Portfolio Manager

Headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Focus on the Family has nearly 700 employees who work to achieve the mission of enriching the lives of families, engaging the culture, advocating for life and spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The work is meaningful, the culture is rewarding, and the purpose is eternal.

The Portfolio Manager position exists to own the process by which strategy is developed, scored, and governed across the portfolio of constituent-facing programs and initiatives. This role does not own the content of individual program strategies; instead, it designs, operates, and continuously improves the systems, frameworks, and decision rights (including scoring models and veto authority) that ensure proposed strategies are rigorously evaluated, aligned with Focus on the Family’s mission and priorities, and advanced or declined through a transparent, consistent process. Working in partnership with ministry stakeholders, the ePMO, and cross-functional teams, the Portfolio Manager safeguards portfolio integrity and stewardship of organizational resources.

Essential Duties/Responsibilities:

Strategy Development Process Ownership:

• Designs, documents, and continuously improves the end-to-end process by which strategy for constituent-facing programs and initiatives is developed, reviewed, and decided.

• Facilitates strategy-development workshops and intake processes so that ministry and executive stakeholders can propose strategy within a clear, consistent framework.

• Ensures the strategy process remains aligned with Focus on the Family’s mission, guiding pillars, and organizational priorities while remaining efficient and well-understood across the organization.

• Maintains visibility of the full portfolio of constituent-facing programs, their interdependencies, and the status of strategy proposals moving through the process.

Scoring Systems, Prioritization & Veto Authority:

• Develops, maintains, and applies consistent scoring frameworks that evaluate proposed strategies and initiatives (impact, strategic alignment, feasibility, resource requirements, risk, and other defined criteria).

• Operates the systems and decision forums through which scored proposals are prioritized, advanced, deferred, or declined.

• Exercises and stewards formal veto or gate-keeping authority over strategies and initiatives that do not meet established thresholds or portfolio criteria, ensuring decisions are transparent, documented, and consistent.

• Conducts scenario modeling and what-if analyses to support investment decisions, resource allocation, and trade-off discussions; present recommendations and trade-off analyses to leadership and the ePMO.

Workflow, Governance & Process Management:

• Designs, documents, and continuously improves cross-functional workflows and stage-gate processes that support the portfolio lifecycle (ideation ® research ® scoring/prioritization ® decision ® development/launch ® distribution ® performance management).

• Partners with the ePMO and operational teams to ensure governance processes are efficient, scalable, and consistently applied.

• Facilitates effective handoffs and collaboration between strategy proposers, content/creative, technology, marketing, distribution, and performance teams within the governed process.

Performance Management of the Portfolio System:

• Defines success metrics and KPIs for the strategy process and portfolio system itself (throughput, decision quality, cycle time, alignment adherence, resource stewardship, etc.) as well as for programs once they are approved and launched.

• Establishes ongoing monitoring, reporting, and review cadences for both process health and portfolio performance.

• Leads post-decision and post-launch analysis; identifies opportunities to improve the scoring systems, decision processes, or downstream execution; drives data-informed enhancements to the governance system.
  

Technology & AI Enablement of Process & Scoring Systems:

• Maintains a working understanding of relevant technologies and AI capabilities that can enhance research synthesis, scoring, prioritization, workflow efficiency, decision support, measurement, and overall process effectiveness.

• Identifies opportunities to apply technology and AI thoughtfully and responsibly within the strategy-development and scoring systems to increase rigor, transparency, and operational excellence.

• Partners with technology and data teams to evaluate, pilot, and scale appropriate tools that strengthen the portfolio governance system.
  

Cross-Functional Leadership & Collaboration:

• Serves as the primary advocate and steward of the portfolio governance process across ministry areas, ePMO, marketing, content, technology, and other support functions.

• Facilitates workshops, alignment sessions, and decision forums required by the scoring and veto process.

• Communicates clearly and persuasively with both technical and non-technical stakeholders, including senior leadership, especially when explaining scoring outcomes, trade-offs, or veto decisions.
  

Stewardship & Continuous Improvement:

• Practices strong stewardship of people, time, and financial resources by ensuring only strategies that meet established criteria consume organizational capacity.

• Continuously refines the strategy-development process, scoring models, decision rights, and supporting tools to increase clarity, speed, fairness, and impact.

• Contributes to the broader maturity of portfolio management and governance practices within the ePMO and the organization.

Other Duties/Responsibilities:

• Performs all other duties as assigned

Managerial Breadth/Scope of Job:

• None

Working Environment/Physical Requirements:

• Office environment

Job Qualifications/Requirements

Character/Spiritual:

Exemplifies Ephesians 5:1-2, “Therefore be imitators of God as dear children and walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us...”

