Portfolio Management & Governance, Principal

aia; Hong Kong; On-site; HKD 900,000 - 1,200,000; Full time

Job summary

AIA in Hong Kong is seeking a senior governance and PMO professional to strengthen project approval governance, business case quality, and post-approval tracking across strategic and non-strategic initiatives. The role focuses on disciplined delivery, value realisation, and customer-centric outcomes.

The incumbent will oversee the PAG platform, collaborate with Finance, VRO, Sourcing, IT/TDA, and GPM to ensure clear reporting, governance discipline, and stakeholder alignment.

Qualifications

• University degree in Business, Finance, Accounting, Engineering, or related fields.
• 8–12 years of experience in project governance, PMO, transformation, business case development, portfolio management, or financial analysis.
• Experience interacting with senior stakeholders and preparing executive-ready materials.
• Strong financial acumen with ROI/IRR, cost-benefit analysis, payback period.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint; experience with Power Apps/Power Platform and SAP is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Operate end-to-end PAG governance for strategic and non-strategic projects.
• Collaborate with VRO to support governance phases, ensuring documentation quality and audit readiness.
• Provide guidance on standards, business case submission requirements, and governance expectations.
• Develop clear business cases covering objectives, scope, costs, benefits, risks, dependencies.
• Review business cases from a strategic and financial perspective focusing on costs, benefits, and viability.
• Coordinate stakeholder reviews and ensure timely approval decisions.
• Maintain delivery status, milestones, cost tracking, and benefit realisation data.
• Consolidate and analyse project portfolio MI for executive sponsorship and governance.
• Act as business owner for the PAG platform and drive data accuracy and UX improvements.
• Embed governance controls and partner with Risk, Compliance, and Audit.

Skills

Project governance

Financial analysis

Stakeholder management

Risk management

Communication

Analytical thinking

Education

University degree in Business, Finance, Accounting, Engineering, or related fields

Tools

Excel

PowerPoint

Power Apps/Power Platform

SAP

Job description

FIND YOUR 'BETTER' AT AIA

We don’t simply believe in being ‘The Best’. We believe in better - because there’s no limit to how far ‘better’ can take us.

We believe in empowering every one of our people to find their 'better' - in the work they do, the career they build, the life they live and the difference they make. So that together we can support even more people - including our own - to live Healthier, Longer, Better Lives.

If you believe in better, we’d love to hear from you.

About the Role

This role is responsible for strengthening project approval governance, business case quality, and post approval tracking across both strategic (SPSC) and non strategic (non SPSC) projects and initiatives. It oversees the governance cadence, ensures compliance with the Project Approval Standard, and maintains clear and accurate reporting through the Project Approval & Governance (PAG) digital platform. The role works closely with Expense Management, VRO, Sourcing, IT/TDA, and GPM to ensure disciplined delivery and value realisation.

While VRO focuses on prioritising strategic initiatives in line with the Company’s strategy (“Are these the right initiatives to invest in?”), this role focuses on project approval governance ensuring strategic importance, implementation and recurring costs, and benefits are properly assessed, along with post approval monitoring (“Are these initiatives being governed and delivered as approved?”). This role ensures that approved initiatives are governed with discipline, transparency, and accountability. This includes operating the project approval governance process, uplifting business case quality, maintaining accurate portfolio MI, tracking costs and benefits, and ensuring post go live value realisation. The role supports the Finance Director by providing clear business insights grounded in financial projections, enabling sound and well informed business decisions.

Customer Centricity - This role contributes to the delivery of customer outcomes that are reliable, thoughtful, and create meaningful impact for customers and society. The role holder is expected to embed a customer first mindset in all decisions and actions by developing a clear understanding of customer needs, taking end to end ownership to resolve issues, and working collaboratively across teams to continuously enhance the customer journey—both directly and indirectly.

The incumbent will also have responsibilities and accountabilities in respect of operations across all relevant branches and entities, including but not limited to AIA Hong Kong and Macau Branch; and, where applicable, activities outsourced to AIA Hong Kong.

