Portfolio Director

Leidos; Farnborough; Hybrid; GBP 80,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

An established industry player is seeking a Portfolio Director to lead a high-profile programme focused on national security. This role requires exceptional leadership skills and the ability to manage a diverse team of professionals. You will be responsible for strategic planning, customer engagement, and ensuring the delivery of critical services. The ideal candidate will possess a strong background in programme management and a passion for solving complex challenges. Join a collaborative environment that values integrity and continuous improvement, and make a significant impact in a role that is both rewarding and challenging.

Benefits

Contributory pension scheme

Private medical insurance

33 days annual leave

Flexible benefits

Qualifications

• Proven experience leading large-scale programmes (£50m+).
• Experience working with UK Government organizations.

Responsibilities

• Manage programme strategy and future pipeline of work.
• Engage collaboratively with customer teams at all levels.
• Ensure delivery of mission-critical services meeting SLAs.

Skills

Programme Management

Customer Engagement

Team Leadership

Financial Management

Systems Thinking

Education

Bachelor's Degree

Project Management Certification

Job description

Description

Portfolio Director

Leidos UK is seeking an experienced and motivated Portfolio Director / Delivery Lead to lead a high-profile programme composed of mission-critical Service Delivery and technology transformation elements to support our National Security. The successful candidate will head a team of senior Programme Managers, Technical Experts, and Service Delivery professionals to drive the delivery of a service which constitutes Critical National Infrastructure and is supported by three major change and transformation pillars to enable digital modernisation.

This is a true ‘Director’ role in which you will be comfortable with delegation, staff development, and managing a complex and diverse team of professionals. You will be an excellent communicator in all mediums and have a strong set of personal values, including integrity. Leidos believes in collaborative working, engaging closely with our customers to understand their needs and working together to deliver outcomes within the available budget. Structured and clear planning is critical, and the successful candidate will have a clear approach to planning new work, sharing it with the wider team to drive continuous improvement.

An individual with significant customer-facing delivery experience, the successful candidate will have a strong grasp of the PM discipline and ideally an understanding of Systems Thinking and principles, with exposure to Systems Engineering as an advantage but not essential.

Responsibilities:

1. Actively managing the programme strategy and future pipeline of work with the customer.

2. Close and collaborative engagement with the customer team at all levels.

3. Technical, programmatic, and financial management of the service and transformation work.

4. Owning and maintaining ways of working, governance, and change management workflows.

5. Delivery of a mission-critical service to ensure SLAs and KPIs are met.

6. Management of a diverse and highly skilled team.

7. Regular reporting to customer and Leidos executives.

8. Ensuring all Programme disciplines are applied across the programme.

9. Regular, clear, and accurate forecasts of resource demand, financial position, and contract delivery.

Who are we looking for?

We love to work with people passionate about leading work to solve complex problems in challenging environments: optimizing and continuously improving services for our customers. You will develop and maintain a strategic vision while delegating work; supporting and trusting your team to deliver.

You will have experience in team development and a well-rounded personal ‘servant leadership’ style, which you will have used to enable your team. You will be self-motivated, lead by example, and comfortable with both delegating and working directly when required. Accountability for performance in a customer-facing role will be important. You will be an effective communicator across various means, capable of engaging directly with customers and colleagues. Demonstrating an analytical and systematic approach to challenges, you will articulate complex ideas straightforwardly. Excellent decision-making skills and the ability to support team decisions based on limited information are essential.

The successful candidate will have:

• Proven experience leading and delivering large-scale programmes (£50m+).

• Experience working with UK Government organizations.

• A sufficiently technical background or knowledge to quickly understand the commercial and technical aspects of the programme and wider division. Previous experience demonstrating strong resource management and cross-functional engagement, including with business leaders in other disciplines.

Strong people skills, able to motivate, influence, and enable individuals inside and outside of management, including mentoring, coaching, and performance management.

Clearance Requirements: This role supports the delivery of National Security, so candidates should either hold Security Clearance (SC) or be able to achieve it. Police-specific clearance may also be required.

Location: The main location will be Farnborough UK. Flexibility to work from home or other office locations regularly, with at least 2 days per week in Farnborough, is essential. Ability to travel to other Leidos and customer sites as needed.

What we do for you: At Leidos, we are passionate about customer success, united as a team, and inspired to make a difference. We offer meaningful careers, a collaborative culture, and support your professional goals, fostering a healthy work-life balance. Our benefits include a contributory pension scheme, private medical insurance, 33 days annual leave, flexible benefits, and more.

Commitment to Diversity: We welcome applications from all parts of the community and are committed to a diverse and inclusive culture. We provide equal access to opportunities and resources for everyone. If you need reasonable adjustments during the application process, please let us know.

Who We Are: Leidos UK & EUROPE – working to make the world safer, healthier, and more efficient through technology, engineering, and science. Our work in the UK addresses complex problems in defence, healthcare, government, safety, security, and transportation.

What Makes Us Different:

Purpose: Use your passion and skills at Leidos to keep people safe, at the forefront of machine learning, AI, cybersecurity, and solutions. Inspire change.

Collaboration: Flexibility to work from anywhere, supported by digital tools, enabling smarter work and alignment with your needs.

People: We empower individuals from all backgrounds, investing in training, career development, and growth opportunities to inspire and be inspired.