Head of Portfolio Planning - Director

SMBC: A trusted partner for the long term Here at SMBC Group, we want to help you find the next step in your career so read on to discover if this opportunity is the one for you. We like to recognise potential in our people, so we welcome your application even when your experience doesn’t perfectly align with the job description. Whilst we’ll always strive to be better, we’re proud of our inclusive culture, and encourage our applicants and colleagues to be their authentic, unique selves. Who we are United by a sense of purpose towards our customers – to be a trusted partner for the long-term – and our universal banking platform in EMEA, SMBC Group has an international growth agenda and award-winning products, meaning we provide exciting opportunities to work on a diverse range of projects and initiatives. We deliver a full suite of corporate finance products and solutions to our customers as well as investment banking and advisory services, and a range of innovative solutions in global capital markets. Read on to find out how you could enhance your skills and gain valuable experience, by joining us to support our clients transition to a sustainable future. Purpose of Job We are looking for a Head of Portfolio Planning (Director) to join our Transformation and Change Management team. You will be responsible for: Leading the portfolio planning team providing holistic strategic oversight and visibility across the EMEA change portfolio to enable informed decision making, prioritisation, and optimisation of key initiatives, ensuring effective budget / resource allocation and risk management Overseeing and manage the TCMG change portfolio including demand management, prioritisation proposal of projects and programmes, monitoring & executive reporting at portfolio level and managing the PPM system. Managing TCMG budget / headcount including forecasting and tracking Leading annual planning activities for EMEA Transformation & Change Management Group covering project demand, budget and headcount You will bring: Proven experience in Transformation, Change, Governance, Planning or COO functions , ideally within financial services, with a track record of driving improvements and delivering strategic initiatives. Strong analytical and organisational skills , with advanced Excel, PowerPoint and reporting capabilities, able to translate complex data into actionable management insights and manage competing priorities effectively. Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills , with the ability to influence senior stakeholders, operate effectively in an international environment, and build consensus while maintaining a continuous improvement mindset. Background The Transformation and Change Management Group (TCMG) provides the SMBC enterprise professional project, programme and portfolio management (P3M) resource and expertise to the organisation. It was established as an independent, centralized business function operating at a strategic level to provide enterprise-wide oversight, standards and delivery of change. The oversight function includes governance, guidance, best practices, mentoring and up-skilling project managers from other departments and BAU staff. Implementation of a standard enterprise-wide project framework including tools, templates and standardized processes. The aim is that TCMG ensures strategic alignment between business objectives and projects executed. TCMG is also a resource centre/ centre of excellence. It is comprised of professionally qualified project, programme and change managers, business analysts and junior analysts. These are divided into multi-disciplinary teams with report lines to a Team Lead. Portfolio Planning Provide holistic oversight and visibility across the EMEA change portfolio to enable informed decision making, prioritisation, and optimisation of key initiatives, ensuring effective budget / resource allocation and risk management Facts / Scale Successful design and delivery of the Transformation & Change Portfolio is expected to be a business-critical activity and key to delivering the strategic objectives of SMBC EMEA and the mid term management plan (MTMP). The scale of the Transformation & Change Portfolio will vary over time, currently there are 39 programmes / projects (29 active) with an estimated budget of c. USD 150 million per annum The Transformation & Change Management Group consists of c.80 FTE, of which 5 FTE Portfolio Planning Accountabilities and Responsibilities Strategic Business Planning Lead annual planning cycle, aligning portfolio investments with business objectives, co-ordinating across various teams involved in the delivery of Change and Transformation. Own the multi-year financial (spend and benefits) Provide insights and analysis to inform prioritisatiand enable senior management decision making Act as a trusted advisor to senior leadership on portfolio health and optimization opportunities. Executive Reporting & Governance Manage delivery of high-quality executive reporting (Board / RiskCo / GSGM / Transformation Committee) on portfolio performance, change agenda progress, and strategic alignment. Lead Transformation governance forums with insights, and recommendations to inform decision-making. Planning tooling and processes: development of planning tools and processes to ensure efficiency and transparency Ensure transparency and traceability of decisions Change Demand & Portfolio Oversight Manage the intake, triage, and prioritization process for change initiatives across the business. Maintain a clear view of demand vs. capacity and ensure alignment with strategic priorities. Collaborate with delivery leads to monitor progress, risks, and interdependencies across the portfolio. Budget & Resource Management Manage the end-to-end portfolio budget, including forecasting, tracking, and variance analysis. Oversee team-level expense management and headcount planning in alignment with demand Partner with Planning, IT & Finance to ensure accurate and timely reporting of financials and resource Headcount management: providing a consolidated view of headcount requirements across IT and non-IT for the purpose of robust budget management, prioritisation and identification of efficiency opportunities Spend management: providing a consolidated view of expense (Opex) and investment (Capex) spend across all Change & Transformation related activities Knowledge, Skills, Experience and Qualifications Essential Previous experience in Transformation / Change, Planning, Governance and/or COO (5+ years) preferably within financial services Strong analytical skillset – able to derive management insight from complex data Strong experience of working with MS Excel, Word and PowerPoint Strong organisational skills including ability to set and communicate operating cadence/timelines Ability to efficiently multitask Clear verbal and written communication skills at multiple levels (English) in an international context Ability to remain calm under pressure Proven ability to engage stakeholders at multiple levels and capable of influencing to gain agreement and resolve conflict Embracing a mindset of continuous improvement Desirable Experience of developing Transformation processes and strategy Experience of working with financial and/or headcount planning tools (e.g. Anaplan) Experience of design and build of Operational Management Information (MI) including use of relevant tools/systems (e.g. QlikSense, GCP Analytics, PowerBI, Tableau etc.. Financial Management or other relevant professional qualifications Challenges The current management information in this domain is relatively immature and enhancement will require co-ordination across a numbe