Job#: 3036437

Job Description:

Senior Technical Project / Portfolio Manager

Everforth - Apex Systems is a global IT services provider, and our Staffing  practice has an opening in the Financial Industry for a Senior Technical Project/Portfolio Manager with strong experience creating a portfolio from scratch and delivery management experience to place at our client a large Canadian Bank.

Start date: ASAP.

Location: Toronto/ hybrid

In office: Monday, Tuesday and the 4thFriday of each month

Overview

Our client is seeking a Senior Technical Project / Portfolio Manager to step into a highly visible role supporting a growing book of work that has historically been managed through delivery teams without a formal portfolio management structure. This person will be responsible for building portfolio management discipline from the ground up while simultaneously driving active delivery across multiple initiatives.

This is not a traditional governance-only PM role. The ideal candidate is a hands-on, technically fluent delivery leader who can bring structure, create transparency, drive prioritization, and proactively remove blockers across a complex portfolio of work. The right person will be comfortable operating in ambiguity, partnering with senior stakeholders, and balancing process with pragmatism.

Why This Role Exists

Over the past several years, the team has primarily focused on smaller enhancements and BAU growth initiatives, with work managed through delivery teams and more junior project resources. As organizational demands have increased, the volume and complexity of incoming requests now exceed current team capacity.

This role has been created to:

·      Establish a formal portfolio management function

·      Bring structure and visibility across a growing body of work

·      Support more effective leadership reporting and prioritization

·      Ensure delivery teams are focused on the highest-value initiatives

·      Create a scalable model for intake, prioritization, execution, and resource planning

Key Responsibilities

Portfolio Management & Governance

·      Build and implement a portfolio management structure from the ground up for an existing multi-year book of work

·      Create clear visibility into all incoming and active initiatives, including:

o  current status

o  delivery progress

o  risks and blockers

o  target/requested dates

o  resource constraints

o  items that cannot yet be started

·      Establish practical governance processes that improve decision-making without creating unnecessary bureaucracy

·      Facilitate trade-off discussions around prioritization, sequencing, scope reduction, and deferral of lower-value work

·      Help determine when “gold-plated” solutions should be scaled back to a more practical MVP approach

Delivery Leadership

·      Manage active initiatives across a portfolio of technical and business-driven work

·      Drive execution with a proactive delivery mindset, rather than relying solely on team-reported updates

·      Monitor timelines and milestones closely, identify slippage early, and intervene to address risks before they impact delivery

·      Ask the right questions to understand why deadlines may be at risk, what blockers exist, and what support is needed to get work back on track

·      Take ownership of unblocking teams and driving momentum across cross-functional stakeholders

Stakeholder Management & Prioritization

·      Partner with business and technology stakeholders to clarify requests, refine requirements, and align on scope

·      Lead prioritization conversations when competing initiatives are all presented as urgent

·      Help stakeholders understand capacity limitations and make informed decisions around what is truly critical versus nice-to-have

·      Build strong working relationships with leaders across technology, delivery, and the business to support effective planning and execution

Leadership Reporting & Visibility

·      Prepare clear, concise, and actionable reporting for leadership

·      Translate delivery information into meaningful portfolio-level insights for senior stakeholders

·      Communicate where initiatives are progressing well, where support is needed, and where risks or resourcing gaps may impact outcomes

·      Provide a consolidated view of ongoing work to improve transparency and decision-making

Resource Planning & Scalability

·      Assess team capacity and identify gaps in delivery support across the portfolio

·      Make recommendations regarding additional support needs, including PMs, PCOs, Scrum Masters, or other delivery resources

·      Support the business case for future hiring by clearly articulating workload, capacity constraints, and organizational risk

Required Qualifications

·      7–10+ years of experience in project, program, and/or portfolio management within complex enterprise environments

·      Proven experience setting up or formalizing portfolio management functions, not just operating within an established PMO or portfolio structure

·      Strong delivery experience managing multiple concurrent initiatives, programs, or workstreams

·      Background in a technical environment, with prior experience as a:

o  Business Analyst (BA)

o  Business Systems Analyst (BSA)

o  Developer

o  or highly technical Project/Program Manager

·      Demonstrated ability to balance governance and structure with flexibility and pragmatism

·      Strong experience facilitating prioritization and trade-off conversations with business and technology stakeholders

·      Ability to proactively identify delivery risks, challenge assumptions, and drive solutions rather than simply coordinating meetings and status updates

·      Strong executive communication skills with experience preparing leadership-facing updates and summaries

·      Comfortable working in ambiguous environments where process and structure are still being defined

Preferred Qualifications

·      Experience in data, reporting, or integration-heavy environments

·      Understanding of technical concepts such as:

o  APIs

o  batch vs. real-time / near real-time processing

o  JSON, XML, and flat file specifications

·      Exposure to Databricks is considered an asset

·      Prior experience in financial services, capital markets, regulatory, or enterprise transformation environments is a plus

·      Familiarity with CIBC or similar large enterprise banking environments is highly desirable

Tools & Technology Experience

Candidates should be comfortable discussing hands-on experience with:

·      Microsoft Project – especially for schedule management and impact modeling

·      Jira

·      Confluence

·      ServiceNow – basic working knowledge expected

·      Databricks – nice to have

What Success Looks Like

In this role, success will look like:

·      Establishing a clear and sustainable portfolio management framework

·      Bringing order, transparency, and accountability to a previously unstructured book of work

·      Improving leadership visibility into priorities, status, risks, and resource constraints

·      Helping the business make better decisions about what to start, stop, defer, or simplify

·      Driving initiatives forward with a strong delivery lens and proactive problem-solving mindset

·      Identifying where additional delivery support is needed and helping shape the future operating model

Ideal Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate is not a process-heavy PM who relies only on templates, governance gates, and status reporting. They are a technical, delivery-oriented leader who knows how to create structure while staying adaptable. They are comfortable getting into the details, challenging timelines, surfacing risks early, and helping teams move work forward.

They combine:

·      portfolio thinking

·      hands-on delivery leadership

·      technical fluency

·      strong business partnership

·      practical problem-solving

Engagement Details

·      Timeline: Urgent need; target onboarding within 4–6 weeks

·      Interview Process: Typically two rounds

o  45–60 minute initial interview

o  Follow-up in-person interview with leadership/team stakeholders

Apex pay scales are determined by role, experience, skill set, and location. For this new position, the estimated hourly range is provided below as a guideline; however, total compensation may vary based on individual circumstances.

·      Hourly Range: $80.00-$95.00/hr.

Everforth Apex is a world-class IT services company that serves thousands of clients across the globe. When you join Everforth Apex, you become part of a team that values innovation, collaboration, and continuous learning. We offer quality career resources, training, certifications, development opportunities, and a comprehensive benefits package. Our commitment to excellence is reflected in many awards, including ClearlyRateds Best of Staffing® in Talent Satisfaction in the United States and Great Place to Work® in the United Kingdom and Mexico.

Everforth Apex Benefits Overview: In terms of professional development, Everforth Apex hosts an on-demand training program, provides access to certification prep and a library of technical and leadership courses/books/seminars once you have 6+ months of tenure, and certification discounts and other perks to associations that include CompTIA and IIBA.