Head of Technology Planning

Because we strive to put people first.

Culture, our way

As Head of Technology Planning, you will provide strong, visible leadership for Primark’s portfolio delivery capability, creating the direction, discipline and accountability required to translate strategy into executable plans and measurable business outcomes. You will build and operate a mature portfolio capability suited to a complex PLC environment, ensuring investment choices, governance and delivery priorities are aligned to Primark’s transformation agenda, risk obligations and cost ambitions.

You will implement and continuously improve Technology’s portfolio management capability, aligned to industry best practice and integrated with enterprise planning and governance. This will cover strategy-to-portfolio, demand and prioritisation, governance, financial management, capacity and capability planning, delivery assurance, dependency management and benefits realisation. You will establish effective communities of practice for programme, project, PMO and business analysis disciplines, creating consistent standards, stronger professional capability and a culture of learning, collaboration and outcome excellence.

Operating as a trusted adviser to the Technology Leadership Team and senior business stakeholders, you will influence investment and prioritisation decisions, provide clear insight and challenge constructively. You will design and embed transparent capacity and resourcing models across colleagues, contractors and strategic partners to match demand with the right skills, location and commercial model, optimise utilisation and cost, and strengthen delivery confidence without compromising quality, control or business outcomes.

What You’ll Do as a Head of Technology Planning;

In your role, you’ll collaborate with different people across a range of skillsets. Here’s a flavour of your day-to-day:

• Provide strong, visible leadership for Technology portfolio planning and delivery, setting a clear direction, raising standards and creating a culture of accountability, collaboration and continuous improvement.
• Build, implement and operate a scalable Technology portfolio delivery capability appropriate to a complex PLC environment, with clear decision rights, governance, controls, measures and executive reporting, aligned with enterprise-level planning and governance.
• Own the single Technology Delivery Plan, integrating business and technology roadmaps, outcomes, investments, dependencies, milestones, risks and resource requirements.
• Implement an end-to-end Technology portfolio management framework aligned to recognised industry best practice and connected to enterprise-level processes, spanning strategy-to-portfolio, demand intake, prioritisation, financial and capacity planning, delivery assurance, dependency management, benefits realisation and post-investment review.
• Lead annual and quarterly portfolio planning, ensuring investment decisions balance strategic value, risk, affordability, capacity, capability and delivery feasibility.
• Provide transparent portfolio insight and recommendations to the Technology Leadership Team and senior business stakeholders, constructively challenging priorities and influencing timely, evidence-based decisions.
• Build trusted relationships across Technology, the business EPMO, Finance, Procurement, People and Culture, and strategic partners to align priorities and remove barriers to delivery.
• Establish and sustain communities of practice for programme, project, PMO and business analysis disciplines, with clear standards, role expectations, learning pathways, knowledge sharing and maturity improvement.
• Design and implement data-led capacity, capability and resourcing models that provide a single view of demand and supply across colleagues, contractors and partners.
• Use forward-looking demand forecasts, skills data, utilisation and scenario modelling to identify constraints early and inform start, stop, sequence, source and location decisions.
• Partner with Technology leaders and strategic suppliers to deploy the right skills in the right place at the right cost, applying Primark sourcing principles and optimising the mix of permanent, contingent, nearshore, offshore and outcome-based capacity.

People are at the heart of what we do here, so it’s essential we provide you with the right environment to perform at your very best.

Let’s talk lifestyle: Healthcare, pension, and potential bonus. 27 days of leave, plus bank holidays and if you want, you can buy 5 more. Because Primark is all about tailoring to you, we offer Tax Saver Tickets, fitness centre, and a subsidised cafeteria. 

What You’ll Bring  

Here at Primark, we want everyone to feel valued – so please bring your authentic self to work, of course with some other key experience and abilities for this role in particular;

• Substantial senior leadership experience in portfolio, programme or enterprise delivery management, including accountability for a complex, multi-year technology portfolio.
• Proven experience of building, implementing and operating a Technology portfolio delivery capability within a large, listed PLC or similarly regulated, complex and geographically distributed organisation, working effectively with enterprise-level planning and governance functions.
• Demonstrable success in increasing portfolio maturity and embedding an end-to-end portfolio management framework aligned to recognised industry best practice.
• Deep expertise in strategy-to-portfolio, investment prioritisation, governance, financial planning, delivery assurance, dependency management, benefits realisation and portfolio performance reporting.
• Strong knowledge of waterfall, agile, lean portfolio and hybrid delivery approaches, with the judgement to apply proportionate methods in a complex enterprise environment.
• Proven experience of establishing and sustaining communities of practice across programme, project, PMO and business analysis disciplines, including standards, capability development, knowledge sharing and career pathways.
• Exceptional leadership presence, with a track record of setting direction, mobilising teams, raising standards, coaching leaders and sustaining accountability through significant change.
• Highly credible and influential with executive and board-level stakeholders, able to translate complex portfolio information into clear choices, challenge constructively and secure alignment across competing priorities.
• Strong commercial and financial acumen, including experience of significant technology budgets, partner rate and contract models, investment trade-offs and benefits measurement.
• Experience of portfolio management tooling and data standards, ideally including Planisware, with a record of improving adoption, data quality and decision insight.
• Excellent analytical, communication and presentation skills, with the ability to translate enterprise strategy into Technology portfolio priorities and move confidently into detailed delivery intervention.
• Relevant degree or equivalent experience. Portfolio, programme, agile or change qualifications such as MoP, MSP, PgMP, PMP or SAFe are advantageous.

Does this sound like you? Great, because we can’t wait to see what you’ll bring. You’ll be supported within a team of equally capable people, celebrating who you are and aiding you reach your potential. At Primark, we’re excited about our future - and we’re excited to develop yours.

About Primark 

At Primark, people matter. They’re the beating heart of our business and the reason we’ve grown from our first store in Dublin in 1969 to a £9bn+ turnover business and over 80,000 colleagues and over 440 stores in 17 countries today. Our values run through everything we do. In essence, we're Caring and always strive to put people first. We're also Dynamic, bravely pushing the boundaries to stay ahead. And finally, we succeed Together.  

If you need any reasonable adjustments or have an accessibility request, during your recruitment journey, such as extended time or breaks between online assessments, a sign language interpreter, mobility access, or assistive technology please contact your talent acquisition specialist. 

All offers of employment are subject to background checks, including right to work, reference education and for some roles criminal, and financial checks. If you have any concerns, please reach out to our talent acquisition team to discuss.