Head of Portfolio Management

Job summary

SLC are seeking an accomplished Head of Portfolio Management to join us in a senior leadership role at a pivotal moment of enterprise‑wide transformation.

Operating at the centre of our newly formed Transformation Directorate, this role brings the strategic elevation of planning and orchestration, ensuring that programmes and projects are effectively organised to maximise alignment and productivity across the organisation. You will set clear strategic direction so that portfolios, programmes and projects are aligned, prioritised, resourced and governed to deliver organisational value.

Job description

A key part of the role is shaping and overseeing ENABLE, our flagship, fully funded transformation programme and one of the largest currently underway in the public sector, reflecting strong confidence in SLC from the Department for Education. You will use insight and evidence to support senior decision‑making, using data to target management intervention to turn‑around projects in difficulty, while maintaining a strong focus on outcomes, benefits realisation and delivery.

Leading specialist functions across portfolio management, resource planning, performance and value insight, and assurance, you will ensure that SLC’s governance requirements and agile delivery are synchronised, enabling pace without compromising control. You will also play a critical role in ensuring strategic alignment across Digital & Data and Tech & Security when it comes to workflow management and resource prioritisation.

We are looking for a leader with gravitas and a deep understanding of risk management, able to plan twelve months ahead, take a horizon‑scanning view and maintain a strong control environment. You will confidently hold Programme Directors to account, optimising people and resources and intervening decisively where required.

This is a highly visible role with exposure across SLC and government. For a senior portfolio leader, it offers a rare opportunity to shape how large‑scale transformation is governed and delivered in a nationally important organisation.

Person specification

• Ability to lead and shape a prioritised, value-driven portfolio that aligns with organisational goals and adapts to changing priorities

• Ability to assess and mitigate risks across complex, interdependent programmes and projects

• Knowledge of budgeting, investment appraisal, and value-based decision-making in a portfolio context

• Competence in interpreting data to provide visibility of delivery performance and inform strategic decisions

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills to engage senior stakeholders and drive cross-functional collaboration

• Exhibits a proactive approach to resource estimation and issue resolution, effectively optimising resource allocation and ensuring alignment with financial constraints

• Experience leading portfolio management functions within large, complex organisations, ideally in transformation or change-intensive environments

• Proven track record of working at senior management level, influencing executive stakeholders and driving strategic alignment across departments

• Demonstrated success in overseeing cross-functional programmes and managing interdependencies, risks, resources and benefits at portfolio level

• Qualification in portfolio or programme management (e.g. Management of Portfolios (MoP), Managing Successful Programmes (MSP), or equivalent)

• Membership of a recognised professional body such as the Association for Project Management (APM) or Project Management Institute (PMI)

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £81,000, Student Loans Company contributes £23,465 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Some of the benefits you can expect when you join SLC are:

• Competitive salary
• Civil service pension
• Digitally enabled blended working – typically, 3 days at home with 2 days in the office – if this doesn’t suit your home life you can work from the office full time.
• 28 days annual leave plus 8 public holidays, and extra day’s leave if you are moving home
• Opportunity to buy or sell holidays
• Option to use flexi time to earn two extra days holiday per month
• Flexible working contracts
• Family friendly leave - including 52 weeks maternity/adoption leave with six months at full pay and the option to share leave with a partner
• Life insurance cover providing protection equivalent to four times basic salary
• Recognition of success through performance related pay awards
• Opportunity to give back to the community through annual volunteering day
• Bespoke contributory SLC Reward+ lifestyle benefits package, including retail discounts
• Structured career development using SLC’s Career Pathways programme

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

Shortlisted candidates will be contacted

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : ask_recruitment@slc.co.uk
• Email : ask_recruitment@slc.co.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : ask_recruitment@slc.co.uk

Further information

If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, you should contact ask_recruitment@slc.co.uk in the first instance.