Portfolio Planning & Investment Governance Leader – Senior Vice President

Citi•Jersey City, NJ

1d•Onsite

About The Position

Citi, a leading global bank, seeks a highly motivated and experienced Senior Manager to lead critical technology program management, Investment governance, and strategic initiatives within Services Technology. This role involves significant leadership in budgetary processes, investment lifecycle management, governance frameworks, and driving automation and efficiency through innovative solutions. The successful candidate will play a pivotal role in ensuring financial discipline, optimizing risk management, and fostering collaboration across diverse stakeholder groups, with a focus on enhancing transparency, traceability, and proactive management of technology investments. Citi provides a broad range of financial products and services globally, with Enterprise Operations & Technology teams focused on secure, reliable, and efficient solutions. The company values diversity, respect, merit-based promotion, and personal development, seeking innovators who bring their authentic selves to work and are problem solvers.

Requirements

10+ years of experience
Proven experience in a lead role managing technology budgets, financial reviews, and investment lifecycles within a large organization
Strong understanding and experience with governance, controls, and system enhancement implementation, specifically embedding Process Taxonomy and architectural governance
Demonstrated ability to establish and improve project/program management office (PMO) functions and implement standardized Jira workflows for TM items
Expertise in driving standardization of processes, particularly for Jira workflows or similar project management tools, across multiple LOBs
Experience with technology mandatory initiatives, risk management, and implementing risk escalation processes
Ability to secure funding and manage budget adherence for complex technology programs, including multi-year investments
Demonstrated success in reducing manual reporting and driving headcount efficiencies through automation (e.g., IAM dashboard implementation)
Excellent collaboration, communication, and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to build consensus across diverse LOBs and partner teams (e.g., CTI)
Experience in leading and guiding teams, with a focus on mentorship and fostering team growth
A data-driven approach to decision-making and problem-solving, with experience in financial variance analytics and roadmap traceability
Proven ability to adapt strategy and demonstrate flexibility in overcoming unexpected challenges
Bachelor’s degree/University degree or equivalent experience

Nice To Haves

Experience with generative AI solutions and identifying use cases for automation, serving as an AI/automation liaison
Familiarity with technical risk and cyber risk management
Knowledge of investment planning optimization, architectural review processes, and a comprehensive understanding of Process Taxonomy processes and functions
Experience in the financial services industry
Master’s degree preferred

Responsibilities

Lead budgetary reviews and discussions for Services and Services Technology, supporting senior leadership in check and challenge processes
Drive the Tech mandatory budget allocation process, including collecting estimates from relevant applications and refining a robust budget allocation model
Provide accurate, thorough information and data related to Services Technology investments to senior management
Proactively collaborate with Tech and product teams to enhance investment business cases where augmentation is required
Represent Services Technology at all senior-level workshops and Steering Committees related to the Investment Lifecycle, ensuring Services Tech needs and perspectives are well-represented
Establish and maintain solid governance structures for tech mandatory initiatives, ensuring adherence to budget targets and optimizing financial performance
Manage the TM Program Governance & Budget, contributing significantly to financial discipline and alignment with LOB financial investment and risk management appetites
Reduce residual risk in the investment lifecycle by embedding CEAM, architectural governance, and proactive control checks into intake, planning, execution, and benefit realization
Formalize a review cadence with lead architects against the tech strategy roadmap and principles, including application health and CI/CD readiness to reduce long-term TCO and technical debt
Ensure proper categorization of Investment Requests (IRs) based on benefit types (HC, non-HC cost saves, TCO, tech productivity, revenue protection)
Oversee the integration of comprehensive risk and control frameworks directly into the TM operating model for proactive identification, assessment, and reporting
Provide guidance and support for Architecture & Shared Services PMO management
Drive the implementation of standardized Jira workflows for technology mandatory items across all Services Technology LOBs
Actively address the root cause of VTM (Vulnerability and Threat Management) management delays through initiatives like Starfleet
Oversee the exploration and adoption of generative AI solutions (e.g., Devin.AI) for various use cases, driving productivity savings, and serving as a Services-wide AI/automation liaison
Deploy JIRA automation processes for Tech mandatory EOVS (End of Version Support) and NON EOVS to automatically create and assign JIRAs to scrum teams
Manage and monitor the execution of tasks and track progress towards goals for EOVS and NON EOVS programs within the TM Lifecycle
Foster close collaboration with central teams (e.g., CTI, STP, Services Product and Operations) and various application teams to advance strategic initiatives
Build trust and empathy within the team to improve job satisfaction and productivity
Collaborate with risk and control teams and SMT-delegates to simplify and optimize operating models
Navigate diverse processes across multiple LOBs to achieve consensus on unified standards
Engage with LOB-specific stakeholders to facilitate the TM process for program understanding and process explanation, aligning initiatives and creating Epics/Stories
Partner with data visualization teams (e.g., QlikSense team) to develop and deliver user-friendly dashboards for investment management and reporting (e.g., IAM Dashboard)
Create weekly finance reports, communicating variances and misallocation of investment requests to stakeholders
Utilize data-driven insights to inform budgetary decisions and identify areas for cost reduction
Integrate comprehensive benefit insights into dashboards, encompassing potential, targeted, and realized benefits