, Manufacturing, Logistics, and Regional Supply Chain teams to identify digital enablers that improve operational performance and cost efficiency.
- Ensure all initiatives align with enterprise architecture, data strategy, and technology guardrails.
- Drive business case development, value realization, and benefits reporting for Supply Chain and R&D technology programmes.
- Work collaboratively with platform, data, architecture, and cybersecurity teams, as well as external partners, to ensure seamless technology delivery and operational excellence across the value chain.
- Solution Leadership & Functional Expertise
- Leverage functional and change expertise across Supply Chain and R&D investments to ensure they deliver against our strategy and realise key benefits.
- Partner with the Functional Experts and AMS teams to resolve critical system issues, review proposed changes, and ensure long‑term sustainability of solutions.
- Support decision‑making across solution design, testing, and release management.
- Governance, Risk & Vendor Management
- Embed strong governance discipline across all technology delivery activities in the Supply Chain and R&D domains.
- Oversee vendor performance, ensuring external partners meet contractual obligations and quality standards.
- Ensure compliance with internal audit, data protection, and cybersecurity frameworks.
- Define and monitor KPIs to drive continuous improvement.
- People & Capability Leadership
- Provide leadership to project, programme and delivery leads across the Supply Chain and R&D team.
- Foster a high‑performance culture through mentoring, collaboration, and accountability.
- Build functional capability and ensure succession readiness for critical SAP and digital roles.
- Promote cross‑functional knowledge sharing across business and technology teams.
Key Skills & Competencies
- Project Delivery Discipline – Experience in structured delivery methodologies (e.g., agile, hybrid and waterfall), particularly for R&D systems requiring high stability and regulatory adherence.
- Business Partnership & Stakeholder Management – Proven ability to serve as a strategic interface and thought leader to the business, translating platform capabilities into actionable outcomes for Supply Chain leaders.
- Problem Solving – Strong analytical and problem‑solving skills.
- Vendor & Contract Management – Experience managing vendor performance and ensuring delivery quality across distributed teams.
- Functional Expertise – Strong functional expertise in Supply Chain and/or R&D.
- Enterprise Architecture Acumen – understanding of structured, scalable enterprise systems architecture, including cloud‑readiness and data integration across systems and domains.
Qualifications & Experience
- Education
- Bachelor's degree.
- PMP or APM certification advantageous.
- ITIL certification advantageous.
- TOGAF and/or SAP SD/MM certification or relevant process domain certification advantageous.
- MBA advantageous.
- Experience
- 10+ years of experience in Supply Chain or Technology roles, with at least 5 years in leadership or business partnering positions.
- Proven track record leading technology portfolios or major transformation programmes within FMCG or manufacturing industries.
- Strong SAP functional background, ideally across ECC and/or S/4HANA.
- Experience managing global teams, external vendors, and multi‑country deployments.
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
- Portfolio Delivery: % of projects and initiatives delivered on time, within scope, and within budget.
- Business Satisfaction: NPS or qualitative feedback from Supply Chain and R&D leadership.
- Value Realization: % projects delivering against business case; % ROI delivered for financial business cases.
- Governance Compliance: Adherence to project governance, architecture standards, and risk frameworks.
- Vendor Performance: SLA adherence and quality scores across AMS and external delivery partners.
- Process Efficiency: % improvement in cycle times and automation within O2C and P2P value streams.
Director, IT Portfolio - Supply Chain and R&D employer: Wella International Operations Switzerland Sàrl
Contact Detail:
Wella International Operations Switzerland Sàrl Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫
We think this is how you could land Director, IT Portfolio - Supply Chain and R&D
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Get out there and connect with folks in the industry. Attend events, join online forums, and don’t be shy about reaching out on LinkedIn. You never know who might have the inside scoop on job openings or can put in a good word for you.
✨Tip Number 2
Prepare for interviews by researching the company and its culture. Understand their supply chain and R&D processes, and think about how your experience aligns with their needs. This will help you stand out and show that you're genuinely interested in the role.
✨Tip Number 3
Practice your pitch! Be ready to explain how your skills and experiences make you the perfect fit for the Director role. Focus on your leadership experience and how you've successfully managed technology portfolios in the past.
✨Tip Number 4
Don’t forget to apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets seen. Plus, we love seeing candidates who take the initiative to engage directly with us.
We think you need these skills to ace Director, IT Portfolio - Supply Chain and R&D
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your CV: Make sure your CV is tailored to the role of IT Portfolio Director. Highlight your experience in Supply Chain and R&D, and showcase how your skills align with the key responsibilities mentioned in the job description.
Craft a Compelling Cover Letter: Your cover letter is your chance to shine! Use it to tell us why you're the perfect fit for this role. Mention specific projects or achievements that demonstrate your leadership and strategic alignment capabilities.
Showcase Your Leadership Skills: We want to see your leadership style! In your application, provide examples of how you've led teams or projects in the past, especially in technology or supply chain contexts. This will help us understand your approach to people and capability leadership.
Apply Through Our Website: Don't forget to apply through our website! It’s the best way for us to receive your application and ensures you’re considered for the role. Plus, it makes the process smoother for everyone involved.
How to prepare for a job interview at Wella International Operations Switzerland Sàrl
✨Know Your Portfolio Inside Out
Before the interview, make sure you thoroughly understand the IT portfolio management landscape, especially in Supply Chain and R&D. Familiarise yourself with key projects, methodologies like agile or waterfall, and how they align with business strategies. This will help you speak confidently about your experience and how it relates to the role.
✨Showcase Your Business Partnership Skills
Prepare examples that highlight your ability to build strong relationships with stakeholders. Think of specific instances where you've successfully collaborated with teams across Finance, Procurement, or Logistics to drive technology solutions. This will demonstrate your strategic alignment and partnership capabilities.
✨Demonstrate Financial Acumen
Be ready to discuss how you've managed financials and cost management in previous roles. Bring examples of how you've developed business cases and realised value from technology investments. This will show that you can handle the financial aspects of the portfolio effectively.
✨Prepare for Governance and Risk Questions
Expect questions around governance, risk management, and vendor performance. Brush up on your knowledge of compliance frameworks and how you've ensured adherence to them in past projects. Being able to articulate your approach to managing risks will set you apart as a candidate.