Senior Portfolio Lead

Diversity Dashboard; Manchester; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Manchester University is seeking an exceptional Senior Portfolio Lead to help ensure the Manchester 2035 strategy becomes reality. You will work across the University's most strategically important initiatives, partnering with Executive Sponsors, Programme and Project Managers and senior leaders to identify delivery challenges early and unblock complex issues.

This is not a traditional PMO role; you’ll become a trusted adviser, bringing insight and practical solutions to improve delivery

Qualifications

• Has significant experience delivering or supporting complex strategic portfolios, programmes or transformation initiatives.
• Enjoys solving difficult organisational problems and turning ambiguity into action.
• Can influence senior leaders through credibility, insight and strong relationships.
• Brings excellent judgement, political awareness and the confidence to provide constructive challenge.
• Is passionate about improving how organisations deliver change and leaving lasting capability behind.

Responsibilities

• As Senior Portfolio Lead, you will work across the University's most strategically important initiatives, partnering with Executive Sponsors, Programme and Project Managers and senior leaders to identify delivery challenges early, unblock complex issues and help programmes succeed.
• You'll become a trusted adviser, bringing insight, constructive challenge and practical solutions that improve delivery confidence across the University's strategic portfolio.
• You’ll influence without formal authority, build trusted relationships with senior stakeholders and help shape a modern, collaborative approach to portfolio delivery across the University.

Job description

Manchester 2035 is the University's ambitious long-term strategy, supported by a significant portfolio of transformational change. We're looking for an exceptional leader to help ensure that strategy becomes reality.

This is not a traditional PMO or portfolio management role.

As Senior Portfolio Lead, you will work across the University's most strategically important initiatives, partnering with Executive Sponsors, Programme and Project Managers and senior leaders to identify delivery challenges early, unblock complex issues and help programmes succeed. Rather than acting as an assurance or compliance function, you'll become a trusted adviser, bringing insight, constructive challenge and practical solutions that improve delivery confidence across the University's strategic portfolio.

About the role

This is a highly visible leadership position within the Strategic Change Office, operating across major strategic programmes.

You’ll spend time working alongside delivery teams, understanding challenges first‑hand and helping deliver teams navigate complexity, remove organisational barriers and accelerate progress. You’ll influence without formal authority, build trusted relationships with senior stakeholders and help shape a modern, collaborative approach to portfolio delivery across the University.

We're looking for someone who:

• Has significant experience delivering or supporting complex strategic portfolios, programmes or transformation initiatives.
• Enjoys solving difficult organisational problems and turning ambiguity into action.
• Can influence senior leaders through credibility, insight and strong relationships.
• Brings excellent judgement, political awareness and the confidence to provide constructive challenge.
• Is passionate about improving how organisations deliver change and leaving lasting capability behind.

Why join us?

This is a rare opportunity to help define how one of the UK's largest and most ambitious universities delivers strategy.

You’ll play a central role in the successful delivery of Manchester 2035, working at the heart of institutional decision‑making alongside senior leaders from across the University. You’ll have the opportunity to shape new ways of working, influence strategic delivery at scale and make a lasting impact on the University’s future.

If you’re someone who enjoys bringing people together, overcoming complex delivery challenges and making strategy happen, we’d love to hear from you.