Job Description
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About the Role
The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board is seeking an experienced and collaborative leader to serve as the Director of Portfolio Management. Reporting to the Senior Director of Business Strategy, this position is a key member of the Information Technology Services leadership team and provides strategic leadership and oversight for the agency's technology portfolio management organization, including Project Management, Product Owners, and Business Analysts.
The Director is responsible for ensuring technology demand, portfolio priorities, projects, products, and resources are managed through consistent, transparent, and outcome-focused practices. This position establishes portfolio management and delivery governance practices that help THECB determine what technology work should be pursued, how priorities should be balanced, how resources should be aligned, and how delivery performance and business outcomes should be measured.
Responsibilities include leading technology demand intake and prioritization; directing portfolio and project governance; strengthening project and program delivery practices; developing Product Owner and Business Analyst capabilities within ITS; aligning roadmaps, capacity, dependencies, and delivery commitments; and establishing meaningful portfolio performance measures and executive reporting.
Working collaboratively with ITS leadership, agency executives, business stakeholders, and technology teams, the Director helps translate organizational priorities into executable technology work while strengthening transparency, accountability, delivery discipline, and shared ownership of outcomes across business, product, project, and engineering functions.
This position supervises management and professional staff and exercises significant initiative and independent judgment while serving as a trusted advisor on portfolio management, prioritization, delivery governance, and organizational execution.
General Description:
Performs highly advanced (senior-level) managerial work for the Information Technology Services (ITS) Division of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB). Serving as the Director of IT Operations, this position provides strategic leadership and oversight for the agency's IT operations function, including infrastructure, networks, platforms, and enterprise support systems. The position is responsible for ensuring the stability, performance, security, and scalability of the technology environment that enables agency business operations and advances the agency's mission, strategic priorities, and service objectives.
Work involves establishing strategic plans, goals, and objectives for IT operations; developing operational policies, procedures, standards, and service delivery practices; and establishing priorities, performance measures, and evaluation tools to assess operational effectiveness, system availability, and service quality.
Responsibilities include directing enterprise IT operations and service delivery; overseeing operational risk management, security practices, disaster recovery, and continuity planning; directing financial planning, budgeting, and cost optimization for IT operations; managing vendor relationships, service agreements, and statements of work with external service providers for infrastructure and operational support services; and providing leadership for operational governance, regulatory compliance, and organizational change. Collaborates with ITS leadership and agency stakeholders to align operational services with business needs and long-term technology strategy, and provides operational input into agency-wide planning efforts.
Supervises the work of others, including management and professional staff. Works under minimal supervision, with extensive latitude for the use of initiative and independent judgment. This position reports to the Senior Director of Technology. Performs other duties as assigned.
General Duties and Responsibilities:
Strategic People Leadership & Talent Strategy Leads managers, senior individual contributors, or a combination of both by setting leadership expectations, supporting performance management, and guiding workforce and succession planning. Develops leadership capability and subject-matter expertise; aligns talent to strategic needs; and fosters a culture of accountability, inclusion, and continuous improvement.
Strategic Execution, Governance & Resource Alignment Defines and oversees execution of strategies within assigned domains by establishing goals, priorities, standards, and performance measures. Aligns budgets, staffing, and resources to objectives; ensures compliance and governance; and monitors organizational performance to achieve agency outcomes.
IT Operations & Service Delivery Leadership Directs enterprise IT operations and service delivery functions that support agency infrastructure, platforms, and end-user technology services. Establishes operational standards and performance expectations to ensure reliable, secure, and efficient technology services that support agency programs and mission-critical activities.
Operational Risk, Security & Continuity Management Oversees operational practices that protect the integrity, availability, and security of enterprise technology services. Establishes standards and procedures that support operational resilience, risk mitigation, and continuity of services while ensuring alignment with regulatory requirements, internal policies, and enterprise governance expectations.
Financial, Vendor & Resource Management Directs financial planning, budgeting, and resource allocation for IT operations. Oversees vendor relationships, contractual service agreements, and external service providers to ensure operational services are delivered efficiently and in alignment with organizational objectives and fiscal accountability standards.
Enterprise Collaboration & Operational Alignment Collaborates with IT leadership, agency executives, and business stakeholders to align operational technology services with organizational priorities. Provides operational insight into agency planning efforts and ensures IT services remain responsive to evolving business and mission requirements.
Performs other duties as assigned.
Knowledge Skills or Abilities:
The successful candidate will possess the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to provide strategic leadership for technology portfolio management and delivery governance while building a transparent, accountable, and high-performing organization.
Knowledge
Portfolio management, project management, program management, product management, and business analysis principles and practices.
Technology demand management, portfolio governance, prioritization, investment planning, resource alignment, and capacity management.
Project and program delivery methodologies, including predictive, Agile, iterative, and hybrid approaches.
Product-oriented operating models, product ownership, backlog management, discovery, requirements development, and outcome measurement.
Portfolio and project performance measures, executive reporting, risk management, dependency management, and benefits realization.
Strategic planning, organizational leadership, performance management, and continuous improvement methodologies.
Technology governance, financial planning, organizational planning, and operational risk management.
Skills
Leading, coaching, mentoring, developing, and managing high-performing project management, product management, business analysis, and related professional teams.
Establishing portfolio governance, demand management, prioritization, project delivery, product management, and business analysis practices.
Evaluating competing organizational needs and facilitating transparent prioritization and resource allocation decisions.
Analyzing portfolio performance, project health, resource capacity, dependencies, risks, and delivery constraints.
Developing meaningful portfolio metrics, dashboards, executive reports, and decision-support information.
Building collaborative relationships and facilitating stakeholder engagement across business, product, project, engineering, and executive audiences.
Communicating complex portfolio, project, product, and technology information in clear business terms.
Abilities
Provide strategic leadership and direction for portfolio management, project delivery, product ownership, and business analysis functions.
Align organizational priorities, technology demand, portfolio investments, delivery commitments, and available capacity.
Establish transparent decision frameworks and facilitate difficult prioritization and tradeoff discussions.
Lead, develop, coach, and mentor high-performing teams while promoting accountability, collaboration, role clarity, and professional growth.
Identify portfolio risks, delivery challenges, resource constraints, and systemic performance issues and implement appropriate corrective actions.
Integrate project management, product ownership, business analysis, and technology delivery practices into a cohesive operating model.
Lead organizational change, foster innovation, and cultivate a culture of continuous improvement and measurable outcomes.
Manage multiple priorities, allocate resources effectively, and make sound decisions in a dynamic and fast-paced environment.
Communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, with technical and nontechnical audiences.
Establish and maintain effective working relationships with executive leadership, agency staff, vendors, business partners, and external stakeholders.
Demonstrate professionalism, sound judgment, integrity, accountability, and a strong commitment to public service.
Attend work regularly and reliably.
Required In-Office Days:
This position is authorized for a hybrid telework schedule. Employees are required to work in the office three (3) days per week, with the remaining two (2) days eligible for telework. Specific in-office days may be determined by the department to meet business needs.
Military Crosswalk: https://hr.sao.texas.gov/Compensation/MilitaryCrosswalk/MOSC_ProgramManagement.pdf
Required Minimum Education and Experience:
Bachelor's degree from an accredited four-year college or university with major coursework in Business Administration, Public Administration, Information Systems, Project Management, Management, or a related field.
Ten (10) years of progressively responsible professional experience in project management, program management, portfolio management, product management, business analysis, information technology, business operations, or a related field.
Six (6) years of progressively responsible leadership experience, including responsibility for leading project management, portfolio management, product management, business analysis, technology delivery, or related professional teams.
Additional related work experience may substitute for the requ
