Lead PMO Analyst (Financial)

Job Description

At abrdn, we empower our clients to plan, save and invest for their futures.

Through the expertise, insight and innovation of our team, we aim to help clients create more ways for money to make an impact. We set our sights on giving them more confidence to achieve their goals, and more clarity about what they need next. And we focus on delivering outcomes that are more than just financial – by investing sustainably to build a better world.

We are structured around three businesses – Investments, Adviser and Personal – focused on the changing needs of our clients, and by diversifying the group, we are positioning ourselves for growth in a changing investment landscape.

Our Adviser business provides financial planning solutions and technology for UK financial advisers, enabling them to bring value for their businesses and their clients.

About the department

An exciting permanent Lead PMO Analyst (Financial) opportunity has become available within the Adviser Operations team. This is a specialised team of business operations, technology, and change professionals, supporting the development and transformation of abrdn’s award winning platforms; Wrap and Elevate, as well as the broader change agenda of abrdn’s Adviser business.

This role will be within the Portfolio, Programme and Project Office team, whose remit is to ensure the effective operation of the portfolio management processes which underpin the investment in change to achieve strategic objectives, and that change delivery is adhering to robust governance, reporting and controls.

About the role

Reporting to the Head of Project & Transformation Governance, your primary role will be in financial management and reporting, providing financial support to a multi-year transformation programme, as well as to the broader Adviser business.

Additionally, you will have the flexibility to work within the wider Programme Management Office team to provide the core processes supporting change prioritisation, planning and delivery; governance, financial reporting, status reporting, planning, resource, RAID and benefits management and quality assurance services whilst embedding common methodologies, tools, and processes.

Key Responsibilities

Financial Management and Reporting

• Overall Portfolio, Programme and Project financial reporting to meet the needs of senior management for governance and decision making

  • Detailed financial management to maintain and run financial processes to capture budget, actual costs and forecast costs

  • Supporting commercial decision making through scenario analysis

  • Analysing financial contractor/third party data

  • Monthly programme/project expenditure reconciliations against budget

  • Ongoing management and tracking of purchase orders and invoices

  • Reconciliation of programme / project reporting to General Ledger

  • Supports other ad hoc requests and analysis

  • Build strong relationships with programme/project managers, Finance Business partner

Wider PMO team responsibilities

• Key role to play in the work/tasks/activities of the function.

  • Supporting key portfolio management processes (e.g. prioritisation, planning, resource capacity management, change control, and financials).

  • Supporting key processes required within the project/programme environment (e.g. governance, status reporting, resource management, RAID management, financial management and benefits management).

  • Providing a range of portfolio reporting and MI to support overall portfolio governance and decision making.

  • Providing quality assurance services to ensure strong governance over our change delivery process, ensuring programme / project managers adhere to the process and associated controls.

• Provides training to colleagues or partners on an area of specialism to upskill and educate others in the business support services provided. Educating on specific area of expertise and related processes/policies.

Minimum candidate requirements:

• Strong PMO background with subject matter expertise in PMO processes,, Monthly/Quarterly MI reporting, SharePoint, etc.

• Very good understanding of Governance Forums.

• Proven financial management reporting experience.

• Relevant academic qualification / working experience and extensive experience in similar roles.

• Excellent numerical comprehension and analytical skills with a strong attention to detail; ability to analyse data and clearly distil key information to present relevant financial insights to senior management.

• Good communication and influencing skills, with the ability to collaborate and influence at senior level (e.g. head of a team).

• Up to date knowledge and in-depth understanding of external practices that affect specialist area in order to be able to affect change in line with the industry.

• Ability to lead a small team of individuals.

• Excellent knowledge and proven experience of appropriate/relevant software and tools e.g. ServiceNow, Microsoft Office suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook), MS Teams, SharePoint, Power BI, DevOps.

We are proud to be a Disability Confident Committed employer. Therefore, if you have a disability and would like to submit an application to one of our UK roles under the Disability Confident Scheme, please notify us by completing the relevant section in our candidate questionnaire and one of our team will reach out to support you through your application process.

Our Benefits
There's more to working life than coming home with a good salary. We have an environment where you can learn, get involved and be supported.
When you join us, your reward will be one of the best around. This includes 40 days’ annual leave, a 16% employer pension contribution, a discretionary performance based bonus (where applicable), private healthcare and a range of flexible benefits – including gym discounts, season ticket loans and access to an employee discount portal.

We’re committed to providing an inclusive workplace where all forms of difference are valued and which is free from any form of unfair or unlawful treatment.  We define diversity in its broadest sense – this includes but is not limited to our diversity of educational and professional backgrounds, experience, cognitive and neurodiversity, age, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, religion or belief and ethnicity and geographical provenance.  We support a culture that values meritocracy, fairness and transparency and welcomes enquiries from everyone.

If you need assistance or an adjustment due to a disability please let us know as part of your application and we will assist.