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The Role

Commercial Services Group (CSG) is one of the largest providers of public sector and education procurement services globally, with revenues of over £350m, 600 staff and five trading divisions: Resources, Energy, Recruitment, Facilities Services, and International Services.

Wholly owned by Kent County Council, CSG supports over 15,000 customers in 86 countries and collaborates with a supply chain of c1,000 suppliers.

The Resources Division of Commercial Services, trading as KCS, with an annual turnover of £25M, is the largest supplier of education resources to schools in the south east and has embarked on further territorial expansion as part of its growth plans for the future.

KCS holds a clear vision “to be recognised as the global leader in British educational procurement services” and has a very clear and comprehensive transformation strategy to achieve this vision.

At the heart of this transformation strategy is a wide portfolio of projects that are being executed at any one time, many of which have a technology focus. 

As such, the Resources Division is recruiting an experienced Portfolio & Projects Manager. The role will be responsible for managing the timely delivery of KCS’ portfolio of projects and directly lead the delivery of KCS’ strategically important projects as directed by the KCS Senior Management Team. 

Key Duties

The successful candidate will be responsible for:

• Preparing and maintaining schedules of KCS’ portfolio of projects taking into account of dependencies and resource requirements – in collaboration with stakeholders across Commercial Services Group
• Developing, implementing and updating resource allocation plans needed for KCS’ portfolio of projects, coordinating internal resources and third parties/vendors for the flawless execution of projects
• Identifying and monitoring portfolio risks, planning and implementing responses to them and responding to issues that affect projects within the portfolio
• Ensuring project outcomes within KCS portfolio are integrated into business-as-usual
• Ensuring all approved project benefits are identified, evaluated, planned and tracked across KCS’ portfolio
• Ensuring all projects are delivered in accordance with Commercial Services Group’s Business Improvement Cycle and appropriate governance is established
• Providing regular status / highlight reports to the KCS Senior Management Team and Business Improvement Team on KCS’ portfolio of projects
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships internally and externally [where applicable]
• Managing and leading specific projects within KCS, as directed by the KCS Senior Management Team and in accordance with organisational priorities
• Supporting stakeholders [and leading where directed] with the definition of project scope and objectives, involving all relevant stakeholders
• Developing and maintaining a detailed project plan to monitor and track progress 
• Managing changes to the project scope, project schedule and project costs through approved change control processes
• Managing approved project budgets
• Support the Business Improvement Team to embed and grow a continuous improvement framework and culture within the Resources Division
• Coach, develop and support colleagues to deliver effective change projects and drive continuous improvement

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