VMO Analyst

We want to move from a PMO framework to a VMO-based model.
The VMO Analyst’s mission is to add value by creating transparency, supporting/driving information flow and facilitating decision making across our change community and ecosystem. You’ll do this in an environment where we acknowledge that priorities can change, you’ll lead and support rather than control and you’ll focus on the sustainable flow of value and outcomes.

The VMO Analyst’s role will be at the centre of building and establishing a new Value Management Office (VMO). Building this capability is not just about delivering change projects and dashboards. This will be helping to shape and build a new Change operating model. The focus will be on identifying and nurturing the flow of change outcomes and flexibility that add value to Cash Access and to its customers and builds talent, capability and innovation.

Responsibilities

Overview

The VMO Analyst will support the effective management of CAUK’s Change & Transformation portfolio, providing clear, accurate and insightful information to help leaders make better decisions about investment, priorities, capacity, delivery and benefits.

Working within a new, small, collaborative VMO, the role will combine portfolio analysis, governance, reporting, continuous improvement and building new capabilities. The successful candidate will be comfortable working with data, challenging information constructively and turning complex portfolio information into simple, actionable insight. This is a hands-on role in which the individual will help establish and continuously improve CAUK’s approach to portfolio management.

Key accountabilities include:

Portfolio Management & Analysis

• Building and maintaining robust rolling portfolio planning, roadmaps and cadence in relation to approved change and transformation priorities in adherence with all relevant frameworks, controls, processes and best practice.
• Analysing portfolio data to identify trends, emerging issues, capacity constraints, dependencies and delivery risk and driving conversations and action with impact leaders and stakeholders
• Producing portfolio insights and recommendations for senior leaders and governance forums.
• Supporting portfolio prioritisation and investment discussions through robust analysis and evidence.
• Helping maintain an enterprise view of change demand, delivery capacity, resource modelling and strategic priorities.
• Supporting quarterly and annual portfolio planning and re-prioritisation activity
• Aligning to and developing an enterprise VMO Change Framework, standards and governance (to be defined and shaped), leading through Lean Portfolio Management (e.g. PI Planning) techniques with multiple stakeholders and the wider CAUK change community.
• Driving collaborative (1st line) risk/assurance activities for projects and teams resulting in course corrections and improved quality.
• Leading enterprise-wide value (costs/benefits/value) culture and behaviours, working with key business partners on financial performance, value-sizing, budgeting and forecast outturn

Governance and Reporting

• Coordinating and producing high-quality portfolio reporting and management information.
• Preparing materials for portfolio governance, investment and leadership forums.
• Ensuring portfolio information is accurate, timely, consistent and appropriately challenged.
• Tracking decisions and actions through to completion.
• Supporting effective governance by ensuring that the right information is available at the right time.
• Building Change & Transformation reporting, metrics and optics, ensuring they drive insight, are transparent and continue to promote portfolio performance whilst building and optimising appropriate tooling, dashboards and templates.

Financial and Benefits analysis

• Establishing and supporting tracking of change investment, budgets, forecasts and financial performance.
• Working with Finance and delivery teams to identify and explain material variances.
• Supporting benefits tracking, including the identification of expected, realised and at-risk benefits.
• Helping provide clear insight into whether the portfolio is delivering the value expected from investment.

Risk, dependency and delivery insight

• Maintaining portfolio-level views of key risks, issues and dependencies.
• Identifying themes and systemic issues that may not be visible within individual initiatives.
• Escalating emerging concerns appropriately and support the development of mitigation actions.
• Providing insight into portfolio health, delivery confidence and areas requiring leadership intervention.

VMO Capability and Continuous Improvement

• Developing and improve VMO templates, processes, dashboards and management information.
• Helping establish consistent standards for portfolio reporting and governance.
• Automating and simplify manual reporting wherever practical.
• Supporting the development of VMO capability across CAUK by sharing tools, guidance and good practice.
• Contributing to ongoing evolution of VMO from a reporting function into a proactive value add portfolio
• Driving team engagement, alignment and communication
• Promoting a learning organisation in the Change ecosystem (Growth mindsets, Flexible T-shaped profiles, ‘trying stuff’) – upskilling, cultural and behavioural development
• Playing a lead role in shaping and delivering the target state operating model for enterprise-wide Change

Requirements

Role specific skills

• Track record of leading in a PMO, VMO, portfolio, programme, change or business analysis environment.
• Strong analytical thinking, curiosity and problem-solving skills – uses data and evidence to understand problems, identify trends and make sound recommendations. Seeks to understand the story behind the data.
• Strong verbal and written colleague and stakeholder communication, able and comfortable to report to varied stakeholders, facilitating decision making with participants and senior leaders – able to demonstrate turning complex information into concise, clear messages appropriate for different audiences.
• Organisation and delivery – manages deadlines effectively and maintains a high standard of accuracy.
• Experience demonstrating agile leadership and using Lean Portfolio Management tools (tooling) & techniques in order to understand problem statements, continuous improvements and business requirements/features
• Collaboration – builds effective relationships across business, change, finance and other functions.
• Strong people leadership and coaching outcomes, resulting in a motivated, energised and focused team – able to energise groups and individuals with flexible people management skills
• Able to demonstrate negotiation, facilitation, conflict resolution and consultation skills
• Comprehensive understanding of risk process, standards and procedures
• Experience of working with technical and non-technical SMEs across a variety of domains
• Experience of working with agile teams (desirable)
• Autonomy, self-starting and self-organising, often with limited oversight and in a dynamic and ambiguous environment
• Continuous improvement – looks for better, simpler and more efficient ways of working rather than simply maintaining existing processes.
• Knowledge of and ability to keep pace with leading change delivery practices and tooling (incl. 3rd party)
• Learning agility – is comfortable working in a changing environment and developing new skills and approaches.
• Commercial and value focus – understands that portfolio management is ultimately about maximising value from investment and organisational capacity.

Originally posted on Himalayas