Portfolio Directors

The Portfolio Director role is a senior board level position which takes responsibility for implementing the portfolio management structure and framework into an organisation.

Due to the nature of portfolio management and its position within corporate management, the portfolio director will be a senior executive level member of the organisation.

The Portfolio Director is ultimately responsible for ensuring that all the organisation's programmes and projects sit within the framework and takes ownership for making sure the organisation is doing the "right" programmes and projects to fit the organisation's strategic objectives.

The Portfolio Director will have previous experience in programme and project management and use this experience to drive project maturity across the organisation - "doing the programmes and projects right"

The Portfolio Director also has the responsible for ensuring programmes and projects are stopped and culled when required and uses experience, leadership, gravitas and authority to improve accountability.

The Portfolio Director will appoint and work with a Portfolio Office Manager to ensure the correct processes, tools, methods and people are in place to deliver the portfolio management framework and provide the day to day operations.

Many organisations choose to recruit the Portfolio Director from internal candidancies due to the belief that experience of the corporation is required  before an effective portfolio management solution can be implemented. Recruiting a portfolio director from outside the organisation can however bring multiple benefits including; new and fresh expertise and thinking in this relatively new area of corporate programme and project management; a track record with previous successfully implemented portfolio management frameworks and an opportunity to leverage these lessons learnt and an opportunity to ensure no baggage and old legacies are present to hinder the bedding in of new practices.