Portfolio & Program Manager

Portfolio & Program Manager – Smiths Group

This position will be responsible for establishing and maintaining alignment with the PMO structure, governing and overseeing the health of all Portfolio/Program and Project Relationships and Performance within the Divisional Portfolios assigned.

You will own a portfolio of highly visible transformation programs within one or more divisions or regions in delivering Business and Technology enabled transformations within Smiths Group.

This role will work closely with the PMO Director, BIS Business Engagement Managers, Key Stakeholders, BIS Counterparts and 3rd Party Delivery Vendors in successfully delivering Programs of varying nature:

Typical Business Transformational projects include Business Strategy Enablement, Site and Service Centralizations, Process Standardizations and Continuous Improvement Efforts, Regulatory and Statutory Compliance, IoT, Service Excellence Programs, Data Analytics and Collaboration.

Technology Transformational projects ranging from Facilities Build Outs (Data Centre Migrations, Mfg / Office Site/Digital Forges), Security/Compliance, Infrastructure and Architecture, Cloud Strategies and Migrations, Digitalization, Applications and ERP Implementations, Solution Integrations, and Mergers/Acquisitions/Divestitures/Joint Ventures.

The key responsibilities for the role are as follows –

• Direct accountability in appropriately aligning Project / Portfolio Management practices with PMO standards and structure. Regular audits and proper oversight applied.
• Accountable along with the Divisional Business Engagement to the Divisional Portfolio forecasts and tracking of overall spend to approved Budget. This includes monthly reviews of the Portfolio / Project financial trends, and quarterly forecasts of projected spend against the FY approved spend budget.
• Portfolio Management responsibilities for all relevant Divisions ensuring projects are appropriately staffed (BIS, Business, Delivery Partners), structured, governed and accurately reported on throughout the lifecycle of the project/program.
• Properly onboards new Internal and External Project Managers in alignment with the PMO practices, protocols and operating cadence. Ensures compliance on all projects.
• Ensures the accuracy and integrity of all project statuses and artifacts in alignment with the PMO Phase Gate Methodology and Project Audit and Compliance
• Provides Project Portfolio/Program reporting capabilities for all relevant initiatives. Properly ensures all Projects within Portfolio have updated Financial Forecasts and that Project demand and lifecycle management is promptly and properly maintained within the PPM tool.
• Provide Governance and Control over all projects and programs removing barriers and issues that may compromise the health and integrity of the initiative. Ensures timely escalation, issue/resolution and decision making.
• Monitors the scheduling, pricing, and business/technical performance of project/program deliveries against documented objectives.
• Negotiates and prepares contracts by considering the financial conditions, resources, and contractual requirements. Responsible for contract reviews through Commercials / Legal prior to signoff with evidence demonstrated upon audit. Signoff DOA of 50k £ contracts.
• Ensures adherence to master plans and schedules, develops solutions to program / project problems, and directs work of incumbents assigned to portfolio projects from various departments
• Ensures projects are completed on time and within budget. Acts as advisor to Portfolio team regarding projects, tasks, and operations
• Ensures that project milestones and interdependencies are aligned and adhering to approved budgets. Has full authority for personnel actions, managing and addressing performance gaps/constraints of both internal and external Project Management staff
• Adhere to agreed upon PMO best practices in providing the appropriate level of structure and adherence to standards in the development and management of project/program artifacts: governance structure, program management structure, detailed program / project plans, including work breakdown, schedules, cost estimates, resource plans, communication plans, risk mitigation plans and issue resolution plans.
• Establish and maintain strong Governance, Leadership Oversight and Stakeholder Management over all relevant Projects/Programs in ensuring proper visibility and control over the success of the projects.
• Recruiting and performance oversight for relevant SPM/PM and Project resources ensuring they are engaged and supported, skillsets are properly aligned, and performance is appropriately managed. Coach and mentor relevant team members and project managers. May line manage project managers in a matrixed organization.
• Assemble and maintain accountability within cross-functional teams. Provide project leadership, work direction, and constructive feedback. Influence the work of others outside of direct authority to ensure project milestones and deliverables are met, and issues and risks are communicated.
• Communicate and report status to executives, global business partners and all other key stakeholders e.g., Status Reports, Executive Briefings, etc. Demonstrate strong Executive Presence and commitment to quality in the work performed.
• Project manage the successful delivery of one or more projects in multi-faceted, global organization focused on business and technology transformations that demonstrate strong bring business benefits and operational efficiencies. These projects are typically large, global, high visibility and cross-functional in nature. These programs require collaboration at all levels (team contributors to executive level leadership) with a variety of business and technology areas and involve multiple globally located business and project team members.
• Indirectly responsible for the work output of other project team members. Collaborate with the resource managers who are directly managing those team members as needed.

The ideal candidate will have the following skills/experience –

• 10+ years of project/program management experience working in a large organization with cross-functional global teams.
• Ability to effectively influence, interact and collaborate with senior level management. Strong demonstrated Executive Presence is required.
• Ability to manage (indirect) resources in a continuously changing environment with competing demands.
• Lean Six Sigma (Green Belt / Black Belt) certification or work experience preferred.
• Proven track record of successful project/program implementation with definable contributions to the business.
• Strong analytical, problem solving and project/program management skills.
• Strong multi-cultural communication skills, interpersonal skills, and the ability to influence actions/decisions of others. Multilingual experience beneficial.
• Experience of the widest array of business and commercial functions.
• Experience of the widest array of technology capabilities.

About Smiths

At Smiths we apply leading-edge technology to design, manufacture and deliver market-leading innovative solutions that meet our customers' evolving needs, and touch the lives of millions of people every day. We are a FTSE100, global business of around 15,000 colleagues, based in 50+ countries. Our solutions have a real impact on lives across the planet, enabling industry, improving healthcare, enhancing security, advancing connectivity and supporting new homes. Our products and services are often critical to our customers’ operations, while our proprietary technology and high service levels help create competitive advantage. We welcome colleagues with a curious mind, who are happy with responsibility, enjoy a challenge and are attracted by the idea of working at a business with a 170+ year history of innovation, and five global divisions, all experts in their field.

Diversity & Inclusion

We believe that different perspectives and backgrounds are what make a company flourish. All qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment regardless of race, colour, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, economic status, disability, age, or any other legally protected characteristics. We are proud to be an inclusive company with values grounded in equality and ethics, where we celebrate, support, and embrace diversity.