Principal Consultant - Data Portfolio & Program Management

Torq • Houston, TX

4d

About The Position

Are you energized by bringing structure, transparency, and execution discipline to complex data and technology transformations? Do you thrive in client-facing environments where you align business priorities, technical delivery, budgets, vendors, and executive stakeholders around a shared roadmap? If so, Torq may be the place for you! We’re looking for experienced Principal Consultants to help our clients lead complex data portfolio and program management initiatives. From enterprise data roadmaps to large-scale transformation efforts, our team helps organizations turn strategic priorities into integrated plans, clear decisions, and measurable business outcomes. In this role, you'll bring strategic thinking, strong execution, and thoughtful leadership to complex data transformation initiatives. Depending on the engagement, you may lead a portfolio of workstreams, establish governance and delivery cadences, manage scope and dependencies, oversee vendors and financials, or partner with executives and technical leaders to navigate complex decisions. You'll operate confidently in high-visibility environments, bring clarity to ambiguity, and help teams stay focused on outcomes rather than activity. Most importantly, you'll create the structure, accountability, and momentum needed to move complex initiatives forward.

Requirements

• Ideally 8+ years of progressive experience in management consulting, enterprise program management, data portfolio management, data and analytics transformation, technology delivery, or a related client-facing field.
• Proven experience leading complex, cross-functional programs or portfolios with accountability for scope, schedule, budget, dependencies, risks, and outcomes.
• Experience managing multiple concurrent workstreams and establishing integrated plans across business, technology, data, and third-party teams.
• Strong executive presence and communication skills, with the ability to frame decisions, communicate trade-offs, challenge assumptions, and facilitate executive and cross-functional conversations.
• Demonstrated experience with milestone planning, dependency and risk management, delivery governance, and portfolio prioritization.
• Experience managing vendors, contracts, statements of work, budgets, forecasts, resources, and other commercial considerations.
• Ability to lead and coach team members while maintaining high standards for deliverable quality, accountability, and client service.
• A four-year degree in Business, Information Systems, Data Science, Computer Science, Engineering, Finance, Economics, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.
• Experience leading enterprise data, analytics, governance, platform, or technology transformation initiatives.
• Strong understanding of modern data ecosystems, including integration, storage, modeling, governance, analytics, data products, and consumption.
• Working knowledge of cloud and data platforms, with the technical fluency to engage architects and engineers, understand dependencies and trade-offs, and challenge solution approaches when needed.
• Familiarity with platforms such as Databricks, Denodo, Tableau, Microsoft Fabric, Snowflake, Microsoft Azure, AWS, or Google Cloud Platform.
• Ability to translate business requirements and roadmap priorities into scalable capabilities and executable delivery plans.
• Familiarity with data governance concepts, including data quality, metadata, lineage, ownership, stewardship, security, privacy, and access management.

Nice To Haves

• Multi-million-dollar portfolio ownership, PMO leadership, or enterprise data roadmap execution.
• Portfolio intake, prioritization, capacity planning, and investment governance.
• Vendor selection, contract negotiation, SOW management, or performance remediation.
• Data platform modernization, cloud migration, or data governance and operating model transformation.
• Agile, hybrid, and traditional program delivery models.
• Experience across industries such as automotive, distribution, financial services, hospitality, entertainment, logistics, or other complex enterprise environments.
• PMP, PgMP, SAFe, Scrum, Prosci, cloud, data platform, or related certifications.

Responsibilities

• Lead complex data, analytics, governance, and platform portfolios that help clients execute enterprise data strategies.
• Partner with executive stakeholders to define portfolio priorities, governance models, roadmaps, and investment decisions that align technology initiatives with business outcomes.
• Build and manage integrated portfolio plans that connect scope, milestones, dependencies, risks, budgets, resources, and measurable outcomes.
• Drive delivery across multiple workstreams by facilitating executive decision-making, resolving dependencies, and maintaining accountability for execution.
• Partner with business leaders, architects, engineers, and vendors to align delivery plans with enterprise data platforms and long-term technology strategies.
• Identify and mitigate delivery, organizational, financial, and technical risks while balancing competing priorities and stakeholder expectations.
• Establish portfolio governance, executive reporting, and performance metrics that provide transparency into progress, financials, risks, and business value.
• Lead and mentor Torq consultants while building trusted client relationships and identifying opportunities for Torq to deliver additional value.
• Contribute to proposals, solution shaping, executive presentations, and practice development initiatives.

Benefits

• Competitive Salary
• Unlimited PTO
• Best-in-class health/vision/dental benefits
• Generous 401K options
• Paid Parental Leave
• Opportunity to be a key player at a highly reputable, fast-growing consulting firm
• High degree of internal mobility and diverse project opportunities

What This Job Offers

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