Information Technology Portfolio Manager

Location: Lingley Mere, Warrington (Hybrid Working, 3 days onsite)

Salary: Competitive + £5,000 Car Allowance + Up to 20% Bonus

At United Utilities, we're investing in technology that helps us deliver essential services to millions of customers across the North West. As our new Portfolio Manager (Technology), you'll play a pivotal role in ensuring our technology investments deliver real value, balancing innovation, operational excellence and strategic priorities across both IT and Operational Technology (OT).

This is a highly visible leadership role where you'll oversee across the technology portfolio, ensuring a clear pipeline of maintenance and change initiatives is prioritised, optimised and delivered successfully. Working closely with Architects, Product Leaders and senior stakeholders across the business, you'll help shape the technology roadmap whilst ensuring benefits are realised and investments deliver maximum value.

You'll have responsibility for portfolio planning, governance, resource capacity planning, budget oversight and team leadership, providing a critical link between business strategy and technology delivery.

As Portfolio Manager, you'll take ownership of the full technology change lifecycle, from ideation and prioritisation through to benefits realisation.

Key responsibilities include:

• Leading portfolio prioritisation and planning to ensure technology investment is focused on the initiatives that create the greatest business value.
• Developing and maintaining strategic technology roadmaps of demand across both maintenance and enhancement activities.
• Driving effective governance, financial approvals and capacity planning to support successful portfolio delivery.
• Managing budgets, forecasting costs and conducting scenario planning to balance investment, risk and delivery outcomes.
• Identifying, tracking and realising business benefits from technology initiatives.
• Working closely with architects, product teams and business stakeholders to align demand with strategic objectives.
• Providing commercial insight and horizon scanning to support future planning and investment decisions.
• Collaborating with procurement teams, suppliers and framework partners to ensure the right resources and capabilities are available.
• Supporting annual planning and AMP cycles, ensuring technology services are positioned to meet future business needs.
• Driving continuous improvement by identifying delivery trends, challenges and opportunities to enhance performance.
• Taking a portfolio-wide view across Technology Services to optimise delivery and maximise value.

We're looking for an experienced portfolio leader who combines strategic thinking with strong commercial awareness and exceptional stakeholder management skills.

You’ll bring:

• Significant experience managing complex technology portfolios across both Agile and Waterfall environments.
• Proven leadership experience, including line management and developing high-performing teams.
• Strong commercial acumen, including budget management, investment planning and resource forecasting.
• Experience influencing senior stakeholders and operating effectively within complex matrix organisations.
• The ability to balance competing priorities and make informed decisions that maximise portfolio value.
• A strong understanding of governance, benefits management and portfolio optimisation.
• Experience advising businesses on future technology demand and translating strategy into actionable delivery roadmaps.
• Excellent communication and relationship-building skills, with the ability to engage technical and non-technical audiences alike.
• A collaborative leadership style with a passion for coaching, mentoring and developing teams.
• The confidence to challenge constructively, drive improvement and influence decision-making.

You’ll be joining a supportive and highly respected technology leadership team that plays a key role in shaping the future of our organisation. This is an opportunity to influence significant technology investment decisions, develop a growing team and help deliver services that make a real difference to communities across the North West.

In return, we offer an excellent rewards package including:

• 26 days annual leave, increasing to 30 days with service, plus bank holidays
• Up to 14% employer pension contribution
• Up to 20% annual bonus
• Private healthcare
• Share schemes
• Enhanced parental leave
• Employee wellbeing programmes and support