Portfolio Performance Lead

Bold innovation and leadership. Informed decision-making. Impacting the future.

Portfolio Performance Lead

£65,000 - £70,000 (+ Benefits)

Reports to: Head of Data Strategy and Delivery

Department: Marketing, Fundraising & Engagement

Contract: Permanent

Hours: Full time 35 hours per week

Location: Stratford, London. Office-based with high flexibility (1-2 days per week in the office).

Visa sponsorship: Portfolio Performance Lead

Closing date: 27 February :55

This vacancy may close earlier if a high volume of applications is received or once a suitable candidate is found, therefore we strongly recommend that you apply early to avoid disappointment. If you require more time to apply as part of a reasonable adjustment, please contact as soon as possible.

Recruitment process: 2 stage interview process include task related to the role

Interview date: 12 and 16 March 2025 1st stage over Microsoft Teams

How do I apply? We operate an anonymised shortlisting process in our commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusion. CVs are required for all applications; but we won't be able to view them until we invite you for an interview. Instead, we ask you to fully complete the work history section of the online application form for us to be able to assess you quickly, fairly, and objectively.

At Cancer Research UK, we exist to beat cancer.

We are looking for a proactive and experienced performance professional to join us as Portfolio Performance Lead.

Cancer Research UK has a vision of a world where everyone can live longer, better lives, free from the fear of cancer. To help achieve this, we're strengthening how we engage and inspire people, evolving the way we use insight, data and digital tools to deepen supporter relationships and grow our impact.

Join us at Cancer Research UK as we step into an exciting new chapter of transforming how we engage supporters and accelerate progress towards beating cancer.

As our Portfolio Performance Lead, you'll play a central role in building a clearer, more connected understanding of how our fundraising and engagement activities are performing across the organisation. Your expertise in insight, performance and audience-led decision-making will help shape how we inspire and mobilise millions of people to support our lifesaving work.

In this influential role, you'll lead a team of Senior Performance Managers and work closely with colleagues across data, finance, strategy, marketing and propositions, to build a trusted, organisation-wide view of performance. You'll help create the systems, stories and rhythms that surface opportunities, highlight risks and inform senior leadership decisions. And you'll join a passionate, collaborative community where bold ideas are welcomed, people are valued, and your work will have a meaningful and lasting impact on our mission.

What will I be doing?

• Develop and communicate the portfolio performance story (including audience performance) working in partnership with other performance managers, Finance and Data Insight and Performance (DIP) specialist colleagues to ensure an aligned and consistent view
• Lead an effective portfolio performance management process, establishing portfolio level performance measurement frameworks, enabling the regular review of performance, identifying risks and opportunities to ensure outcome focused performance discussions at senior leadership level.
• Lead and develop a team of Senior Performance Managers, ensuring effective delivery as a team, and coaching team members to ensure ownership of their proposition areas
• Ensure senior leaders and business stakeholders have easy access to a centralised, consistent, independent view of performance which is up to date and relevant.
• Lead the Performance Management community in a consistent approach to priority and target setting as part of the planning process.
• Ensure central insights and the performance story are fed into the process, to provide an independent view and challenge assumptions where appropriate.
• Work with DIP colleagues to identify and enable opportunities to reduce manual work to focus effort on insight and performance storytelling and to identify opportunities for innovation through data to improve our processes, offer and engagement with supporters.
• Identify the portfolio performance management requirements and ensure the programme of senior performance managers' activity supports them (feed into DIP annual and quarterly planning).
• Lead the programme of activity for the Performance Management hub to design, document and champion best practice for standards, processes, ways of working and tools.
• Identifying data literacy needs to empower teams to engage confidently with performance data and drive continuous improvement.
• Contribute to governance and performance culture by engaging in data governance frameworks and promoting best practice, reinforcing accountability and a shared understanding of

What skills will I need?

This role could suit someone with a background as a Marketing Performance Lead, Growth Strategy Lead, Portfolio Performance Manager or Marketing Effectiveness Lead, whatever your background, you'll be able to demonstrate

• Proven experience working with finance, data, insight, and strategy teams to build and own a unified and trusted view of performance, including setting up frameworks and facilitating regular reviews.
• Strong understanding of performance measurement techniques across marketing, audience engagement, and organisational effectiveness.
• Ability to synthesise performance insights across multiple propositions and audiences to support strategic planning and decision-making.
• Experience in leading and developing a high-performing team of senior managers, with a focus on coaching, alignment to strategic goals, fostering collaboration and driving team development.
• Experience contributing to organisational change, particularly in evolving performance culture and embedding audience-led approaches.
• Ability to translate complex data into strategic recommendations and compelling narratives for non-technical audiences.
• Confident communicator with a proven ability to influence stakeholders at all levels, including in challenging or ambiguous situations.
• Seeks new methods and innovations in measurement, effectiveness, and performance management to drive improvement and learning.

Our organisation values are designed to guide all that we do.

Bold: Act with ambition, courage and determination

Credible: Act with rigour and professionalism

Human: Act to have a positive impact on people

Together: Act inclusively and collaboratively

We're looking for people who can believe in and embody these organisation values and can use them to drive forward progress against our mission to beat cancer.

If you're interested in applying and excited about working with us but are unsure if you have the right skills and experience we'd still love to hear from you.

What will I gain?

We create a working environment that supports your wellbeing and provide a generous benefits package, a wide range of career and personal development opportunities and high-quality tools. Our policies and processes enable you to improve your work-life balance, take positive steps in your career and achieve your personal wellbeing goals.

You can explore our benefits by visiting our careers web page.

Additional Information

For more information about working with us please visit our website or contact us.

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