IT Portfolio Manager

We are a Firm where people truly believe in what they do and strive to achieve the highest standards of performance and success.

This position may be based at the Firm's Global Operations Center in Tampa, Florida or at the Firm's office in Dallas.

General Description:

We are seeking an IT Portfolio Manager to join our team. The IT Portfolio Manager manages the business unit's project portfolio while leading large, complex initiatives end to end ensuring delivery of measurable value aligned with strategic objectives. This role provides visibility, analysis, and coordination across initiatives, balancing hands-on project execution with portfolio oversight. They apply advanced project management practices to drive clarity, while maintaining rigorous governance, proactive risk management, strong stakeholder alignment and disciplined execution across enterprise-level efforts.

Key Responsibilities and Essential Job Functions:

Project Leadership & Execution

• Lead largescale, complex initiatives end-to-end, ensuring delivery meets defined scope, schedule, budget, quality, and value expectations.
• Apply advanced project and program management practices to ensure outcomes deliver measurable strategic value.
• Establish and validate project scope, value drivers, success criteria, and delivery approach.
• Develop and maintain integrated project plans incorporating critical path, resource strategy, and value delivery sequencing.
• Drive disciplined execution, accountability, and delivery excellence across diverse cross functional teams.
• Tailor multimodal delivery approaches (Waterfall, Agile, Hybrid) while enforcing governance rigor and organizational standards.
• Manage vendor activities, including RFP development, evaluation, selection, and oversight of vendor performance and contracted deliverables.

Stakeholder Management & Communication

• Operate as the primary interface to executive sponsors, business, and technical leaders as well as project stakeholders.
• Drive broad alignment across projects, business, and technical teams through structured engagement and feedback loops.
• Proactively communicate to stakeholder project status, risks, dependencies, and decisions, as appropriate. Produce executive ready reporting on portfolio status and impact.
• Travel as needed to support stakeholder engagement and project oversight.

Risk, Issue & Dependency Management

• Identify and manage portfolio and project level risks, issues, and dependencies.
• Optimize mitigation strategies across portfolios, remove systemic blockers swiftly and escalate risks and issues with clarity and urgency.
• Assess impacts of changes to timelines, scope, resources, or priorities and guide decision-making.

Financial & Resource Management

• Manage project budgets, forecasts, and variance in alignment with PMO standards.
• Support annual planning by capturing desired outcomes, benefits, costs, and estimated ROI.
• Track forecasts and actuals escalating projected overages.
• Coordinate resource planning including business-level resources and capacity considerations to support delivery commitments.
• Provide data to inform prioritization, sequencing, and staffing decisions.
• Ensure data elements are in place to deliver measurement of expected value outcomes

Governance & Documentation

• Maintain accurate project documentation, including charters, schedules, RAID logs, status reports, and change requests in designated PMO Tools.
• Ensure compliance with organizational governance, quality standards, and delivery controls.
• Champion a culture of disciplined execution and accountability across all delivery teams.
• Maintain portfolio dashboards and reporting accuracy.
• Capture lessons learned and contribute to continuous improvement across delivery practices.

Change & Adoption Support

• Lead structured change management activities to support adoption of complex initiatives.
• Partner with business leaders to assess stakeholder impacts, readiness, and adoption risks.
• Coordinate change sequencing and communication across initiatives to support organizational readiness and adoption.
• Ensure communication, training, and transition planning are integrated into project execution.

Portfolio Coordination and Optimization

• Maintain business/IT unit portfolio, roadmap, and initiative inventory.
• Facilitate portfolio prioritization and resource allocation for demands and projects
• Work with portfolio chief to sequence work based on priority and resource capacity
• Track progress of all initiatives (with or without dedicated PMs) and ensure PPM tool accuracy.
• Balance conflicting priorities and help remove portfolio-level blockers.

Mentoring & Best Practices

• Mentor and support the development of less experienced Project Managers.
• Promote consistent use of PMO processes, tools, and best practices.
• Contribute to the continuous improvement of delivery standards and practices.

Additional responsibilities

• Expected to maintain a regular and predictable work schedule and full attention to and engagement in work activities on behalf of the firm during business hours unless otherwise approved or required by applicable law.

• Special project and duties as assigned.

Required Skills:

• End-to-end leadership and accountability for large-scale, complex portfolio initiatives
• Advanced project and program management expertise with multimodal delivery leadership (Waterfall, Agile, Hybrid)
• Strategic portfolio planning, prioritization, and resource allocation leadership
• Integrated project planning, critical path management, and delivery governance
• Executive stakeholder engagement with ability to interface at all organizational levels

• Portfolio risk, issue, and dependency management with proactive mitigation strategies
• Financial stewardship including budget management, financial and resource forecasting, variance oversight, and ROI transparency
• Vendor management, contract oversight, and multi-workstream coordination
• Governance oversight, compliance accountability, and delivery discipline
• Portfolio optimization, roadmap management, and strategic sequencing leadership
• Experience using project management tools, templates, and governance processes.
• Organizational change leadership and cross initiative adoption enablement
• Data-driven decision making and value outcome measurement support
• Knowledge of or ability to learn Microsoft Office Suite, or Microsoft 365.

Required Qualifications & Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in business, Information Systems, Information Technology, or a related field
• 6+ years of project portfolio management experience.
• Project Management Professional (PMP) required.

Preferred Qualifications & Education:

• Master’s degree in business, Information Systems, Information Technology, or a related field
• Advanced program or portfolio management certification (PgMP®, PfMP®) strongly preferred.
• Agile or hybrid delivery certification (e.g., SAFe®, Disciplined Agile, CSM) preferred.
• Previous experience in a law firm a plus

Physical Requirements:

• Ability to sit or stand for extended periods of time.
• Moderate or advanced keyboard usage.

Benefits: Our goal is to promote a work environment in which individuals have access to the resources they need to be their best both professionally and personally, which includes resources that encourage individuals to focus on their health and well-being.

Below are the benefits we offer: comprehensive medical (PPO and HDHPs), dental and vision plans including coverage for domestic partners; life and AD&D insurance; short and long term disability insurance; tax-advantaged accounts for health care expenses, including FSAs and HSAs; FSAs for dependent care; health advocacy services; behavioral health and counseling resources for all family members; 401(k); profit sharing; backup dependent care; senior care planning support; resources for individuals with development disabilities and their caregivers; and paid holidays and other paid time off, including paid leave for new parents.

Holland & Knight is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth or related conditions, transgender status, and sexual orientation), national origin, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status or any other factor prohibited by law.

Applicants who are interested in applying for a position and require an accommodation during the process should contact [email protected].

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