About the Role

As our new Head of Portfolio, you will operate across the ELT portfolio within Global Technology to ensure consistent planning and drive of delivery for strategic digital products and their enabling ecommerce and marketing priorities with Enterprise Technology Portfolio Delivery.

You will be responsible for Level 1 Portfolio Governance framework to provide holistic view of new business demand shaping, working closely with Front Office, Product and Back Office technology services teams to ensure strategic initiatives and benefits are delivered to quality, cost, and time.

The Head of Portfolio for ELT will also be accountable for providing advanced level planning input to complex assignments and projects through strong leadership to Project Managers and Business Analysts across Global Technology. The role requires a deep level of expertise in building and maintaining strong positive stakeholder relationships and portfolio planning and budgeting. Collaborate and support proactive early prioritising, scoping, and shaping of deliverables from broad high-level concepts and problem statements.

You will have line management responsibilities for a team of business analysts and project managers. Ensuring highly skilled individuals are developed and the portfolio pipeline is appropriately resourced to meet business demand in line to portfolio budget.

This role will collaborate with PMO and other SMEs across Technology and Publishing teams to ensure there is alignment and clarity of approach for all new demand and an ability to drive resolution to complex ambiguous initiatives while work collaboratively with other delivery teams is essential.

We operate a hybrid working policy that requires a minimum of 2 days per week in the Oxford office. 

About You

• Strong background and understanding of portfolio management and end to end delivery models for change initiatives.
• Strong Project Management background including operating in a multi-disciplinary environment.
• Extensive knowledge of shaping and defining Portfolio Governance structures at L1/Executive Level
• Ability to identify, track and concisely define internal and external dependencies across portfolios and projects. Accountable for divisional outcomes and work through ambiguity and define portfolio work packages to deliver to quality, cost, and time.
• Strong stakeholder management skills, able to build collaborative relationships whilst holding to account and having challenging conversations.
• Strong coaching and mentoring skills, track record of developing and mentoring individuals.
• Ability to lead through uncertainty, helping business stakeholders shape demand, assess options and risks to achieve optimum outcomes.

Benefits

We care about work/life balance here at OUP. With this in mind we offer 25 days’ holiday that rises with service, plus bank holidays and Christmas closure (3-days) and a 35-hour working week. We are open to discussing flexibility in respect to working patterns, dependent on role. We also have a great variety of active employee networks and societies. 

We help make your money go further by contributing to your pension up to 12%, offering loans and savings schemes through our partnership with Salary Finance, in addition to travel to work schemes and access to a wide range of local discounts. 

This role comes with the added benefit of private medical insurance and a discretionary annual management bonus.

Please see our Rewards and Recognition page for more information.

Queries

Please contact grace.mcfadyen@oup.com with any queries relating to this role. 

We are committed to supporting diversity in our workforce, and ensuring an inclusive environment where all individuals can thrive. We seek to employ a workforce representative of the markets that we serve and encourage applications from all.