Portfolio Manager – Reliability Engineering and Operations

Securian Financial • Saint Paul, MN

5d • Hybrid

About The Position

This role serves as the portfolio lead for the Reliability Engineering and Operations (REO) portfolio, providing enterprise level leadership across multiple Enterprise Technology (ET) Operational Excellence capabilities. The portfolio manager is accountable for end-to‑end portfolio execution including demand intake and prioritization, business case development, forecasting and budget approval, and resource planning of prioritized initiatives. By advancing modern service management and operational excellence practices, this role drives measurable improvements in service stability, operational performance, risk reduction, quality, platform engineering, reliability, ITOM, ITAM, ITSMF, DevOps, and resiliency. Through strong governance, communication, and reporting, the portfolio manager ensures alignment and execution across multiple capabilities—including Technical Services and Operations, Platform Reliability and Engineering, Quality and Resiliency, and Reliability Intelligence and Analytics. This leadership reduces disruptions to critical business services, strengthens resiliency, and enables both near‑term operational priorities and long‑term growth objectives. This is a critical role in driving strategic technology initiatives, and this position is responsible for the successful delivery and oversight of a complex portfolio, ensuring alignment with scope, quality, time, and budget to deliver meaningful business outcomes. This role requires a seasoned leader with strong strategic thinking, collaboration, and planning capabilities to bridge technology and business functions throughout the development and implementation lifecycle. The ideal candidate will bring a solid foundation in technology and operations. The ideal candidate will also bring demonstrated experience in reliability engineering, service operations, and operational resilience disciplines, including incident, problem, and change management; service level objectives (SLOs/SLIs/SLAs); observability and monitoring; and disaster recovery and business continuity planning Key focus areas include: Strategic thought leadership and cross-functional collaboration Stakeholder and sponsor communications (internal and external) Reporting and performance metrics Risk assessment and mitigation planning Resource planning Financial oversight and budget control for portfolio.

Requirements

• Minimum of five years managing large, complex portfolios for strategic technology initiatives, demonstrating excellence in portfolio planning, prioritization, and resource management through continued optimization of portfolio resources from a capacity standpoint.
• At least five years of experience in the Enterprise Technology (ET) business or industry, with strong business acumen and understanding of organizational dynamics.
• Deep understanding of technology modernization, simplification, and application rationalization, with proven ability to lead initiatives that align with enterprise goals.
• Background in delivering scalable and appropriate technology solutions that meet business needs and technical requirements.
• Exceptional ability to lead and consult across diverse teams, including communicating portfolio approaches and maintaining alignment with business strategy. Experience managing “upward” among senior leadership is essential.
• Demonstrated success in leading and motivating cross-functional teams, driving engagement and results through matrixed environments.
• High degree of political sensitivity and astuteness, with the ability to leverage informal organizational structures to overcome obstacles and achieve success.
• Strong facilitation skills for large meetings and complex issues, with expertise in change management and developing sound, research-based recommendations.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to effectively present to and engage with all levels of management, technology teams, and external partners. Capable of clearly articulating and “selling” portfolio goals and objectives.
• Proven ability to develop and deliver results within financial and resource constraints, ensuring efficient use of budget and personnel.
• Strong analytical and creative problem-solving skills, with a strategic mindset and execution capabilities.
• Experience with both waterfall and agile methodologies, with practical application in diverse project environments.
• Working knowledge of ITIL/ITSM, ITOM, Agile or hybrid delivery frameworks, and relevant portfolio, service management, workflow, and reporting tools used to manage enterprise technology portfolios. Proficient in tools such as ServiceNow, JIRA, Microsoft productivity suite, and AI-enhanced tools.
• Demonstrated experience in reliability engineering, production operations, or service management environments, including familiarity with incident, problem, and change management, observability, service health practices, and resiliency concepts.
• Experience defining and governing operational KPIs, executive dashboards, and benefits realization measures to support prioritization, transparency, and portfolio decision-making.
• Experience with portfolio forecasting, scenario analysis, investment prioritization, capacity planning, and business case or ROI evaluation across complex technology initiatives.

