Portfolio Lead

Position Overview 
Pillar Leads will serve as senior program managers reporting to the PMO Director, responsible for day-to-day execution coordination and leadership across assigned Immediate Action pillars at top utility company in Nashville, TN.
Pillar Leads function as the primary operational interface between the PMO and pillar leadership teams. They will manage day-to-day initiative coordination, working group leadership, issue identification and escalation, and execution oversight. This is a hands-on role requiring daily engagement with pillar teams, steering committee visibility, and collaborative problem-solving under compressed timelines. 
Core Responsibilities 

• Coordinate day-to-day execution across two assigned Immediate Action pillars, serving as primary interface between PMO and pillar leadership teams 

• Participate in portfolio baseline assessment (Days 1-21) to identify all initiatives within assigned pillars, document scope, complexity, interdependencies, and resource requirements 

• Lead daily coordination with pillar leads and project teams on critical issues, dependencies, blockers, and status updates; escalate risks and conflicts to PMO Director 

• Facilitate weekly working sessions with pillar teams to review initiative status, clarify priorities, surface emerging issues, and ensure alignment to critical path 

• Identify and escalate cross-pillar dependencies and potential sequencing conflicts; work with other Pillar Lead to coordinate interdependent initiatives 

• Manage initiative-level schedules and milestones; identify schedule variances, critical path risks, and acceleration opportunities 

• Track capital and operating spend by initiative within assigned pillars; provide input to cost engineers on budget forecasting and variance analysis 

• Maintain Smartsheet portfolio tracking system with current initiative status, milestones, risks, issues, and dependencies for assigned pillars 

• Participate in PMO risk and issue management; identify pillar-level risks and issues, provide daily updates to risk log, escalate top risks to steering committee 

• Work with PMO Director to identify execution acceleration opportunities, parallel workstreams, and quick wins within assigned pillars 

• Prepare pillar-level status summaries and dashboards for weekly steering committee briefings; present status, risks, escalations, and resource needs 

• Coordinate with Project Managers, Cost Engineers, and Schedulers assigned to pillars (deployed day 22+); provide direction and escalation support 

• Attend daily PMO leadership meetings, weekly steering committee briefings, and monthly portfolio reviews 

• 10+ years of program and project management experience in complex operational environments (utilities, energy, infrastructure, or similar) 

• 5+ years of experience coordinating multi-initiative portfolios or programs with multiple workstreams and stakeholders 

• Demonstrated experience managing $250M+ capital or operational programs with complex stakeholder coordination and regulatory requirements 

• Strong knowledge of project controls, schedule management, critical path analysis, and variance identification 

• Experience working in fast-paced, dynamic environments with ability to manage multiple competing priorities and compressed timelines 

• Experience with portfolio management tools (Smartsheet, MS Project, Maximo, or similar) and enterprise reporting systems 

• Experience with emergency, post-event, or crisis recovery program management preferred 

• Understanding of utility industry operations, capital project delivery, and infrastructure asset management preferred 

• Project Management Professional (PMP) certification preferred; additional certifications in program management or portfolio management a plus 

• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills across multiple organizational levels 

• Ability to work effectively with executive sponsors, steering committees, and working-level project teams 

• Detail-oriented with strong organizational and coordination skills 

• Problem-solving and issue resolution orientation 

• Ability to work collaboratively with peer Pillar Lead on cross-pillar initiatives and shared dependencies 

• Strong analytical and reporting capabilities 

• Adaptability and flexibility in rapidly changing operational environments 

• Initiative ownership and accountability for assigned pillar performance 

• Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Excel, PowerPoint, Word) and portfolio management systems 

• Emergency Management & Operational Preparedness - Initiatives addressing emergency response protocols, operational continuity, and preparedness for future events 

• Customer Communications & Experience - Initiatives supporting customer communication strategy, service restoration updates, and customer experience improvement 

• System Resilience & Infrastructure Investment - Initiatives for system hardening, grid resilience improvements, and capital investment programs 

• Organizational Effectiveness & Governance - Initiatives addressing organizational structure, governance frameworks, and internal processes