IT Portfolio Manager

About US

The company

This role is in our Springer Nature Technology division - a diverse group of over 700 people across our main locations in Germany, India, the Netherlands, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

The Department

Join the Portfolio & Governance Office of our CIO, where our mantra is simple yet powerful: "Do the right things. Do things right." Our team is dedicated to building a strategic, consistent, and transparent approach to how information and technology empower our entire enterprise. We focus on two essential objectives: fostering a unified vision for IT across the organization and ensuring our IT organization consistently delivers value through efficiency and clarity. If you're passionate about driving meaningful change at the intersection of technology, information, and business strategy, we'd love for you to be part of our mission!

The Team

Join our Portfolio & Project Office (PPO) within the Portfolio & Governance Office, where we provide the essential backbone for strategic alignment and effective project execution across the organization. This team is responsible for ensuring that our project portfolio not only meets the organization's immediate needs but also aligns with long-term business goals. With a focus on portfolio governance, demand management, and business outcome measurement, our team plays a central role in resource optimization, risk management, and continuous improvement across initiatives. In the team, you'll have the chance to drive impactful projects from concept to execution, implementing frameworks that foster transparency, enhance decision-making, and prioritize value creation. This is a team where collaboration, innovation, and accountability come together, fostering a culture where every project aligns with our core objectives and strategic vision. By joining the PPO, you'll work at the intersection of technology and business strategy, shaping initiatives that deliver tangible outcomes and propel the organization forward.

About the job

Job summary

Portfolio & Project Office - Your Opportunity to Shape Strategic Impact

Join our Portfolio & Project Office at Springer Nature Technology, where we provide the essential backbone for strategic alignment and effective project execution across the organization. As part of our team, you'll have the chance to drive impactful projects from concept to execution and help orchestrate the health of our wider portfolio, implementing frameworks that foster transparency, enhance decision-making, and prioritize value creation.

If you're ready to embrace challenges and contribute to an evolving, high-performing project environment, we welcome you to apply and be part of a team committed to excellence in delivering strategic value across the enterprise. As a Senior IT Portfolio Manager, you will lead the strategic management of the organization's IT project portfolio, ensuring alignment with business goals and maximizing the return on technology investments. This role involves overseeing the end-to-end lifecycle of IT projects, from portfolio planning and prioritization to execution and performance measurement. You'll be responsible for evaluating project proposals, managing resource allocation, and conducting regular portfolio reviews to ensure optimal use of resources and risk mitigation.

You will enable our technology division at all levels to make data-driven decisions and foster collaboration across departments. With a focus on continuous improvement, you'll play a crucial role in refining governance standards and reporting processes to drive transparency and accountability.

In this role, you are a strategic partner to SN Technology leadership, balancing day-to-day project management with a strategic vision to optimize the organization's portfolio in line with corporate objectives. This role's contributions across corporate cycles are essential to achieving alignment between IT investments and overall business goals.

Key Responsibilities

Day-to-Day Responsibilities:

Portfolio Management & Governance:

• Continuously evaluate, prioritize and manage IT project proposals to align with organizational goals, and ensure each project meets strategic objectives and delivers value.

• Oversee resource allocation across the portfolio, balancing project needs with capacity, and coordinating across teams to optimize resource utilization and manage constraints.

• Maintain visibility on project portfolio progress, risks and outcomes, tracking performance and adjusting plans to meet changing priorities.

Risk and Issue Management:

• Identify, assess, and mitigate risks across the project portfolio, providing regular updates on risk status and mitigation plans.

• Address emerging issues with a proactive approach, using strategic insights to minimize impact and facilitate solutions.

Data-Driven Analysis & Reporting:

• Analyze project data to produce performance insights, including financial metrics, resource utilization, and project outcomes, to inform decision-making and optimize portfolio value.

• Develop and refine portfolio reporting frameworks to ensure consistent and transparent communication of progress to senior leadership.

Financial Management with IT Finance Business Partners:

• Collaborate closely with the IT Finance Business Partner to ensure accurate financial operations, processes and reporting for the entire IT portfolio, including investments in Run-Grow-Transform initiatives.

