Divisional Portfolio & PMO Lead

Howden; Kuala Lumpur; On-site; MYR 260,000 - 520,000; Full time

Job summary

Howden is seeking a senior portfolio and programme leader to define and own the regional portfolio for Asia. You will drive end-to-end transformation, integrating portfolio governance with Group PMO standards and the MTFP, while working with COOs, CTOs and CFOs across eight entities.

You will build a regional capability from the ground up and lead major programmes to deliver growth. The role requires deep experience in portfolio delivery within financial services or insurance and a hands-on,

Qualifications

• Strong grounding in portfolio and programme management across multiple initiatives.
• Ability to win sponsorship from senior leaders and engage with Group PMO/IMO.
• Background in management consulting, corporate strategy, transformation or in-house delivery roles.
• Familiarity with PMO frameworks (MSP, PMP, Prince2, SAFe) and related tooling.

Responsibilities

• Define and own the regional portfolio strategy and governance for Howden Asia.
• Establish a single regional view of initiatives, capacity, and delivery health.
• Lead delivery of major regional programmes and ensure benefits realisation.
• Integrate portfolio planning with financial forecasting and group controls.
• Grow regional PM capability through standards, tooling, and coaching.
• Provide executive reporting on portfolio health, risks and benefits.

Skills

Portfolio management

Programme leadership

Stakeholder influence

PMO frameworks

Financial services knowledge

Asia market knowledge

Education

MBA or equivalent

Tools

PowerBI

SharePoint

Jira

Job description

At Howden, we employ talented individuals and empower them to make a real difference to the company, whilst building successful and fulfilling careers.

The entrepreneurial atmosphere is one of the biggest reasons people love to work for us. We are a leading independent, global insurance brokers but have a noticeably flat hierarchy. It doesn't matter how junior or senior, anyone with a good idea will be heard. This means our employees can shape their own career paths and determine their own success.

This atmosphere attracts the brightest talent in the market. If that includes you, get in touch.

A LEADING GLOBAL INDEPENDENT BROKER

Howden is a specialist commercial insurance broker. Its regional footprint covers Singapore (regional headquarters), Malaysia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Japan and India. It is part of the London-headquartered Howden Broking Group, a leading independent, global broker with offices in over 55 countries worldwide. The Group is pursuing an ambitious 5 year growth agenda towards 2030.

The Opportunity:

This is a strategy and delivery role. You will define and own the regional portfolio for Howden Asia and turn it into delivered transformation that powers Asia's growth to 2030. Asia today runs in-flight initiatives across eight geographic entities with limited regional view of portfolio, capacity or delivery health. That is the opportunity. Working with the entities, and aligned with the Group PMO and IMO, you will establish the regional portfolio governance, integrate it with the MTFP and reforecast cycle, and lead delivery of the major regional programmes. As the regional portfolio matures and delivery confidence builds, you will grow from a founding, hands-on role into the transformation leader for Asia by 2030. You will not do this alone - you operate in a federated model: Group provides the framework, standards and PMO community; you drive delivery on the ground in Asia.

Role Overview:

We are looking for an experienced portfolio and programme leader for Howden Asia. This is a senior, hands-on role with end-to-end accountability for transformation delivery in Asia. It will suit someone ambitious who knows portfolio and programme delivery well and wants to define and grow a regional capability from the ground up.

YOUR ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Develop the regional portfolio strategy, prioritisation framework and PPM minimum standards, aligned with divisional and Group objectives.
• Establish a single regional view of in-flight local, regional and Group initiatives, capacity and delivery health, enabling priorities and conflicts to be managed.

Demand and Delivery

• Set the regional portfolio agenda with senior leaders (COOs, CTOs, CFOs) to prioritize and sequence the change initiatives that unlock 30/30 growth.
• Lead delivery of the major regional programmes - Core Broking System Modernisation, Howden Client CRM rollout, M&A integrations - through to benefits realisation.
• Integrate portfolio planning with the MTFP and monthly reforecast cycle so delivery is aligned with financial commitments.
• Develop and embed an M&A integration playbook to accelerate benefits and reduce execution risk across entity integrations.
• Uplift entity-level PM capability across the region through standards, tooling and coaching, enabling consistent delivery.
• Track delivery and benefits against business cases; surface trade-offs and resource constraints early.
• Establish and operate portfolio governance - steering committees, gate reviews, RAID, assurance - calibrated to Asia's maturity.
• Provide concise executive reporting (portfolio health, financials, risks, dependencies, benefits) for Asia ManCom and Group governance forums.

Working with Group

• Apply Group’s PMO frameworks, standards and tooling in-region, translating them into Asia-appropriate practice rather than building from scratch.
• Serve as the primary regional interface to Group PMO and IMO, ensuring two-way alignment and transparency.
• Engage actively in the Group PMO community, sharing knowledge and adopting best practice.

OUR IDEAL CANDIDATE WILL BE:

• Strong grounding in portfolio and programme management, with a track record of delivered transformation in complex, multi-initiative environments.
• Strong commercial and influencing skills, able to win sponsorship from senior leaders (COOs, CTOs, CFOs) and engage credibly with Group PMO and IMO.
• Background in management consulting, corporate strategy, transformation or in-house delivery roles.
• Familiarity with recognized PMO frameworks (e.g. MSP, PMP, Prince2, SAFe or equivalents); awareness of modern PMO tooling (PowerBI, SharePoint, Jira).
• Experienced in financial services, insurance, or similarly regulated environments.
• In-depth knowledge of the Asia insurance market and multi-country operating environments is essential.
• Experience building a portfolio capability in an immature or greenfield environment.
• Able to balance strategic rigor with hands-on delivery, comfortable navigating ambiguity in a fast‑paced environment.
• A collaborative, enabling mindset and appetite for driving change at scale.

If you've built portfolio capability from scratch before and want to do it again at greater scale, you'll thrive here.

YOUR BENEFITS AND SALARY:

• Commensurate with qualification and experience.
• Working in a collaborative environment with excellent learning opportunities.
• A mission-critical mandate with genuine scope to shape a regional capability, in close partnership with Howden's Group PMO leadership and global PMO community.