Portfolio Business Partner - Permanent

Portfolio Business Partner
Reports to Head of Enterprise Planning
Direct Reports N/A
Location
Team London or Manchester

Background
Our client is at a pivotal point of transformation, looking to enhance its operational efficiency and strategic execution. The EPMO (Enterprise Portfolio Management Office) is at the heart of this change, driving the development and implementation of best practices across the organisation. We seek a dynamic and versatile Portfolio Business Partner to help them through this exciting journey of growth and innovation.

The Role
Change will play a critical role in enabling the client to achieve its strategic ambitions. With an ever-increasing pace and evolving customer needs, the client needs to ensure that its product and change portfolio is delivered effectively and efficiently. As a result a new Enterprise Portfolio Management capability is being established to plan, monitor, assure and report on delivery of all initiatives across the business.

The Enterprise Portfolio Management Office will be responsible for improving the strategic alignment and value for money of the client's change portfolio. It will ensure that: all change activity aligns to strategic objectives; there is transparency and clarity around change portfolio prioritisation, delivery and outcomes; there is increased focus on the outcome and value of change; delivery standardisation (in the form of best practice procedures, tools, techniques & methodologies) is driven into the organisation where it makes sense for there to be greater consistency and scalability; a capable change delivery community is created to enable greater sharing of best practices. It will also help drive the transition to a greater product mindset and outcome-based organisation.

The EPMO additionally provides the objective 'single source of truth' view of delivery performance for the portfolio and leads the management / resolution of cross-programme risks, issues and points of contention to maximise effectiveness of change implementation. It also acts as the central custodian for information and knowledge management.

The Portfolio Business Partner will collaborate with key business stakeholders, particularly project / programme Business Owners and Delivery Leads, to undertake second line-of-defence delivery assurance activities (as part of a defined 3LoD model).

Reporting to the Head of Enterprise Planning, this role will be based in London or Manchester with travel to the other office being a pre-requisite. The role will require a minimum of 8 days a month in the office.

Key Accountabilities
* Work closely with ExCo members and their teams as their 'business partner' to support functional activity planning and integrate these functional plans into the end-to-end enterprise planning processes.
* Lead Second line-of-defence delivery assurance for their portfolio:
o Provide oversight and assurance to drive delivery performance. Conduct monthly reviews of delivery performance to proactively identify improvement opportunities.
o Ensure compliance with the companies delivery methodology, standards, frameworks and templates.
o Ensure that all relevant information relating to initiatives / projects / programmes is updated in Clarity PPM in accordance with expectations and standards.
o Provide Delivery Leads and Business Owners with guidance and support to address issues as well as offer advice on all aspects of EPMO services, standards and controls.
o Early identification and proactive management of risk with mitigations.
o Identify and share of areas of delivery excellence to support an overall increase in capability across the organisation's delivery landscape.
* Act as the liaison between the EPMO and functions, ensuring that initiatives are appropriately managed and controlled to enable successful delivery.
* Drive and facilitate cross-functional engagement and interlock across all planning activities.
* Maintain an in-depth understanding of all initiatives in their area of the portfolio.
* Ensure accurate reporting of the status of all portfolio initiatives in their area of the portfolio.
* Support the ongoing maintenance and refresh of the Enterprise Plan.

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Skills and Experience
* Portfolio / Programme / Project Management Expertise - Strong understanding of a range of management methodologies, tools and best practices.
* Business Partnering - Demonstrable practical experience of operating in a Business Partnering capacity within a complex organisation.
* Assurance - Significant practical experience in design and delivery of assurance for programmes and projects, operating within a 3LOD model. Understands the concept of 3LOD and the role of a portfolio assurance service within a well-executed model.
* Analytical Mindset - Attention to detail with strong analytical and problem-solving abilities.
* Flexibility - Adaptable and able to manage multiple priorities in a dynamic environment.
* Collaboration - Excellent relationship development and management skills with the confidence to effectively challenge others where appropriate, including at ExCo and SLT level.
* Stakeholder Management - Ability to manage a complex set of stakeholder interactions, both internal and external, and resolve conflicting priorities if required.
* Change Management - Ability to influence, shape and drive improvement initiatives and lead / deliver successful change in large, fast-paced and complex programme environments with multiple internal and external stakeholder groups.
* Effective Communication - Excellent communication and interpersonal skills with an ability to rapidly interpret complex technical information and provide clear, concise insight and reporting that drives effective leadership decision making
* Resilience - Strong initiative and drive, self-motivated with an aptitude to work well under pressure and with low supervision.

Qualifications
* Batchelor's Degree in a relevant field OR equivalent professional experience in a related field.
* Industry recognised PPM certification preferred (e.g. MoP, P3M, MoR, PRINCE2, MSP).