Portfolio, Project Management & Controls Director

Job Title\: Portfolio, Project Management & Controls Director

Location\: Glasgow

Grade\: GG17

Role Overview

The Portfolio, Project Management & Controls Director is accountable for establishing and leading the portfolio management, project management, planning, governance, controls and business improvement capabilities across Naval Ships, ensuring delivery is managed through a consistent, integrated and disciplined operating system.

A key member of the Naval Ships Executive Leadership Team, the Portfolio, Project Management & Controls Director brings an enterprise and portfolio perspective to the leadership of Naval Ships. By integrating insight from programmes, engineering, operations, supply chain, commercial and transformation activities, the role provides visibility of performance, priorities, resources, risks, dependencies and opportunities across the business.

Key responsibilities as Portfolio, Project Management & Controls Director

· Develop and maintain the integrated portfolio view across shipbuild, international programmes, and combat systems activities

· Manage the Naval Phips PMO and portfolio management budgets, ensuring effective resourcing of planning, controls, reporting, and governance capability to drive measurable performance improvement and value.

· Establish and maintain enterprise planning, scheduling, controls, and reporting frameworks

· Monitor and report portfolio performance, providing forecasting, analysis, and decision-ready insight to leadership teams, acting as the portfolio “single version of truth” across all data standards and performance metrics

· Review and challenge programme plans, assumptions, forecasts, and recovery strategies to improve delivery confidence and predictability

· Manage portfolio dependencies, constraints, interfaces, and resource conflicts across value streams

· Lead portfolio governance and assurance activities, ensuring effective escalation, decision-making, and performance control

· Define, maintain, and promote project and programme management standards, methodologies, and professional practices across the organisation

· Provide prioritisation, scenario modelling, and trade-off analysis to support portfolio and business decision-making

· Maintain visibility of portfolio risks, change activity, and delivery performance trends, ensuring emerging issues are identified and escalated appropriately

· Lead and coordinate enterprise business improvement activity aligned to business priorities and performance needs

· Support functions and value streams in identifying, prioritising, and implementing performance improvement opportunities

· Coordinate readiness and adoption activities for corporate transformation and enterprise change initiatives

Your skills and qualifications\:

· Significant experience in senior portfolio management, PMO, project controls, programme management, or project management leadership roles within complex, multi-programme environments

· Proven track record establishing or leading portfolio management, project management, planning, governance, and controls functions

· Proven track record leading enterprise-wide improvement and change initiatives

· Experience operating at Executive and Senior Leadership Team level, providing insight, assurance, challenge, and decision support

· Demonstrated success improving planning, governance, performance management, forecasting, or delivery management capability within a complex organisation

· Experience developing and embedding project and programme management standards, methodologies, and governance frameworks

· Experience operating within regulated, engineering, manufacturing, infrastructure, defence, or similarly complex environments highly desirable

· Degree-level qualification (or equivalent experience) in Engineering, Business, Project Management, Programme Management, or a related discipline

· Professional qualifications strongly desirable (e.g. APM, MSP, PRINCE2, MoP, PfMP, PgMP, PMI-PMP or equivalent)

· Executive leadership, business management, or MBA-level education advantageous

Naval Ships

We Design and Manufacture Naval Ships, as well as their state-of-the-art Combat Systems. We offer an array of associated services, including training solutions, maintenance and modernisation programmes to support ships and equipment in service around the World and the management of supporting infrastructure.

Trusted with the responsibility to deliver some of the UK’s most complex and high-profile Defence programmes, providing our customers with the capability to fulfil extensive Naval Operations around the World and protect what matters most. As a Business at the forefront of Advanced Engineering and Technology, you can help us shape the future for Maritime Defence.

Please contact leon.ford@baesystems.com for further detail on the role and process.

Please be aware that many roles at BAE Systems are subject to both security and export control restrictions. These restrictions mean that factors such as your nationality, any nationalities you may have previously held, and your place of birth can restrict the roles you are eligible to perform within the organisation. All applicants must as a minimum achieve Baseline Personnel Security Standard. Many roles also require higher levels of National Security Vetting where applicants must typically have 5 to 10 years of continuous residency in the UK depending on the vetting level required for the role, to allow for meaningful security vetting checks.