Senior Officer, Transformation Portfolio Management 

Team and Role Purpose

Save the Children is evolving its organisational structure in order to stay true to its mission, vision and values, whilst being able to withstand external pressures – be those geo-political demands; increasing stakeholder expectations; challenging funding environments; reduced access to funding; or declining trust in large INGOs. This is driven through our ambitious transformation agenda.

Our focus is on championing the rights and interests of children worldwide, putting the most vulnerable children first and to do this we need to ensure we effectively connect with the children and families we support as well as the communities and partners we work.

Over the past 8 years, Save the Children has undertaken significant transformation to ensure alignment in our delivery and efficiency in our processes which was critical following Save the Children International being established.

The Transformation Portfolio Management team is responsible for defining and maintaining the standards for portfolio management within the organisation, across 60 Offices and 30 Member organisations.

About the Role

The Senior Officer, Transformation Portfolio Management is a key member of the Portfolio Management Office (PMO) team. The role holder will act as the PMO business partner for a sub-set of the projects within the Transformation Portfolio and is responsible for portfolio-wide activity including dashboards and reporting, governance support, tooling and document management.

The role drives the development and adoption of good practice, and coaches Project Managers and Project Leads in the application of the Transformation Delivery Lifecycle, PMO controls and project management tooling to their projects.

Key Responsibilities

Tooling: Support in the training and coaching of Project Managers and Project Leads in the use of project management tooling, including the application of project management best practice using the tooling. Manage and maintain project management tooling guidance, and identify and implement opportunities for continuous improvement in use of tooling.

Dashboards & Reporting: Manage and maintain PMO dashboards and reporting at both project/initiative and portfolio levels, produce regular PMO reporting and dashboards, support projects to develop project-specific dashboards and reporting, and identify and implement opportunities for continuous improvement.

Change Request Management: Ensure standard change control procedures and impact assessments are applied, and develop and maintain change request guidance and best practice. Provide a key connection between IT, Transformation Delivery and PMO to ensure clear ownership and accountability for delivery against change requests, oversee the tracking of Transformation Delivery & IT change requests and follow-on actions, and escalate, intervene and facilitate decision-making as needed.

Qualifications

Essential:

• Educated to degree level or equivalent work experience
• Understanding of a structured project methodology (e.g. PRINCE2) or accredited project management training (APM or PMI), including experience leading a project using such a methodology

Desirable:

• PRINCE2 or Project Management Professional (PMP) qualification

Required Skills

Essential:

• Knowledge of project, programme and portfolio management practices, standards and methodologies
• Considerable experience in a PMO role, ideally in a programme or portfolio management office
• Experience in the use of project and portfolio management tools and experience of supporting tools and good practice adoption
• A proactive and solutions-orientated approach, excellent problem-solving skills, and the ability to identify and implement solutions
• Able to build strong relationships within the organisation and influence others
• Flexible and pragmatic attitude to work, happy to support others to achieve team goals, with the ability to work at pace while maintaining high quality standards
• Excellent communication skills, fluent in written and spoken English
• Confident user of standard Microsoft applications, including MS Project, Excel, PowerPoint and SharePoint
• Ability to work to tight deadlines with strong attention to detail
• Maintain a calm disposition and positive outlook particularly when working under pressure

Desirable:

• Self-motivated with ability to work autonomously
• Commitment to the mission, vision and values of Save the Children
• Non-profit sector knowledge/experience (especially international development projects)
• Second language – French, Spanish or Arabic

Additional Information

Reports To: Head, Transformation Portfolio Management

Work Pattern: On-site/Hybrid/Remote with flexible working options available

Location: Any approved Save the Children International office location

Contract Length: Permanent

Right to Work: The successful candidate must have the right to work in the country where the role is based, for the duration of employment

Language Requirements: English

Remit: Global

Working at Save the Children International

Save the Children is the world's leading organisation for children, employing ~25,000 staff. We save children's lives. We fight for their rights. We help them fulfil their potential. Through our work in 116 countries, we put the most deprived and marginalised children first.

We know that great people make a great organisation, and that our employees play a crucial role in helping us achieve our ambitions for children. We value our people and offer a meaningful and rewarding career, along with a collaborative and inclusive environment where ambition, creativity, and integrity are highly valued.