Strategic Portfolio Lead

M&G Plc; Stirling; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading savings and investment firm is seeking a Strategic Portfolio Lead to manage the LIFE Technology Portfolio. This role involves overseeing strategic programmes to ensure alignment with business objectives, facilitating stakeholder collaboration, and leading portfolio reporting and analytics. The ideal candidate has extensive experience in portfolio management, strong organizational skills, and a proven track record in agile methodologies. Competitive benefits package and opportunity for flexible work arrangements are offered.

Benefits

Generous pension scheme

38 days annual leave

Health and Protection cover

Market leading parental leave policy

Qualifications

• Extensive experience in portfolio management or related strategic delivery role.
• Strong understanding of business case development and financial management.
• Excellent organisational skills and ability to manage complex portfolios.

Responsibilities

• Oversee the LIFE Technology Portfolio and ensure alignment with business outcomes.
• Champion agile methodologies and foster a culture of continuous improvement.
• Provide clear and actionable insights to senior stakeholders through reporting.

Skills

Portfolio management

Stakeholder management

Agile methodologies

Reporting and analytics

Job description

Our purpose is to give everyone real confidence to put their money to work. With a heritage dating back more than 175 years, we have a long history of innovation in savings and investments, combining asset management and insurance expertise to offer a wide range of solutions.

Our two distinct operating segments, Asset Management and Life, work together to provide access to balanced, long-term investment and savings solutions.

Through telling it like it is, owning it now, and moving it forward together with care and integrity, we are creating an exceptional place to work for exceptional talent.

We will consider flexible working arrangements for any of our roles and also offer workplace accommodations to ensure you have what you need to effectively deliver in your role.

Strategic Portfolio Lead, Life Technology

We are seeking a Strategic Portfolio Lead to oversee the LIFE Technology Portfolio. This pivotal role ensures that all strategic programmes and initiatives are aligned to deliver on our business objectives, with a clear focus on outcomes, benefits, and value creation. You will be responsible for portfolio-level reporting and analytics, business case development, ROI analysis, financial alignment, benefit identification and tracking, and ensuring all activity is well organised, tracked, and connected to our strategic outcomes.

Key Responsibilities

Portfolio Management & Alignment

• Oversee the LIFE Technology Portfolio, ensuring all programmes and initiatives are strategically aligned and contribute to agreed business outcomes.
• Maintain a clear line of sight from portfolio activity to strategic objectives, benefits, and value delivery.
• Ensure robust portfolio governance, prioritisation, and resource allocation.

Planning & Agile Ways of Working

• Aid with portfolio planning cycles, ensuring effective sequencing and scheduling of initiatives.
• Champion agile methodologies and foster a culture of continuous improvement, adaptability, and iterative delivery.
• Support delivery teams with agile practices, ensuring portfolio-level visibility of progress, risks, and dependencies.

Prioritisation & Stakeholder Collaboration

• Facilitate prioritisation discussions across strategy, business, and delivery teams, ensuring resources are focused on the highest value initiatives.
• Work across a diverse stakeholder landscape to balance competing demands and align on shared priorities.
• Build and maintain strong relationships across the strategy and delivery organisation, acting as a trusted partner and connector.

Reporting, Analytics & Financials

• Lead portfolio-level reporting, providing clear, actionable insights to senior stakeholders.
• Develop and maintain analytics to track progress, status, risks, and interdependencies across the portfolio.
• Oversee business case development, ROI analysis, and ensure financial alignment across all initiatives.

Benefits Management

• Identify, define, and track benefits across the portfolio, ensuring all activity is connected to measurable outcomes.
• Establish and maintain benefit realisation frameworks and processes.

Organisation & Delivery Assurance

• Ensure all portfolio activity is well organised, tracked, and status is clearly identified.
• Drive portfolio discipline, ensuring timely and effective delivery of outcomes.
• Connect delivery teams and strategic leads, ensuring strong relationships and shared accountability.

What Success Looks Like

• Deliver a Well-Managed Portfolio: Ensure the LIFE Technology Portfolio is organised, transparent, and delivers on its strategic objectives.
• Connect Strategy to Delivery: Maintain strong alignment between strategic intent and delivery outcomes, ensuring all activity is connected to value and benefits.
• Drive Benefit Realisation: Identify, track, and realise benefits across the portfolio, demonstrating clear ROI and value creation.
• Enable Effective Decision-Making: Provide timely, accurate reporting and analytics to support informed decisions at all levels.
• Champion Agile and Collaborative Ways of Working: Foster a culture of agility, adaptability, and collaboration across strategy and delivery teams.
• Foster Strong Relationships: Build and maintain balanced, collaborative relationships across the strategy and delivery organisation, acting as a trusted partner and connector.

Key Skills And Experience

• Extensive experience in portfolio management, programme management, or a related strategic delivery role.
• Strong understanding of business case development, ROI analysis, and financial management.
• Proven track record in benefits management and realisation.
• Excellent organisational skills, with the ability to manage complex portfolios and multiple priorities.
• Advanced reporting and analytics capability, with experience in portfolio-level dashboards and insights.
• Deep experience with agile methodologies and portfolio planning in agile environments.
• Outstanding stakeholder management and communication skills, with the ability to influence at all levels.
• Experience working in large, complex organisations and navigating matrixed environments.
• Strong understanding of technology strategy and delivery, ideally within digital, data, or transformation contexts.

Recruiter : Martyn Jack

What we offer

At M&G, we’re committed to helping you thrive and supporting your wellbeing, both at work and beyond. Our benefits are designed to help you balance your professional and personal life, while planning confidently for your future. Our UK benefits include:

• As a savings and Investments firm we are proud to offer a valuable pension scheme of 18%, with 13% made up of Employer Contributions and 5% Employee Contributions. We also offer Share Save and our Share Incentive Plan, together with access to financial wellbeing and support services - to help give you real confidence to put your money to work.
• Enjoy 38 days annual leave including bank holidays, with the opportunity to purchase up to 5 extra days and additional flexibility through our Time Off When You Need It policy – to balance your work and personal commitments.
• Our market leading Inspiring Families policy includes comprehensive support and paid parental leave covering maternity, adoption, surrogacy, and paternity leave - as supporting families is a core aspect of our inclusive culture.
• Health & Protection cover including Private Healthcare, Critical Illness cover and Life Assurance for you, with family options - for peace of mind.

To explore more about life at M&G and our full benefits offering, visit Life at M&G

We have a diverse workforce and an inclusive culture at M&G, underpinned by our policies and our employee-led networks who provide networking opportunities, advice and support for the diverse communities our colleagues represent. Regardless of gender, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, nationality, disability or long term condition, we are looking to attract, promote and retain exceptional people. We also welcome those who take part in military service and those returning from career breaks.

M&G is also proud to be a Disability Confident Leader, and we welcome applications from candidates with long-term health conditions, disabilities, or neuro-divergent conditions.

If you need assistance or an alternative means of applying for a role due to a disability or additional need, please let us know by contacting us at: [e-mail]