Client Portfolio Manager

The Placement Co.; Johannesburg; On-site; ZAR 1,800,000 - 2,700,000; Full time

Job summary

The Placement Co. in Johannesburg is seeking a senior commercial and delivery leader to own a portfolio of enterprise software engineering clients and the teams serving them.

You will drive commercial success, operational excellence and client satisfaction while acting as the executive face to clients. This role requires comfort in boardroom discussions, delivery governance and strategic growth, with a track record of leading multidisciplinary software delivery teams and managing complex

Qualifications

• 10+ years in software engineering, professional services or technology consulting.
• 5+ years managing enterprise client portfolios.
• Experience leading multidisciplinary software delivery teams.
• Strong commercial, financial and operational management capability.
• Experience with large-scale software engineering or managed services engagements.
• Working knowledge of SDLC, Agile/Scrum, PMBOK/Prince2 and hybrid delivery, DevSecOps, cloud platforms, managed services, ITIL, application modernisation and AI-enabled software engineering.
• A degree in business, IT, computer science, engineering or commerce, or equivalent industry experience.

Responsibilities

• Client leadership and commercial growth: Build relationships with client executives and develop strategic account plans.
• Delivery and governance: Ensure on-time, on-budget delivery with quality and governance.
• People leadership: Lead and mentor delivery managers, project managers and technical leads.
• Financial and portfolio management: Own portfolio revenue, forecasting and reporting.

Skills

Executive leadership

Enterprise portfolio management

Software delivery leadership

Commercial & financial management

Large-scale software engagements

SDLC & Agile

Hybrid delivery

Cloud platforms

ITIL & governance

AI-enabled software engineering

Education

Business / IT / CS / Engineering / Commerce degree

Tools

PMBOK/Prince2

Agile/Scrum

DevSecOps

Cloud platforms

ITIL

Job description

Our client, a well-established technology services group, is looking for a senior commercial and delivery leader to take ownership of a portfolio of enterprise software engineering clients and the people who serve them. You will be accountable for the commercial success, operational excellence, client satisfaction and team leadership of the portfolio, and you will be the executive face of the business to your clients.

This role suits someone who is as comfortable in a boardroom with a client executive as they are reviewing a delivery pipeline, a margin forecast or a team engagement score.

What you'll be responsible for:

Client leadership and commercial growth

• Build trusted relationships with client executives and act as executive sponsor for the portfolio
• Understand each client's strategy and align technology solutions to their business objectives
• Develop and run strategic account plans
• Grow revenue through account expansion, renewals, cross-selling and new business opportunities, and build the pipeline with Sales
• Lead executive and quarterly business reviews and governance forums
• Support commercial negotiations and contract renewals
• Position the business as a strategic software engineering partner

Delivery and governance

• Provide executive oversight across all delivery engagements
• Ensure projects and managed services are delivered on time, within budget and to agreed quality standards
• Own SLA, KPI and contractual performance
• Monitor portfolio health across operational, financial and customer metrics
• Lead operational governance and manage senior-level escalations
• Drive continuous improvement, root cause analysis and service optimisation
• Champion Agile, DevSecOps, engineering governance, AI-enabled delivery and software quality
• Ensure effective risk, issue, incident and change management

People leadership

• Lead, coach and mentor delivery managers, project managers, scrum masters, technical leads and client-facing delivery professionals
• Build high-performing teams focused on accountability, innovation and customer success
• Run performance reviews and career development conversations
• Plan for succession and identify future leaders
• Drive engagement, retention and workforce planning
• Work with technical practice leads to build capability, and promote continuous learning and certification

Financial and portfolio management

• Own portfolio revenue, profitability and gross margin
• Manage forecasting, resource planning and utilisation
• Ensure commercial sustainability and maintain accurate portfolio reporting and governance
• Present portfolio performance to senior leadership

What you'll bring:

• 10+ years in software engineering, professional services or technology consulting
• 5+ years managing enterprise client portfolios
• Experience leading multidisciplinary software delivery teams
• Strong commercial, financial and operational management capability
• Experience with large-scale software engineering or managed services engagements
• Working knowledge of SDLC, Agile/Scrum, PMBOK/Prince2 and hybrid delivery, DevSecOps, cloud platforms, managed services, ITIL, application modernisation and AI-enabled software engineering
• A degree in business, IT, computer science, engineering or commerce, or equivalent industry experience

Advantageous:

• Certifications such as Agile/Scrum, ITIL, SAFe, PMP/Prince2, AWS/Azure/GCP, or account management

Strategic thinking, executive presence, commercial acumen, negotiation and influencing, customer focus, coaching, sound decision-making, emotional intelligence, and a drive for innovation and continuous improvement.

How success is measured:

• Commercial: revenue growth, gross margin, profitability, forecast accuracy and pipeline growth
• Client: customer satisfaction, retention, renewal rate and strength of executive relationships
• Delivery: SLA achievement, delivery predictability, escalation resolution and quality
• People: engagement, retention, succession readiness, certification completion and capability growth
• Operational: utilisation, governance compliance, continuous improvement and risk management

The ideal candidate:

An experienced technology leader who combines strong commercial acumen with exceptional client relationship skills and operational leadership. You have led multidisciplinary software engineering teams, grown client portfolios and delivered measurable business outcomes. You are equally at ease with C-suite executives, delivery governance, coaching teams and spotting new business opportunities.