Portfolio Benefits Manager
As Portfolio Benefits Manager, you will lead the Council's benefits realisation strategy, acting as both a strategic advisor and a subject matter expert. This isn’t your typical project management role – it requires a unique blend of strategic leadership, financial acumen and influencing skills to ensure that every change initiative delivers measurable value.
Key Responsibilities
* Take forward the high‑level design for the benefits management framework and translate the intent into a set of operational processes with a clear RACI and implementation plan.
* Embed and maintain a robust benefits realisation framework across the full project and programme lifecycle.
* Maintain a clear, portfolio‑wide benefits register to track and report progress, ensuring transparency and accountability.
* Develop tools, dashboards and insights that enable evidence‑based decision‑making across the portfolio.
* Oversee a change portfolio aimed at delivering approximately £40 million in annual savings.
* Ensure alignment by maintaining the “golden thread” that links strategic objectives to delivery outcomes.
* Act as a trusted advisor, offering insight and challenge to support prioritisation, confident decision‑making and the continuous realisation of benefits.
* Develop method, process and tools to implement the benefits management framework that aligns with corporate strategy.
* Ensure benefits realisation is embedded within the project and programme lifecycle, from business case development to post‑implementation review.
* Support senior leadership and stakeholders through the benefits journey and in decision‑making by providing insights into the benefits of projects and programmes.
* Ensure programmes and projects benefits align to and meet strategic objectives.
* Ensure appropriate scrutiny is applied in identifying the value and success measures programmes and projects aim to achieve.
* Ensure measurement and metrics are in place to track benefits to realisation.
* Ensure process and meetings support the value capture.
* Champion benefits management at Senior level.
* Enable benefits reporting at Senior level and to aid regular programme and project reporting.
* Act as the e‑Programme Management Office (PMO) Benefits Subject Matter Expert to establish processes for benefits tracking and reporting across the portfolio.
* Maintain a portfolio‑level benefits register, ensuring clear accountability for benefits realisation.
* Support directorates directly with managing the benefits associated with their portfolios through the provision of tools, data and dashboards to enable this.
* Work closely with key finance colleagues to ensure transparent benefits tracking, particularly those supporting delivery of the Medium‑Term Financial Plan.
* Ensure benefits identification, tracking and realisation support and are aligned to the business planning and delivery planning processes.
* Promote a culture of continuous improvement in benefits management by sharing best practices and lessons learned.
Qualifications
* A strong track record in benefits management within portfolio, programme or project settings (public sector experience is highly advantageous).
* Experience of translating benefits management frameworks and theory into pragmatic, operationally deliverable ways of working.
* Expertise in delivery methodologies such as PRINCE2, MSP, Agile or Change Management.
* Experience of designing and implementing changes to established norms that help ensure stakeholders are ready, willing and able to adopt the new ways of working.
* An ability to turn complex data into clear, actionable insights, empowering stakeholders at all levels to make informed decisions.
* Excellent collaboration skills – building and maintaining strong relationships with a variety of stakeholders.
* Influencing skills to challenge and guide decision‑makers, ensuring that benefits realisation stays on track.
Benefits & Culture
* Impactful Work – your efforts contribute to projects that make a real difference to Cornwall’s residents.
* Innovative Culture – be part of a forward‑thinking, data‑driven team that embraces continuous improvement and the latest thinking in benefits management.
* Relocation Support – we offer an attractive relocation package to support eligible candidates.
* Flexible Working – we offer hybrid working options to ensure a great work‑life balance.
* Exceptional Lifestyle – work in one of the UK’s most stunning locations with coastlines, natural beauty and a vibrant cultural heritage.
Where you’ll get: Cornwall Council offers a range of flexible working options and a competitive rewards package including a defined benefit pension scheme, generous annual leave, a national award‑winning health and wellbeing programme and a wide range of discounts to local and national goods and services.
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