Nice To Haves

• Bachelor’s degree in business, technology, engineering, or a related field, or equivalent experience; relevant certifications such as PMP, PgMP, PfMP, ITIL, or Agile/SAFe certification preferred.
• Collaboration
• Financial Oversight
• Portfolio Management
• Project Risk Assessments
• Resource Planning
• Stakeholder Relationship Management
• Strategic Thinking

Responsibilities

• Lead Strategic Initiatives: Collaborate with the REO Enablement Leader and Head of REO to provide end-to-end leadership, strategic recommendations, and hands-on implementation for complex, high-priority technology initiatives.
• Executive Partnership: Collaborate with senior executives and leaders across technology and business areas to understand and prioritize business goals, ensuring alignment and driving measurable results.
• Portfolio Planning & Delivery: Define the overall approach, including key deliverables, roadmap, and delivery methodology, to achieve desired business outcomes.
• Stakeholder Communication: Communicate effectively with stakeholders at all levels. Lead regular interactions to inform, alert, negotiate, and maintain a shared vision for the portfolio’s success.
• Documentation Oversight: Direct the creation and ongoing maintenance of all required portfolio documentation and artifacts to ensure transparency and traceability.
• Budget Management: Develop and control portfolio budgets, ensuring expenditures remain within approved financial plans.
• Resource Allocation: Ensure the availability and balance of required skills, competencies, and resources across teams—including internal staff, contractors, and professional service providers.
• Advisory & Relationship Building: Act as a trusted advisor while building and maintaining strong relationships across the broader stakeholder community.
• Execution Oversight: Lead the monitoring of portfolio execution, ensuring progress aligns with the plan and that deliverables are produced as agreed.
• Dependency & Conflict Management: Monitor and coordinate interdependencies across portfolios, proactively resolving conflicts to maintain momentum.
• Benefits Realization: Assess the benefits and impacts of initiatives. Develop and implement business cases, benefits realization plans, and stakeholder management strategies.
• Change Management Leadership: Lead or consult on the development and execution of change management efforts, especially where adoption is critical to achieving business objectives.
• Governance & Compliance: Establish and ensure appropriate governance structures and practices are in place, in accordance with enterprise policies and on behalf of the executive sponsor or senior responsible owner.
• Operational Metrics & Reliability Insights: Define, monitor, and communicate portfolio and service performance metrics, including reliability, availability, resiliency, and operational health indicators, using dashboards and executive reporting to inform prioritization and investment decisions.
• Resilience & Continuity Planning: Partner with engineering, operations, and risk stakeholders to strengthen service resilience through disaster recovery planning, business continuity coordination, operational readiness reviews, and remediation of systemic reliability risks.
• Agile / Hybrid Delivery Governance: Apply Agile, hybrid, or traditional delivery approaches as appropriate to manage cross-team dependencies, sequencing, and execution across product, platform, and operational work.
• Vendor & Partner Oversight: Manage and oversee third-party vendors and professional service providers, including delivery accountability, statement-of-work alignment, performance tracking, and risk escalation where applicable.

Benefits

• Paid time off: We want you to take time off for what matters most to you. Our PTO program provides flexibility for associates to take meaningful time away from work to relax, recharge and spend time doing what’s important to them. And Securian Financial rewards associates for their service by providing additional PTO the longer you stay at Securian.
• Leave programs: Securian’s flexible leave programs allow time off from work for parental leave, caregiver leave for family members, bereavement and military leave.
• Holidays: Securian provides nine company paid holidays.
• Company-funded pension plan and a 401(k) retirement plan: Share in the success of our company. Securian’s 401(k) company contribution is tied to our performance up to 10 percent of eligible earnings, with a target of 5 percent. The amount is based on company results compared to goals related to earnings, sales and service.
• Health insurance: From the first day of employment, associates and their eligible family members – including spouses, domestic partners and children – are eligible for medical, dental and vision coverage.
• Volunteer time: We know the importance of community. Through company-sponsored events, volunteer paid time off, a dollar-for-dollar matching gift program and more, we encourage you to support organizations important to you.
• Associate Resource Groups: Build connections, be yourself and develop meaningful relationships at work through associate-led ARGs. Dedicated groups focus on a variety of interests and affinities, including: Mental Wellness and Disability Pride at Securian Financial Securian Young Professionals Network Securian Multicultural Network Securian Women and Allies Network Servicemember Associate Resource Group

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: Associate degree