Portfolio Manager

Responsibilities

• Lead the development and continuous improvement of assurance processes that support transition to a service- and product-led digital operating model.
• Communicate the Digital, Data and Cyber vision, strategy and assurance approach to senior stakeholders across the department and wider government.
• Foster a culture of collaboration, innovation and continuous improvement across multidisciplinary teams.
• Design, implement and manage an end-to-end assurance service for new digital services and the procurement or adoption of digital products and tools.
• Monitor and evaluate new assurance service using evidence and data to identify opportunities for continuous improvement.
• Ensure digital services and products comply with relevant legislation, government standards and best practice, including accessibility requirements.
• Provide expert advice and guidance to delivery teams on designing inclusive, accessible, user-centred and sustainable digital services.
• Build strong relationships with senior stakeholders to influence decision-making and manage digital delivery and accessibility risks.
• Champion accessibility, user-centred design and agile ways of working across the organisation.

Essential skills and experience

• Governance and Assurance
• Significant experience designing, implementing and continuously improving governance and assurance frameworks for digital services and products within a large, complex organisation, ideally in the public sector.
• Strong knowledge of UK Government Digital Service (GDS) standards, service assessments and digital assurance practices.
• Experience balancing proportionate governance with agile delivery, enabling teams to deliver at pace while managing risk.
• Accessibility and Inclusive Design
• Extensive knowledge of accessibility legislation, standards and best practice, including WCAG and the Public Sector Bodies Accessibility Regulations.
• Experience providing constructive challenge and building effective relationships to reduce accessibility and usability risks.
• Ability to influence teams and senior stakeholders to embed accessibility throughout the product lifecycle rather than treating it as a compliance exercise.
• Digital Delivery and Transformation
• Strong understanding of agile delivery, product management, service design and user-centred design.
• Experience supporting or leading digital transformation programmes and embedding modern digital ways of working.
• Understanding of multidisciplinary digital teams and the end-to-end lifecycle of digital products and services.
• Planning and Portfolio Management
• Experience helping teams develop realistic delivery plans, manage dependencies and prioritise work effectively.
• Experience using qualitative and quantitative data to inform planning, prioritisation and assurance decisions.
• Service and Process Design
• Experience establishing effective governance, feedback mechanisms and continuous improvement processes.
• Leadership
• Experience building collaborative relationships across multidisciplinary teams and external stakeholders.
• Commitment to developing an inclusive culture that promotes accessibility, continuous learning and high-quality digital delivery.