People Transformation Portfolio & Execution Lead

Job Description

People Transformation Portfolio & Execution Lead 

Any UK location

Full Time – Permanent

We are looking for an experienced People Transformation Portfolio & Execution Lead to join the team. Working across People SMEs, Divisions, GBS, HR Technology and OE Leads, the role will establish an integrated view of the transformation portfolio, enabling effective prioritisation, sequencing, dependency management and transparent decision-making

Why join Rolls-Royce?

At Rolls-Royce we are proud to be a business that has truly helped to shape the modern world and are committed to always being a force for progress; powering, protecting and connecting people everywhere.

By joining Rolls-Royce, you'll have the opportunity to work on world-class solutions, supported by a culture that believes individuality is our greatest strength, and all perspectives, experiences and backgrounds help us innovate and enable our high-performance culture.

About The role

The People Transformation Portfolio & Execution Lead will play a critical role in accelerating the execution of the People Function transformation agenda, creating the enterprise-wide portfolio management, governance and execution discipline required to translate strategy into measurable outcomes. 

What you will be doing 

• Lead integrated portfolio execution: Establish and maintain an enterprise view of the People transformation portfolio across SMEs, Divisions, GBS and HR Technology, connecting priorities, milestones, interdependencies, capacity, risks and outcomes into one coherent execution plan. 

• Drive prioritisation and enterprise trade-offs: Create the portfolio mechanisms that enable leadership to make explicit choices on priorities, sequencing and resource capacity, ensuring competing demands and dependencies are surfaced early and translated into timely decisions. This reflects existing People Function technology governance, where changes are assessed against strategy, budget and implementation capacity and can require prioritisation against the existing plan.

• Establish and run transformation governance: Design, establish and embed the multi-layered governance rhythm for the transformation portfolio, ensuring the right issues, decisions, risks and dependencies flow efficiently through programme, SME and leadership governance forums. Existing People Function governance already distinguishes responsibilities for sponsorship, assessment, coordination, tracking and decision-making, providing an important foundation to build upon rather than duplicate.

• Create execution transparency and intervention: Establish consistent portfolio performance insight, identifying areas that are off-track, cross-functional dependencies, delivery constraints and decisions requiring intervention, and drive actions through to resolution. 

• Build an enterprise execution capability: Reduce the programme management and coordination burden on specialist teams, enabling SMEs to focus on functional expertise and transformation outcomes while improving the flow of information between SMEs, OE Leads, Divisions, GBS and HR Technology. 

Role outcomes 

The role will be successful when: 

• One integrated portfolio exists across the People transformation agenda, with clear priorities, outcomes, ownership, sequencing and critical dependencies. 
• Governance drives decisions rather than reporting, with clear escalation paths, decision rights and disciplined follow-through. 
• Portfolio-level trade-offs are visible, enabling leadership to make conscious choices on priorities, capacity, sequencing and investment rather than managing initiatives independently. 
• Execution transparency improves, giving senior leadership a clear and consistent view of progress, risks, dependencies, decisions and interventions required. 
• SME capacity is released, reducing the PM and coordination burden currently sitting within specialist teams and enabling them to concentrate on substantive transformation outcomes. 
• Information flows smoothly across the People system, connecting SMEs, GBS, HR Technology, OE Leads and Divisions rather than relying on multiple disconnected reporting processes.

Who were looking for:

Position requirements 

• Significant experience leading complex, enterprise-scale transformation portfolios or programmes involving multiple functions, stakeholders and interconnected workstreams. 

• Demonstrable experience establishing and operating portfolio management, programme governance, prioritisation, dependency management, risk management and executive reporting disciplines. 

• Strong strategic judgement with the ability to translate strategy into executable priorities and to identify and frame portfolio-level choices, trade-offs and interventions for senior leaders. 

• Strong stakeholder leadership and influencing capability, with experience operating across organisational boundaries and aligning senior stakeholders where accountabilities and priorities intersect. 

• Strong delivery orientation, with the ability to create structure in complex and changing environments and establish effective execution disciplines at pace. 

Preferred requirements 

• Experience of large-scale People, HR, operating model, technology or enterprise transformation. 

• Experience working across business, functional, shared-services and technology organisations in a complex global environment. 

• Experience developing portfolio management capabilities, governance frameworks and decision-support mechanisms rather than simply operating established PMO processes. 

• Understanding of recognised programme/project management, transformation and continuous-improvement disciplines. 

• Experience supporting executive governance forums and translating complex programme information into clear choices and decisions. 

Regional Benefits

Our People are our power, so when join Rolls-Royce you are offered more than a salary. You are given a choice of flexible benefits from life insurance to gym discounts and tax free cycling.

• Generous Annual Leave
• Retirement Savings through the Rolls-Royce Retirement Savings Trust
• Group Life Assurance provides for a lump sum benefit if you die whilst employed by Rolls-Royce
• Group Income Protection provides an income in the event that you are unable to work due to illness or injury
• Your Shares: Matched is a simple way to own Rolls-Royce shares and invest in our future, together. Buy one share, get one free!
• Digital GP provides a convenient way for you to access GP consultations
• Employee Assistance (EAP) and Live Well programmes

Our vision is to ensure that the excellence and ingenuity that shaped our history continues into our future. Our multi-year transformation programme aims to turn Rolls-Royce into a high-performing, competitive, resilient and growing company. Join us, and it can be your future vision too.

Rolls-Royce are committed to being a respectful, inclusive, and non-discriminatory workplace where individuality is valued, diverse perspectives fuel innovation, and everyone can thrive.

Please be aware that the priority will be given to employees identified as being at high risk. The professional level and salary of the position will be dependent on the skills and experience of the successful candidate but is anticipated to be Level C

This job is advertised at the grades shown, and this is the desired operating level for this role. We encourage applications from candidates with relevant experience from any grade. 

It is advised that you inform your current manager of your application for this role.   

Close Date: 24.11.2026

Recruiter: Ashley Ellis-Beeston

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