Manager – Demand & Portfolio Management

Role Overview

Manager – Demand & Portfolio Management at Du, responsible for orchestrating demand intake, portfolio prioritization, and capacity alignment across business and IT functions.

Role Purpose

Own the end-to-end demand lifecycle and portfolio management function to ensure business demands are governed, prioritized, and executed within capacity and financial constraints, aligned to strategy and delivery capabilities across Agile and Waterfall models.

Key Responsibilities

Demand Intake & Governance

• Own and manage the end-to-end demand lifecycle from intake to closure across BAU, projects, and strategic initiatives.
• Ensure all demands meet entry criteria including business case, scope clarity, dependencies, and priority alignment.
• Enforce standardized demand artefacts (BRDs, epics, CRs) in collaboration with Product, Architecture, and Delivery teams.
• Act as the single point of orchestration for Business demands impacting IT systems.
• Cultivate strong relationships and communication channels with Business (Commercial & Customer and Channels), IT (design, delivery and development), Technology (Architecture, Service Operation, Network, TSRM), and Support Functions (Finance, HR, Procurement).
• Contribute as a key player in Product simplification and rationalization, MVP focus, and embedding digital first components as applicable for fastest time-to-market and highest value.

Portfolio Prioritization & Planning

• Drive portfolio prioritization aligned to business strategy, regulatory needs, and IT roadmap.
• Balance short-term BAU, revenue-generating initiatives, and long-term strategic investments.
• Facilitate prioritization forums with senior Business and IT stakeholders.
• Maintain a single version of truth for the demand and project portfolio.

Capacity & Financial Alignment

• Partner with Capacity & Planning teams to align demand forecasts with available capacity (internal teams and strategic vendors).
• Ensure demand plans are feasible within budget, MD capacity, and delivery constraints.
• Highlight capacity bottlenecks, funding gaps, and trade-off options to leadership.
• Support budget planning, forecast accuracy, and portfolio-level financial transparency.

Agile & Waterfall Portfolio Oversight

• Manage demand flow across Agile squads and Waterfall delivery streams, ensuring clarity on execution model.
• Ensure Agile backlogs are sufficiently refined and aligned with PI and quarterly planning.
• Track execution progress, dependencies, and risks across both delivery models.

Stakeholder Management & Communication

• Act as a trusted advisor to senior Business stakeholders on demand feasibility and sequencing.
• Provide clear, data-driven portfolio insights to IT leadership covering status, risks, trade-offs, and value.
• Resolve cross-functional conflicts related to priority, capacity, and delivery ownership.

Reporting, Metrics & Continuous Improvement

• Define and track portfolio KPIs including demand throughput, execution predictability, scope stability, and time-to-market.
• Provide executive-level dashboards and insights for decision-making.
• Continuously improve demand management processes, tools, and governance frameworks.

Qualifications & Experience

• Minimum Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Information Services, or Computer Science.
• Certifications in Project Management and Agile Methodologies are mandatory.
• Master's degree is a plus.
• 10–15 years of experience in IT demand, portfolio, program, or delivery management.
• Experience in telecom IT environments, with BSS/OSS experience preferred.
• Prior experience working with large transformation programs and BAU portfolios.
• Exposure to multi-vendor delivery environments.
• Must have exposure to the Netcarcker stack.

Skills & Competencies

• Strong portfolio and demand management expertise in large IT environments.
• Excellent stakeholder management and executive communication skills.
• Ability to make trade-off decisions balancing value, cost, risk, and capacity.
• Structured, data-driven, and outcome-oriented mindset.
• Strong understanding of Agile, SAFe, and Waterfall delivery models.
• Solid grasp of capacity planning, MD-based delivery models, and vendor governance.
• Proficiency with Jira, Confluence, and portfolio reporting tools.

Additional Information

Success measures for this role include improved demand predictability and on-time delivery, reduced unplanned work and scope volatility, higher portfolio throughput and business satisfaction, and clear alignment between strategy, funding, capacity, and execution.