Senior Consultant

University of California San Francisco • San Francisco, CA

13d • Hybrid

About The Position

UCSF Enterprise Strategy & Transformation (EST) seeks an exceptional professional to join our highly skilled and engaged team providing internal consulting services to our dynamic, mission-driven institution. The Senior Consultant provides expert project management services for internal projects, especially large technology system implementations. The EST staff enjoy challenging and impactful project work, professional development opportunities, and an engaging hybrid work environment. Involves assessing organizational and strategic issues and providing guidance through organizational development solutions such as facilitating assessments, strategic planning, and culture-change and process-oriented approaches to enhance institutional performance. Consults with leaders, departments, and committees to address root causes of organizational effectiveness issues using a systematic approach. Analyzes current organizational purpose, structure, relationships, policies, systems, and data. Recommends and facilitates improvements, ensuring alignment with organizational strategy. Senior Consultant - Portfolio Management

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in related Organizational Change, Business Administration or related area and/or equivalent experience / training.
• 12+ years of experience in project/program/portfolio financial management or strategic financial analysis
• Strong understanding of benefits realization and value measurement frameworks
• Advanced knowledge of project, program and portfolio management within the management consulting field, theories, models to assess, design and implement customized, strategic organization interventions.
• Advanced knowledge of the consulting process to effectively lead engagements from inception to conclusion.
• Ability to conceptualize projects, write proposals and draft project plans after consultation with supervisor.
• Demonstrates advanced analytical, problem-solving, project planning and implementation skills.
• Financial acumen, including budgeting, forecasting, variance analysis, and ROI modeling
• Demonstrates skill consulting to managers and groups at all levels.
• Ability to focus on priorities, strategies, and vision.
• Demonstrates ability to learn quickly, reason, synthesize and generalize based on information obtained.
• Sound judgment, ability to draw unbiased conclusions.
• Ability to coach, facilitate and influence people at all levels of the clients teams. Ability to persuade through both logic and appeal to positive motivations.
• Possesses strong consulting, relationship building, and strategic thinking skills.
• Strong facilitation and collaboration skills.
• Demonstrated ability to lead team with minimal input from supervisor.
• Ability to apply change management in implementing programs
• Ability to establish and manage project governance groups.
• Ability to assess needs and design services/programs to meet those needs.
• Demonstrated capacity to anticipate obstacles and plan for contingencies; demonstrated ability to determine relevance and prioritize tasks.
• Applies strong verbal, written communication and presentation skills.
• Has advanced knowledge of the Systems Development Life Cycle to assess, design and implement new technology systems.

Nice To Haves

• Advanced degree preferred.
• Experience in higher education, healthcare, or mission-driven environments preferred
• Financial acumen, including budgeting, forecasting, variance analysis, and ROI modeling
• Some knowledge of the organizational environment of higher education and large research universities to understand client issues, motivations and constraints.

Responsibilities

• Financial Tracking and Reporting Monitor and manage financial performance across all active projects and programs within the internal consulting portfolio. Track budget vs. actuals for each initiative, highlighting variances and supporting corrective actions with project managers and leads. Maintain accurate, timely financial records in ServiceNow SPM and associated tracking systems.
• Portfolio Cost and Resource Analysis Analyze and report on portfolio-level spending trends, resource utilization, and forecasted demand to support strategic resource deployment. Collaborate with HR and project leads to align FTE time allocations and effort tracking with financial forecasts and project goals. Surface early indicators of over- or under-utilization across projects.
• Benefits and Value Realization Tracking Partner with initiative owners to define, validate, and track expected and realized benefits (financial and non-financial) for each initiative. Maintain a benefits realization framework with standardized metrics (e.g., ROI, cost avoidance, efficiency gains, access expansion). Report on value delivery across the portfolio, ensuring alignment with UCSF’s strategic priorities (mission, quality, equity, access).
• Strategic Reporting and Visualization Develop and maintain dashboards and visual reports using Tableau and ServiceNow SPM custom views to inform leadership on project health, value delivery, and investment impact. Prepare monthly and quarterly portfolio reporting packages for executive audiences, including summaries of spend, benefits, risks, and recommendations. Provide actionable insights to support decisions about project prioritization, deferral, or acceleration.
• Tool and Data Stewardship Serve as the subject matter expert (SME) for ServiceNow SPM financial modules and Tableau reports related to project and portfolio performance. Partner with IT, Finance, and PMO stakeholders to ensure data integrity, system enhancements, and reporting automation. Identify opportunities to streamline or enhance financial and benefit tracking processes.
• Governance and Decision Support Support the internal consulting governance process by providing financial and value data to inform intake, triage, and approval decisions. Maintain audit trails and documentation to ensure transparency in how value and financial decisions are made. Participate in portfolio review meetings, presenting insights and highlighting risks/opportunities

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level