Investment Portfolio Risk Lead

South East Water; Snodland; On-site; GBP 77,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Excellent Stakeholder pension scheme

5 weeks holiday + bank holidays

Flexible annual leave policy

Volunteer days

Cycle to work

Health cash plan

Life assurance

Wellbeing benefits

Job summary

South East Water is seeking a PMO Portfolio Risk Lead to elevate risk management from foundational tracking to world-class QSRA and QCRA modeling. You will own the risk framework, drive down cost impact risks within a £1bn capital programme, and champion a risk-aware culture across the organisation’s delivery teams.

You will lead the evolution of SEW’s risk capabilities, integrating with the central IPMO hub and reporting to senior leadership and regulators on exposure and contingency.

Qualifications

• Professional certification in Risk Management (e.g., IRM, PMI-RMP).
• Project Management certification (e.g., APM, PRINCE2).
• Facilitation qualification (Desirable).

Responsibilities

• Accountable for the overall risk management framework across all projects.
• Drive down financial and commercial exposure within the c£1bn capital programme.
• Lead risk identification and analysis workshops to foster a proactive risk culture.
• Promote Quantitative Schedule Risk Analysis (QSRA) and Cost Risk Analysis (QCRA).
• Own the Risk Management Systems and integrate with PMO practices.
• Monitor risk responses and escalate strategic risks to senior leadership.
• Consolidate project risks into a portfolio view for trend analysis.
• Mentor staff on risk management best practices and maturity.

Skills

QSRA

QCRA

Risk leadership

Stakeholder management

Facilitation

Financial acumen

Analytical thinking

Cross-functional leadership

Education

IRM/PMI-RMP certification

APM/PRINCE2 certification

Facilitation qualification

Tools

Risk management software

Job description

Summary

Are you a Risk Lead capable of taking South East Water from foundational tracking to world-class QSRA and QCRA modeling?

Do you have a track record of driving down cost impact risks to unlock critical contingency in a massive capital budget?

The PMO Portfolio Risk Lead owns the 'What if' scenarios, protecting the £1billion Capital Programme from uncertainty, including both threats and opportunities.

Operating within the central IPMO hub, you will champion a risk-aware culture across the organisation's 'spokes'. While using an in-house risk system, you will lead the evolution of the function, fulfilling the strong desire to implement Quantitative Schedule Risk Analysis (QSRA) and Cost Risk Analysis (QCRA).

You will be responsible for setting Risk Management Standards, assurance and maturing capabilities to meet SEWs organizational needs. All standards and assurance activity will integrate with broader SEW Risk Management practices and will need to enable escalated mitigation up to Board level. Accountable for driving down the cost impact risks to create efficiency and contingency in the budget.

Without this role, South East Water would face increased project volatility, 'surprises' in delivery, an inability to provide regulators with confidence regarding contingency and exposure and an impact to customer experience.

Main responsibilities

• Accountable for the overall risk management framework to ensure consistent processes across all projects. Sets the risk management standards and systems for all SEW staff.
• Responsible for effective risk management across the c£1bn capital programme, driving down the financial and commercial exposure to risk to enable more effective delivery of target outcomes.
• Lead the facilitation of risk identification and analysis workshops to drive a proactive, risk-aware culture within delivery teams across the organisation.
• Drive, teach and explain the implementation of Quantitative Schedule Risk Analysis (QSRA) to improve confidence in project delivery dates.
• Own the successful, use, implementation and improvements of South East Water's Risk Management Systems.
• Monitor the implementation of risk responses across the organisation to actively control the risk landscape rather than just tracking it.
• Consolidate project-level risks into a portfolio view to identify systemic trends and prioritize significant threats.
• Escalate and advise on strategic risks to senior leadership to enable informed decision-making on exposure and contingency.
• Mentor SEW staff on risk management best practices to continually improve the organisation's maturity.
• Lead rapid impact assessment workshops during major external crises to model scenarios and guide executive response

Skills / Qualifications / Experience

• Professional certification in Risk Management (e.g., IRM, PMI-RMP).
• Project Management certification (e.g., APM, PRINCE2).
• Facilitation qualification (Desirable).
• Clear demonstration of developed/developing leadership skills and capabilities.
• Expert in management skills required to develop a high performing team of Direct Reports.
• Expertise in Quantitative Schedule Risk Analysis (QSRA) and Cost Risk Analysis (QCRA).
• Leadership to inspire, influence and effectively drive a proactive risk culture across all levels at SEW.
• Facilitation skills for running effective risk workshops. Expertise to train and coaching skills to nurture and develop individuals at all levels.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving to identify systemic trends and emerging risks.
• Commercial acumen and strong finance/budget understanding to enable effective management of c£1bn capital portfolio.
• The ability to manage and influence all levels of stakeholders and build collaborative partnerships across business teams.
• Expert and adaptive communicator who successfully tailors complex messages to varied audiences.
• Expert in fully integrating Risk Management practices into core PMO capabilities.
• Expertise in developing and Assuring Risk management Standards and practices.
• Demonstrable experience of increasing responsibilities.
• A track record in leading Project Risk Management activities on large capital programmes.
• A history of establishing Enterprise Risk Management frameworks.
• Proven experience in managing, implementing and ensuring optimal use of Risk Management Systems and Risk Data.
• Extensive experience facilitating risk identification and response planning workshops to senior audiences.
• Significant operational knowledge of aggregating project risks into a portfolio-level view.
• Demonstrable leadership experience and strategy development.

Employees are required to be flexible and to be prepared to perform duties and other tasks within their capabilities. The nature of our business is such that the contents of any job profile are subject to change from time to time.

Grow a career with a meaningful purpose.

We know the communities we serve are diverse. We recognise creativity comes from diversity not similarity. That's why we are enthusiastic about creating inclusion across age, race, gender, ethnicity, religion and identity. You will experience our dedication to equal opportunities and fair treatment for all: through your recruitment, employment and career progression with South East Water.

Benefits package

• Excellent Stakeholder pension scheme, up to 10% employer contribution.
• 5 weeks holiday plus bank holidays per annum, increasing to 6 weeks with length of service.
• Flexible annual leave policy to buy or sell holiday leave.
• Paid volunteering days.
• Cycle to work scheme.
• Health cash plan.
• Life assurance.
• Wellbeing related benefits.

It is necessary for you to have the legal right to work in the UK when you begin employment with South East Water.

Additionally, as part of the employment offer, you will need to pass background, identity, and employment referencing checks.

South East Water kindly asks that recruitment agencies refrain from submitting CVs to our employees or associates without explicit invitation from our HR Resourcing team. CVs sent on a speculative basis will not be acknowledged and will not assume any responsibility for fees or commissions in the event that we hire a candidate who applied directly or subsequently introduced by an instructed agency.

Compensation package

£77,000 - £90,000 p.a. dependant on experience