Head of Transformation Portfolio

Southern Water; Boscombe; On-site; GBP 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Southern Water is seeking a highly accomplished portfolio leader to join the Transformation Directorate and establish an integrated view of transformation and enterprise investment across the organisation. You will report to the Chief Transformation Officer and shape how strategic initiatives, capital programmes, and business change are prioritised and governed to maximise value.

In this role you will lead discussions with executives and Boards, aligning resources with regulatory commitments and

Qualifications

• Experience leading portfolio governance and enterprise transformation.
• Track record engaging with Executive Committees and Boards.
• Ability to balance investment priorities and deliver value.
• Strong strategic thinking with commercial insight.

Responsibilities

• Shape and oversee integrated transformation and investment portfolio.
• Provide portfolio insight and recommendations to senior stakeholders.
• Drive portfolio governance and performance reporting.
• Lead benefits management and value realisation frameworks.
• Identify risks, dependencies and capacity constraints.
• Establish portfolio management excellence and Change Centre of Excellence.
• Enhance transformation capability across investment portfolio management.

Skills

Portfolio leadership

Enterprise PMO

Stakeholder engagement

Governance

Transformation strategy

Job description

At Southern Water, we are entering one of the most ambitious periods of investment and transformation in our history. As expectations from customers, regulators and stakeholders continue to grow, so too does the importance of making confident, evidence-led decisions about where we invest, how we prioritise and what delivers the greatest long-term value. We are seeking a highly accomplished portfolio leader to join our Transformation Directorate and establish a truly integrated view of transformation and enterprise investment across the organisation. This is a rare opportunity to operate at the centre of strategic decision-making, helping shape the future direction of a business responsible for delivering essential services to millions of customers. The Opportunity Reporting into the Chief Transformation Officer, the Head of Transformation Portfolio will provide oversight of Southern Water's enterprise-wide transformation and investment portfolio. You will bring together a diverse portfolio of strategic initiatives, capital investment programmes, business change activity and organisational priorities into a single enterprise view, enabling informed decisions at Executive and Board level. Working closely with senior leaders across the organisation, you will ensure investment decisions are aligned to corporate strategy, regulatory commitments, customer outcomes and long-term value creation. You will lead discussions that determine where resources are invested, how competing priorities are balanced and how the organisation maximises delivery confidence while achieving ambitious transformation goals. This is a role for someone who enjoys operating at the intersection of strategy, investment, governance and executive leadership.

What You'll Be Responsible For

• Shaping and overseeing Southern Water's integrated transformation and investment portfolio
• Supporting Executive leaders in strategic investment and prioritisation decisions
• Providing portfolio insight, challenge and recommendations to senior stakeholders
• Driving best-in-class portfolio governance, performance reporting and assurance
• Leading enterprise-wide benefits management and value realisation frameworks
• Identifying strategic risks, dependencies, opportunities and capacity constraints
• Establishing portfolio management excellence and leading the Change Centre of Excellence
• Enhancing our organisational capability across transformation, investment portfolio management and business change

About You

You are likely to be operating within a large, complex organisation where investment decisions, strategic prioritisation and governance are critical to business success.

You may currently hold a leadership position such as:

• Head of Portfolio Management
• Enterprise PMO Director
• Portfolio Director
• Transformation Director
• Head of Strategic Programmes
• Director of Enterprise Change
• Head of Investment Governance

Most importantly, you will bring the credibility, judgement and influence required to engage confidently with Executive Committees, Boards and senior stakeholders.

You will have a track record of helping organisations answer difficult questions:

• Which investments create the greatest value?
• Where should resources be prioritised?
• What risks threaten successful delivery?
• How can transformation outcomes be accelerated?

You combine strategic thinking with commercial insight and have the confidence to challenge constructively, influence decisions and shape outcomes at the highest levels.

Why Join Southern Water?

This is not simply a leadership role within a transformation function. It is an opportunity to influence the future direction of an organisation delivering one of the UK's most important infrastructure and environmental investment agendas. You will work alongside executive leaders to shape the decisions that matter most, creating the structure, governance and strategic clarity that enables long-term success.

For an exceptional portfolio leader seeking the opportunity to make a lasting impact at enterprise scale, this is a truly unique career opportunity. Lead the portfolio. Shape the strategy. Influence the future.