Assistant Director, Strategic Portfolio & Planning (Program Management)

TL;DR

Assistant Director, Strategic Portfolio & Planning (Program Management): Leading strategic prioritisation, planning, and performance frameworks for the UK's largest university with an accent on investment leadership and institutional risk management. Focus on designing integrated business planning cycles, optimizing resource allocation, and simplifying enterprise-level processes.

Location: Hybrid; must be based in the UK and able to attend the Milton Keynes office at least once per week

Salary: £89,608 – £105,027

Company

hirify.global is the UK’s largest university and a world leader in flexible part-time education combining a mission to widen access to higher education with research excellence.

What you will do

• Lead the University’s strategic prioritisation and portfolio-level investment processes to provide decision-ready recommendations for senior leaders.
• Oversee the integrated business planning and review cycle to align strategy, priorities, and resources.
• Design and continuously improve performance and risk management frameworks to inform executive oversight.
• Provide quality assurance and integration across the strategic portfolio and planning team outputs.
• Lead and coach the team to strengthen ownership and confidence among Senior Managers.

Requirements

• Experience leading enterprise-level processes for the prioritisation of funding for strategic initiatives.
• Strong background in strategic planning within complex organisations.
• Proven ability to produce high-quality strategic analysis and materials for senior audiences.
• Excellent stakeholder engagement and credibility at senior levels.
• Strong coaching and people leadership capability.
• Contractual alignment to Milton Keynes office with a requirement for minimum once-per-week attendance

Nice to have

• Understanding of Higher Education or public sector strategy.
• Knowledge of performance and risk frameworks.

Culture & Benefits

• Flexible working arrangements, including options for job share, part-time, or compressed hours.
• Hybrid working model allowing a mix of home and office work.
• Comprehensive range of staff benefits to support work-life balance.

Hiring process

• First stage: Online interviews via Microsoft Teams (mid to late August 2026).
• Second stage: Face-to-face interview on-site at the Milton Keynes campus (early September 2026).