Director, Portfolio Operations

Job Purpose
The Director is responsible for managing Liliʻuokalani Trust’s (LT) enterprise portfolio of major initiatives and advising leadership on ways to improve strategic alignment and deliver maximum value. This is a highly technical and collaborative role focused on building efficient processes for effective portfolio management, balancing the need of multiple stakeholders, and fostering alignment on portfolio strategies to continuously improve value delivery.

Essential Responsibilities

Portfolio Planning and Management
• Plans, organizes, and manages the portfolio of projects to ensure they are delivered effectively and efficiently.
• Partners closely with Finance and Portfolio Owners to analyze and drive impact performance.
• Collaborates with leaders to define strategic themes and portfolio vision.
• Ensures portfolios align with the organization's overall strategic objectives and contributes to achieving organizational outcomes.
• Facilitates leaderships reviews of projects so they are prioritized based on their value potential, considering both their cost and the benefits they will generate.
• Promotes Lean Portfolio Management principles, such as continuous flow and a focus on outcomes.
• Works with cross-functional teams, including project managers, product owners, and other stakeholders, to gather data, conduct analysis, and facilitate value realization initiatives.
• Focuses on driving value and maximizing returns on investments while promoting innovative ideas.
• Identifies potential risks associated with the portfolio and develop mitigation strategies with inputs from leadership.
• Conducts market research and analysis to identify trends, opportunities, and potential risks affecting project portfolios.
• Monitors industry trends and landscapes to anticipate challenges and opportunities for growth.
• Assesses and manages risks within and across portfolios ensuring that they are aligned with the risk tolerance of the organization and mitigation measures are in place. Works with stakeholders to identify and address issues that could hinder value delivery.

Performance Monitoring and Reporting
• Monitors and reports on portfolio performance against strategic goals and value targets.
• Develops reporting and makes data-driven recommendations for improvement and greater impact.
• Measures the key metrics to ensure account plans are delivering based on resources being committed.
• Establishes Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to support continuous improvement and efficient management of portfolios.
• Reviews KPIs with Product Teams to ensure ongoing relevance; identifies opportunities and develop plans for improvement.

Continuous Improvement
• Identifies and implements processes to continuously improve the portfolio’s performance and value delivery.
• Contributes to LT’s success through collaboration, communication, and knowledge-sharing with all teammates to improve team and organizational results.
• Contributes to process optimization by identifying and implementing improvements in areas such as investment selection, portfolio management, and reporting.
• Provides training and guidance on Lean Portfolio Management practices.
• Researches external organizations to learn best practices from leading institutions.

Other duties:
• Creates and maintains value stream maps, which help visualize the flow of work and identify areas for improvement.
• Leads process improvement projects as needed.
• Hires and manages consultants as needed.
• Serves as a change agent to promote advocacy and adoption for new ways of working and continuous improvement.
• Manages portfolio management-related tools and dashboards to ensure accessibility and usability of insights.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Qualifications
• Bachelor’s degree in business administration or related field or relevant professional experience; must have strong business acumen.
• At least 10 years of progressive leadership responsibility leading cross-functional teams.
• At least 10 years of relevant experience; at least 5 years in project portfolio management preferred.
• Strong understanding of data analysis, portfolio management techniques, and reporting for executive decisionmakers.
• Proven ability to take initiative and build strong, productive relationships within cross-functional teams.
• Project management professional (PMP) or Lean Portfolio Management (LPM) certification required.
• Experience managing value streams and working in Agile environment a plus.

Job Competencies
• Able to work with minimal supervision and cross-functionally to deliver outcomes, while maintaining a high degree of accountability. Must take respo