Strategy & Portfolio Manager (9 Month Maternity Cover)

Here at Fortnum’s, we have been in the business of making joy for our customers, our people and our connected communities for over 300 years. Our challenge is to shape a successful future while remaining true to what makes Fortnum & Mason distinctive. 

The Strategy & Portfolio team works at the heart of Fortnum & Mason’s strategic planning, investment prioritisation and delivery of major cross-business change. Reporting to the Director of Strategy and working closely with the Executive Team, the Strategy & Portfolio Manager will help turn the company’s strategic priorities into clear choices, coordinated plans and effective action. 

The role has three core areas of focus: 

• Helping to maintain oversight and effective coordination of some of Fortnum’s major investment programmes, ensuring that dependencies, decisions, risks and accountabilities are understood across the business. 
• Supporting high-quality Executive and Board decision-making through clear analysis, recommendations and reporting. 
• Contributing to the development of company strategy and selected strategic priorities. 

This is a broad, hands-on role offering significant exposure to senior leaders and some of the company’s most important opportunities and challenges. It would suit someone who combines strong judgement, analytical thinking and communication with the ability to bring structure and momentum to complex cross-functional work. 

Major programmes and investment portfolio 

• Help maintain oversight and effective coordination of selected major investment programmes, ensuring that milestones, dependencies, decisions, risks and accountabilities are clear. 
• Identify issues that cut across programmes or functions and help to ensure that they are resolved or escalated at the right level. 
• Support the prioritisation, governance and reporting of the wider strategic investment portfolio, including ongoing monitoring of project commercials. 

Executive and Board decision support 

• Work with the Director of Strategy and Executive Team to structure priority business questions, evaluate options and develop clear recommendations. 
• Produce concise, high-quality analysis and reporting for Exec Team and Board discussions. 
• Bring together financial, operational, customer and external evidence to improve the quality and pace of senior stakeholder decision-making. 

Strategy development and strategic analysis 

• Contribute to future iterations of Fortnum & Mason’s company strategy and support to communicate strategic priorities to the wider business. 
• Lead or support selected strategic projects, from defining the question and conducting analysis through to recommendations and implementation planning. 
• Assess business performance, customer insight and external developments to identify emerging opportunities, challenges and strategic implications. 

Role Specific Criteria 

We expect the successful candidate to have the following skills and experience: 

Essential 

• Strong analytical and critical-thinking skills, with a track record of tackling complex business questions, identifying what matters and reaching clear, evidence-based conclusions. 
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including experience turning complex information into concise analysis and recommendations for senior stakeholders. 
• Strong commercial judgement, with the ability to consider financial, customer and operational implications rather than viewing issues through a single functional lens. 
• Experience coordinating complex work across multiple teams, identifying dependencies and risks, and maintaining momentum through others. 
• The credibility to work with senior stakeholders, challenge constructively and influence decisions without relying on formal authority. 
• A curious, proactive and adaptable approach, with the ability to manage competing priorities and focus on what matters most. 

Desirable 

• Experience in strategy, commercial finance, transformation or programme delivery. 
• Exposure to strategic projects, business cases or Executive and Board-level work. 
• Knowledge of retail, hospitality, luxury or another consumer-facing business. 

In return, we offer‿ 

• A competitive salary 
• A discretionary annual bonus scheme 
• A generous store and restaurant discount (of up to 40%) 
• A subsidised staff restaurant which uses Fortnum’s ingredients 
• 25 days paid holiday (plus bank holidays) a year and an extra day off for your birthday 
• Excellent pension scheme 
• Development opportunities to help grow your career 
• Additional annual leave and a gift once you have been with us for 5 years 
• A hybrid working model – you can expect to be working approximately 3 days per week from our Piccadilly office, with the flexibility to work elsewhere on other days 
• Flexible working options – Fortnum’s encourages flexible working arrangements so do discuss this with us if you wish to consider a part-time role