Pursues the Great Commission given by Jesus Christ in Matthew 28:19-20, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Is a consistent witness for Jesus Christ; maintains a courteous, Christ-like attitude in dealing with people within and outside of Focus; adheres to the Standard of Moral Conduct and Statement of Faith; upholds Focus on the Family's ministry in prayer

Prays personally for Focus on the Family’s staff and constituents and may occasionally lead in a public prayer

Engages in Christian ministry

Demonstrates behaviors aligned with FOF core values

Personal Characteristics:

• Genuine alignment with and enthusiasm for Focus on the Family’s mission, vision, and foundational values.
  
• Consistent personal witness for Jesus Christ and commitment to living out biblical principles in professional and personal life.
  
• High integrity, humility, collaboration, and a stewardship mindset—especially the ability to say “no” or “not yet” with clarity and respect when the scoring system or portfolio criteria require it.
  
• Ability to balance strategic thinking with practical process design and rigorous attention to consistency and fairness.

Knowledge/Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in related field
  
• 5-7 years of progressive experience in portfolio management, program governance, strategy process ownership, PMO/ePMO, or a closely related role, preferably with responsibility for scoring systems, stage gates, or formal decision rights over a portfolio of offerings.
  
• Experience in a nonprofit, ministry, media, or mission-driven organization is a plus.
  

Skills, Abilities, and Special Talents/Gifts:

• Strong experience designing and operating strategy-development, prioritization, or portfolio-governance processes (ideation through decision and performance management).
  
• Demonstrated ability to build and apply scoring frameworks, stage-gate processes, and decision-rights models that balance rigor with practicality.
  
• Experience performing or leading scenario modeling, business-case analysis, and trade-off evaluations that inform investment and prioritization decisions.
  
• Proven ability to design and improve cross-functional workflows and to hold a process accountable even when individual stakeholders own the content of proposals.
  
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to define process and portfolio metrics, interpret performance data, and drive continuous improvement of the system itself.
  
• Excellent stakeholder management, facilitation, and communication skills (written and verbal) across all levels—especially the ability to explain and defend scoring outcomes and veto decisions with clarity and fairness.
  
• Ability to operate effectively in a matrixed, mission-driven environment with competing priorities while maintaining process integrity.
  
• Working knowledge of technology concepts relevant to digital and multi-channel program delivery and to decision-support systems.
  
• Familiarity with AI capabilities and practical applications (e.g., research synthesis, scoring assistance, process automation, predictive insights) and the judgment to apply them appropriately in a ministry context.
  
• Comfort collaborating with technology and data teams; ability to translate between ministry/process needs and technical possibilities.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience managing or governing a portfolio of related programs or initiatives, including formal prioritization and gate-keeping responsibilities.
  
• Familiarity with enterprise project/portfolio management practices and working within or alongside a PMO/ePMO.
  
• Experience designing or operating scoring models, decision frameworks, or stage-gate systems in a complex organization.
  
• Prior exposure to AI tools or digital transformation initiatives that support decision-making or process automation.
  

Pay Range: $95,800 to $111,892

Application Materials Required: Cover Letter, Resume/CV

*Colorado Residents: In any materials you submit, you may redact or remove any age-identifying information such as age, date of birth, or dates of school attendance or graduation. You will not be penalized for redacting or removing this information.

Application Materials Instructions: Please identify the job specific minimum qualifications you possess in your cover letter and be sure your resume includes any and all relevant experience to be accurately assessed against the qualifications listed in the posting. To apply, please submit the following application materials to this posting. 1. A current resume. 2. A cover letter that specifically addresses the job requirements and outlines qualifications.

Focus on the Family puts a high value on our team members and offers a unique benefit package.

Employees scheduled for 20 hours or more per week are eligible for:

• Norton LifeLock ID Theft Coverage
• Legal Shield/ID Shield Coverage
• AFLAC
• 403B Retirement Plan
• Vacation Time & Vacation Payout
• Sick Time
• Holidays
• Service Awards
• Community Service Days
• Bookstore Discount
• Fitness Center

Employees scheduled for 30 hours or more per week are eligible for all the above and:

• Medical Plan
• Dental Plan
• Vision Plan
• Life Insurance
• Disability Insurance
• Flexible Spending Accounts
• EAP (Employee Assistance Program)
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Warehouse Membership Reimbursement

Note: This is a summary and should not be construed as future promises to continue to provide benefits as outlined above. For complete and definitive language, refer to the governing plan documents. 

*Temporary employees are not eligible for benefits, except for:

• Sick Time
• Bookstore Discount
• Fitness Center

Tentative Search Timeline:

• Priority will be given to applications submitted by October 22, 2026.  However, this posting will remain open until filled. 
• The potential employee start date is November 9, 2026

Posting date:  September 22, 2026

Un-posting date: ongoing until filled

Posting contact email: [email protected]

Helping Families Thrive in Christ! Focus on the Family is a 501c3 Christian Non-Profit Ministry.