Roles and Responsibilities

Project Approval Governance (PAG)

• Operate the end to end project approval governance process for strategic (SPSC) and non strategic (non SPSC) projects and initiatives in alignment with the PAG Standard
• Collaborate with VRO to support governance phases (stage gates, commercial alignment, decision forums), ensuring documentation quality, completeness, and audit readiness
• Provide guidance to initiative owners on standards, business case submission requirements, and governance expectations

Business Case Quality & Financial Review

• Guide sponsors and project teams to develop clear and robust business cases (covering objectives, scope, costs, benefits, risks, dependencies)
• With support from Sourcing and Expense Management, and under the guidance of the Finance Director, review business cases from a strategic and financial perspective focusing on implementation and recurring costs (including future depreciation), benefits, ROI, cost benefit ratio, IRR, payback period, funding needs, and financial viability and provide challenge and recommendations
• Collaborate with VRO to coordinate stakeholder reviews and ensure timely approval decisions

Post Approval & Go Live Monitoring

• Maintain a single version of the truth for delivery status, milestones, cost tracking, benefit realisation, and risk indicators
• Monitor and esceed project risks/issues, driving mitigation actions to protect value and delivery commitments
• Ensure benefits realisation plans are measurable, evidenced, and aligned with the approved business case

Portfolio Management Insight & Executive Reporting

• Consolidate and analyse project portfolio MI for Project Exco Sponsor, CFO, CEO, and GPM
• Provide forward looking insights (variance analysis, risk indicators, dependencies, decision prompts)
• Promote transparency and governance discipline across both strategic and non strategic portfolios

PAG Platform

• Act as business owner for the PAG digital workflow to ensure it remains the single source of truth
• Gather and prioritise requirements to enhance UX, reporting capabilities, and embedded governance controls, in collaboration with GPM and IT/TDA
• Maintain accuracy and completeness of governance data

Risk, Controls & Audit Readiness

• Embed governance controls and maintain high standards of documentation across the project lifecycle
• Partner with Risk, Compliance, and Audit to address control gaps and uplift governance maturity

Stakeholder Collaboration & Alignment

• Work collaboratively with Expense Management (cost/benefit integrity), VRO (strategic alignment), Sourcing (commercial review), IT/TDA (delivery feasibility), and GPM (Group governance standards)
• Facilitate communication, capability building, and best practice sharing across project leads and Finance teams

Ad Hoc Tasks Assigned

• Lead or support ad hoc tasks, strategic initiatives, or special projects assigned by manager.

Minimum Job Requirements

Skills & Competencies

• Strong understanding of the full project lifecycle, governance standards, and assurance processes
• Critical thinker with strong analytical and financial evaluation and interpretation skills
• Ability to challenge constructively while maintaining strong relationships
• Excellent communication skills, able to synthesise complex information into clear, actionable insights
• Highly organised, structured, and able to manage multiple priorities simultaneously
• Collaborative team player who works effectively across functions
• High integrity, strong attention to detail, and a commitment to consistent governance discipline
• Demonstrates a strong commitment to understanding and addressing customer needs

Qualifications & Experience

• University degree in Business, Finance, Accounting, Engineering, or related fields
• 8–12 years of experience in project governance, PMO, transformation, business case development, portfolio management, or financial analysis, preferably within a complex corporate environment
• Experience interacting with senior stakeholders, preparing executive‑ready materials, and supporting governance forums
• Strong financial acumen with experience analysing ROI/IRR, cost‑benefit, payback period, and business case justification
• Exposure to group or regional governance environments is an advantage
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint; experience with Power Apps/Power Platform and SAP is a plus
• Strong command of English, Cantonese, and Mandarin

Others

• You are required to obtain relevant license if your job involves in regulated activities

Build a career with us as we help our customers and the community live Healthier, Longer, Better Lives.

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