Portfolio Manager

Railpen • Darlington, SC

7d • Hybrid

About The Position

At Railpen, we’re committed to securing our members’ futures and delivering long-term value through effective change. As Portfolio Manager, you’ll work closely with the Director of Change & Transformation (C&T) PIM to shape, prioritise and govern the portfolio for your supported business area. You’ll provide strategic insight and constructive challenge across demand, investment, capacity, risk and organisational readiness, helping leaders focus resources on the initiatives that deliver the greatest value. Acting as a trusted advisor, you’ll connect business strategy with change delivery and deputise for the Director where appropriate. As a visible leader within C&T, you’ll actively contribute to team anchor days, leadership forums, all-hands meetings, capability communities, offsites and other in-person activities that strengthen collaboration, shared purpose and organisational culture. To learn more about Railpen including our values, culture and purpose, visit our careers page here.

Requirements

• Proven experience in change delivery, strategic planning or leadership within a complex organisational environment.
• Experience working within asset and/or investment management, with an understanding of the associated business, operational and technology change environment.
• Strong strategic thinking, with the ability to translate business strategy and operational priorities into a coherent and deliverable portfolio of change.
• Strong portfolio management, prioritisation, sequencing, investment-planning and governance capability.
• Experience balancing strategic objectives, delivery capacity, organisational readiness, risk and investment constraints to optimise portfolio outcomes.
• Experience facilitating portfolio trade-off discussions, resolving competing priorities and building alignment across senior stakeholder groups.
• Strong understanding of portfolio governance, dependency management, delivery confidence and benefits realisation.
• Commercial awareness, including investment planning, cost-benefit considerations and value optimisation.
• Ability to identify emerging risks, dependencies and opportunities and provide clear, evidence-based recommendations to senior stakeholders.
• Strong stakeholder-management, influencing and facilitation skills, with the confidence to challenge constructively at senior levels.
• Ability to build trusted relationships and operate with credibility, judgement and resilience in complex and ambiguous environments.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to translate complex portfolio information into clear insights and actionable recommendations for leadership teams and governance forums.

Nice To Haves

• Experience operating within a C&T function, portfolio office or enterprise change environment.
• Knowledge of recognised portfolio management frameworks, governance practices and benefits realisation approaches.
• Experience supporting large-scale strategic transformation across multiple business areas.
• A relevant portfolio, programme or change management qualification or professional accreditation.
• Experience within a regulated, financial services, pensions or investment environment.

Responsibilities

• Partnering with, and deputising where appropriate for, the Director of C&T to shape, optimise and govern the portfolio for the supported business area.
• Providing strategic insight, constructive challenge and clear recommendations to support portfolio decision-making, investment planning and long-term business objectives.
• Leading portfolio prioritisation, sequencing and investment-planning activities, assessing demand against strategic value, risk, cost, delivery capacity and organisational readiness.
• Maintaining an integrated view of portfolio status, priorities, budgets, capacity, risks, dependencies and opportunities to support evidence-based decision-making.
• Overseeing portfolio performance, delivery confidence, investment effectiveness, risks and dependencies, ensuring proportionate governance arrangements are in place.
• Facilitating portfolio trade-off discussions and recommending changes to priorities, sequencing or investment where constraints could affect successful delivery.
• Maintaining oversight of change demand, delivery capacity and organisational readiness, working with Project Management, Business Analysis and delivery leaders to balance portfolio outcomes and capability requirements.
• Building trusted relationships with senior business and change leaders, acting as a bridge between business strategy and change delivery and representing the portfolio in leadership and governance forums.
• Anticipating emerging risks, opportunities and portfolio implications, providing clear recommendations before they become immediate concerns.
• Continuously improving portfolio management practices, governance, planning and management information to promote simpler, more consistent and evidence-based decision-making.

Benefits

• A competitive salary (depending on experience) plus generous annual bonus plan
• 28 days annual leave plus bank holidays
• Membership of the Railways Pension Scheme, a Defined Benefit arrangement under which you get a pension for life and a lump sum when you retire, based on your length of service and pay
• 4x Life Assurance cover
• Hybrid and flexible working
• Generous family leave including 12 months full pay maternity leave and 6 months full pay paternity leave

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed