Information Systems Manager - Transport Operations

Digital Product Portfolio Manager - Rail Operations, Engineering & Asset Management systems

Unique opportunity to join a major, well-known transport group organisation in the Senior post of Operations Digital Product Portfolio Manager, as they transition to a new Digital, Product focused, centralised group IT operating model. As the Digital Product Portfolio Manager for the Operational Product Portfolio you will provide leadership and strategic management of a portfolio of Digital Products, servicing all group businesses.

Digital Products within the Operational Digital Product Portfolio include a breadth of systems spanning train service planning and delivery, engineering/asset maintenance and management, and onboard/digital train etc

This is a highly strategically influential position, servicing all operating companies within the group. Your work will span oversight of associated programmes and projects, product development, business process change, strategic supplier and vendor management and tracking of business case benefits.

Responsibilities will include;

• Working with senior stakeholders across the group for Operations/Engineering/Asset Management, to define the portfolio and product strategy and roadmap, supporting business outcomes.
• Drive continuous improvement of products across the portfolio. Ensuring alignment with business needs and direction.
• Champion the portfolio and individual products across the group organisations, driving adoption and development of Operational/engineering/asset management products; i.e. Engineering Maintenance, Control Decision Support, Rostering, Train Planning, On Board Products (such as Condition Based Monitoring, CCTV etc) and Station Systems.
• Work closely with key stakeholders to prioritise business outcomes and effectively align and manage product roadmaps
• Drive innovation, identifying business and/or technology opportunities, evaluating product capabilities, producing robust business cases etc
• Work across the group to ensure the portfolio and individual products continue to deliver value to the businesses.
• Drive centralisation at group level, delivering significant convergence and standardisation of applications across the group, reducing the currently very high number of "single-instances" of applications across the group businesses.
• Manage vendors and suppliers closely, in managing technical and functional change requests and ensuring that their product roadmaps align to those of the Group.
• Be an active member of the industry, looking for opportunities to drive competitive commercial advantage, through research and analysis.
• Support M&A activity by providing product knowledge, insight into market trends etc
• Establish, monitor and report on portfolio and product performance indicators, including business results/benefits, creating reference cases etc
• Work with wider industry forums and network groups to influence and shape industry products

The business has a hunger for innovation, with a broad range of major transformation projects in flight and in the pipeline. Note: all COTS systems, no in-house and/or bespoke development

This position will suit a visionary Senior Application Portfolio Manager, IT Systems Manager, Product Manager or similar, with experience of managing transport Operations, Engineering or Asset Management type digital products.

Required skills, experience and attributes:
Demonstrable experience of owning IT strategy and developing roadmaps for digital products / applications, including Operations, Engineering or Asset Management type digital products.

• Experience of delivering such in complex, large-scale group or federated businesses
• Confident in managing and influencing product vendors and suppliers
• A strong commercial acumen, who views technology as an enabler with demonstrable experience of driving business improvement through technology
• Able to prioritise and manage a clear backlog and roadmap which defines the scope of each delivery against KPI's.
• Strong stakeholder engagement and management skills, at senior levels
• Passionate about Information Technology/ Digital Innovation
• Experienced in delivering business critical technology projects
• Ideally you will have demonstrable experience of driving application consolidation
• Strong experience of business and financial modelling and management of budgets
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to self-manage and influence at senior levels

This is a rare opportunity to join this well known, major organisation as one of the first hires in a wider, significant IT operating model transformation. Huge amount of career progression opportunity

Central London. Flexible working.
Some UK travel required.
Paying up to £75,000 + bonus and standard corporate benefits