IT Portfolio Manager - Children's Services and Education

IT Portfolio Manager - Childrens Services and Education - Local government - £600 - £700 a day - Inside IR35 - London/Hybrid - 6 Month initial contract

We are seeking an experienced and commercially aware IT Portfolio Manager to provide strategic leadership across the clients Childrens Services and Education portfolio.

This is an exciting opportunity for an accomplished IT and Digital professional to work at the intersection of technology, business transformation and frontline public services.

You will act as a trusted strategic partner to senior leaders across Childrens Services and Education, ensuring that technology investment, digital solutions and transformation programmes are aligned with service priorities, statutory responsibilities and improved outcomes for children, young people, families and schools.

You will identify opportunities to use technology and digital innovation to improve services, shape and prioritise a pipeline of initiatives, and ensure that investment delivers measurable and sustainable benefits.

This is a senior, hands-on, business-facing portfolio leadership role. We are looking for someone who can combine strategic thinking and senior stakeholder engagement with practical portfolio management, delivery oversight, financial awareness and effective people leadership.

This is not a traditional PMO reporting role or an individual project delivery position. You will be expected to influence strategic decisions, challenge constructively, shape solutions and drive meaningful organisational change.

Key responsibilities

As IT Portfolio Manager, you will:

Strategic business partnership: Build strong, trusted relationships with senior stakeholders, including directors, heads of service and business leads across Childrens Services and Education. Understand service challenges and translate business priorities into a coherent and deliverable IT and Digital portfolio.

Portfolio development: Identify opportunities for technology-enabled service improvement and digital innovation. Develop business cases, options appraisals, digital roadmaps and transformation plans to support investment decisions.

Demand and prioritisation: Lead the management and prioritisation of portfolio demand, balancing business value, affordability, delivery capacity, risks and dependencies. Provide clear recommendations and challenge competing or poorly defined requirements.

Transformation and solutions delivery: Shape and oversee the implementation of technology and digital solutions that support operational and strategic objectives. Maintain delivery oversight across programmes and projects, working closely with programme and project leads and the PMO to resolve issues and maintain momentum.

Benefits realisation and organisational change: Ensure transformation initiatives deliver tangible and sustainable improvements. Establish clear outcomes, benefit measures and ownership, supporting business readiness, service transition and long-term adoption.

Financial and resource management: Work collaboratively with finance and delivery colleagues to maintain robust financial forecasts, understand resource requirements and constraints, and escalate issues and decisions appropriately.

Governance and assurance: Ensure effective portfolio governance, risk management, dependency management and reporting, providing senior stakeholders with clear visibility of progress, performance and decisions required.

People leadership: Lead, support, coach and develop assigned programme managers, project managers and business analysts, promoting strong delivery standards, collaboration and professional development.

About you
We are looking for an experienced IT Portfolio Manager or senior digital transformation professional who can demonstrate a strong track record of connecting business priorities with technology investment and successful delivery.

You will bring a combination of strategic insight, practical delivery experience and the credibility to influence senior stakeholders across complex service environments.

Essential experience and skills
You must be able to demonstrate:

Significant experience in IT Business Relationship Management, Digital Transformation or IT Portfolio Management.
A successful track record of delivering complex business and technology transformation programmes and overseeing a portfolio of multiple projects and initiatives.
Experience within local government or a comparable complex public-sector environment, with an understanding of public accountability, constrained budgets and competing service priorities.
Experience working with Childrens Services, Education, Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) or Social Care environments.
Proven experience identifying, shaping and implementing technology-enabled solutions that improve business operations and service outcomes.
Demonstrable experience of organisational change management and benefits realisation, from initial business case through implementation and sustainable adoption.
Experience of procurement processes and governance, including involvement in the procurement lifecycle.
Strong business relationship management skills, with the ability to influence senior non-technical stakeholders, challenge constructively and communicate complex issues clearly.
Practical knowledge of portfolio governance, business cases, risk and dependency management, resource planning and financial oversight.
Experience of leading, coaching and developing programme, project management or business analysis professionals.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to produce clear, concise reports and recommendations for senior decision-makers.
The qualities we are looking for
You will be:

A credible and confident leader who can operate effectively at both strategic and operational levels.
A strong relationship builder who understands the challenges and priorities of frontline public services.
Commercially aware, with the ability to assess value, affordability, investment priorities and delivery risks.
Pragmatic and solutions-focused, able to navigate complexity and overcome barriers to progress.
Comfortable challenging established thinking and influencing decisions without relying solely on formal authority.
Focused on outcomes, ensuring technology investment translates into measurable service improvements.
What success looks like
You will establish yourself as a trusted strategic partner to Childrens Services and Education, ensuring that the IT and Digital portfolio is aligned with service priorities and delivers tangible value.

Success will mean:

A clearly defined and prioritised portfolio aligned with business needs.
Stronger relationships between IT, Digital and Childrens Services and Education.
Better-informed investment and prioritisation decisions.
Technology solutions that address real operational and strategic challenges.
Effective delivery oversight, with risks and dependencies actively managed.
Measurable benefits and sustainable adoption of digital change.
A motivated and effectively supported portfolio delivery team.
Interested?
If you are an experienced IT Portfolio Manager with a strong background in public-sector transformation, technology-enabled service improvement and senior stakeholder engagement, we would welcome your application.