• Develop transparent oversight of cost structures, total cost of ownership (TCO) for products and services, and work with our technology expert teams to implement a FinOps approach to optimize cloud cost management, ensuring our portfolio's financial sustainability aligns with business goals.

Key Responsibilities within Annual Corporate Cycles

Financial Forecasting and Budget Planning:

Work with IT Finance to evaluate funding requirements, prioritize investments, and adjust budgets quarterly to support evolving strategic priorities.

Strategy Review and Mid-Term Planning:

Support the strategic review cycle by assessing portfolio alignment with long-term goals and recommending adjustments to maximize ROI.

Annual Planning & Prioritization:

Lead portfolio planning by coordinating with business units to review, prioritize, and optimize resources for both new projects and ongoing initiatives.

Contribution to Corporate Meetings & Reporting Obligations:

• Present financial and operational portfolio performance, making strategic recommendations for resource adjustments and alignment with business goals.

• Actively participate in committees to align portfolio performance with strategic priorities and address key dependencies.

• Prepare reports that include key financial metrics like TCO, cloud spending, and resource allocation, ensuring transparent and actionable insights.

By working closely with IT Finance, this role ensures comprehensive financial and operational oversight, from the project level to the broader strategic portfolio, supporting the organization's vision for sustainable growth and value delivery.

About YOU

YOUR EXPERIENCE

Extensive Portfolio and Project Management Experience:

• Extensive experience in project portfolio management (PPM), ideally within an IT or technology-driven environment, with a strong track record of successfully overseeing large, complex project portfolios that align with organizational strategy.

• Proven experience managing a diverse portfolio, including Run-Grow-Transform initiatives, demonstrating expertise in prioritizing projects based on strategic objectives and business value.

Financial Management Expertise with IT Focus:

• Significant experience working closely with finance teams or directly managing project finances, including budget forecasting, cost control, and resource allocation.

• Beneficial but not a must: Prior experience implementing or collaborating on a FinOps approach to manage cloud-based service costs, including insights into total cost of ownership (TCO) and financial metrics specific to technology portfolios.

Stakeholder Management and Cross-Functional Collaboration:

• Strong history of collaboration with both IT and business stakeholders, demonstrating an ability to understand and align with business needs while ensuring project outcomes deliver value.

• Experience engaging with senior leaders and steering committees, preparing impactful reports and presenting portfolio performance insights in strategic discussions.

Risk Management and Governance:

• Demonstrated experience in assessing and managing risk across multiple projects, with an emphasis on proactive issue resolution and risk mitigation.

• Expertise in establishing governance frameworks and standards that support consistency, transparency, and accountability across the portfolio.

Your qualifications

You bring a blend of technical expertise, financial acumen, and strategic foresight, ensuring the IT portfolio operates effectively and adds measurable value across the enterprise.

Education and Certifications:

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Information Technology, Business, Finance, or a related field.

• Relevant certifications (such as PMP (Project Management Professional), PfMP (Portfolio Management Professional), PMI-ACP (Agile Certified Practitioner), or Certified ScrumMaster (CSM)) are desirable but not a must.

Business Acumen and Strategic Insight:

• Demonstrated ability to connect IT portfolio decisions with organizational objectives, ensuring projects deliver strategic value and align with business priorities.

• Strong business acumen is essential for understanding and interpreting the broader market context, effectively translating technical initiatives into measurable business outcomes.

Communication and Storytelling Expertise:

• Proven excellence in written and spoken English.

• Ability to craft compelling narratives around project outcomes and portfolio insights that resonate across audiences.

• Powerful storytelling skills and experience in delivering presentations to executive leadership are crucial for this role.

Analytical and Strategic Thinking Skills:

• Strong analytical abilities to manage and interpret complex financial and operational data to drive strategic portfolio decisions.

• A proven ability to align portfolio decisions with long-term organizational strategy, ensuring maximum return on investment and alignment with business goals.

Tool experience

• Familiarity with PPM tools and platforms is desired but not a must.

• Knowledge of cloud financial management tools, including FinOps principles, is desirable.

Communication and Leadership Skills:

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills to convey complex portfolio insights to both technical and non-technical audiences.

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