On behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), we are looking for Senior Digital Portfolio Managers for a 4‑month contract (Inside IR35) in a hybrid working model across Blackpool, Leeds or Newcastle – 3 days per week on site with occasional travel between offices.

This stakeholder‑driven role will add capacity and capability to ensure digital projects stay on track and deliver against business plans. You will work closely with senior leaders and delivery teams to plan, prioritise and unblock issues, applying both Agile and Waterfall methodologies. You will coach and advise teams, support governance and assurance, embed portfolio standards and best practice, and support data gathering for the 26/27 Winter Planning cycle.

Responsibilities

• Provide leadership across multiple projects, monitoring progress and resolving delivery issues.
• Develop and maintain clear roadmaps and project plans, ensuring alignment with business objectives and milestones.
• Coach and mentor delivery teams on planning and portfolio management.
• Facilitate governance forums, maintain audit trails, and ensure compliance.
• Identify risks and dependencies early and take action to keep initiatives on track.
• Use tools like ServiceNow, Jira and Confluence to manage data and reporting.
• Support continuous improvement of portfolio processes and frameworks.

Essential Criteria

• Strong experience in Portfolio and Project Management within large‑scale digital environments.
• Experience coaching and mentoring delivery teams.
• Proven experience with governance and assurance processes.
• Excellent stakeholder engagement and relationship management skills.
• Skilled in Agile and Waterfall delivery methods.
• Ability to analyse data and provide actionable insights to senior leadership.

Desirable Criteria

• Recognised qualifications such as Management of Portfolios (Practitioner), P3O, MSP.
• Experience with data visualisation and portfolio dashboards.

Please be aware that this role can only be worked within the UK and not overseas.

Disability Confident – DWP guarantees to interview all candidates who have a disability and who meet all the essential criteria for the vacancy.

Armed Forces Covenant – DWP guarantees to interview veterans or spouses/partners of military personnel who meet all the essential criteria for the vacancy.

In applying for this role, you acknowledge the following: “This role falls in scope of the Off Payroll Working in the Public Sector legislation. Any rates of payment quoted will reflect the gross rate per day for the assignment and will be subject to appropriate taxes and statutory costs. As such the payment to the intermediary and your income resulting from this contract will be different”.