Project Portfolio Manager

• Initial 6 month contract
• Central London - hybrid
• Up to £1000/day DOE (outside IR35)

Our client, a dynamic organisation undergoing significant transformation, is seeking an experienced professional to take ownership of a large-scale project portfolio and make an immediate impact. This is a high-impact role where you will take control of a portfolio of over 200 active initiatives, many of which lack clear visibility and ownership. You'll play a critical role in bringing structure, accountability, and transparency to the organisation - helping leadership understand key risks and driving failing projects back on track.

Job Title: Senior Project Portfolio Manager
Job Type: Contract
Rate: Up to £1000/day (Outside IR35) DOE
Working Arrangement: Hybrid
Location: Central London

The Role As a Senior Project Portfolio Manager, you will:

• Take ownership of a complex portfolio of 200+ initiatives, identifying risks, gaps, and delivery challenges.
• Develop clear, impactful visualisations to highlight project health (Red/Amber/Green status) and required recovery actions.
• Quickly assess failing or underperforming projects ensuring they have clear plans, budgets, governance, and adequate resourcing.
• Identify and resolve issues where project ownership, accountability, or reporting is unclear or missing.
• Drive turnaround strategies for delayed or failing projects, ensuring delivery confidence is restored.
• Support the transition of Jira from on-premise to cloud, ensuring continuity and optimisation of project tracking.
• Partner with stakeholders to bring clarity to delivery priorities and portfolio performance.

What We're Looking For

• Extensive experience in Project Portfolio Management within complex, high-volume delivery environments.
• A proven track record of turning around failing or stalled projects and delivering results under pressure.
• Strong ability to quickly diagnose project health without excessive deep-diving-cutting through noise to identify root causes.
• Deep experience with large-scale system implementations.
• Proficiency in Jira (including migration or transformation experience desirable).
• Experience with Qlik (QlikView/Qlik Sense) or similar data visualisation tools.
• Strong governance, reporting, and stakeholder management skills.
• Experience in the financial services sector (commodities trading experience is a plus, but not essential).