Role Description
The Associate, Portfolio Development for the Ceres Software Group (Non-Payments division) plays a pivotal role in enabling the Portfolio Director and senior leadership team to operate with clarity, alignment, and strategic focus. This role operates in a Chief of Staff–type capacity to the Portfolio Director, acting as a force multiplier by extending leadership bandwidth. It ensures strategic priorities are delivered, enables seamless communication, and supports portfolio businesses through integration, operational excellence, and sustainable growth.
The Associate will work across multiple jurisdictions, cultures, and business units, supporting the portfolio’s mission to grow, adopt best practices, strengthen governance, and accelerate value creation while respecting the autonomy of each operating company. It is recognised as a strong development role for the future commercial leadership at CSI.
Key Responsibilities
-
Strategic Planning & Portfolio Alignment
-
Partner with the Portfolio Director to define, track, and communicate strategic priorities across Ceres Software Group.
-
Translate high‑level objectives into actionable plans, ensuring alignment across product, operations, finance, HR, and customer‑facing teams.
-
Prepare briefing materials, strategic updates, and board‑level documentation to support decision‑making and portfolio visibility.
-
Operational Excellence & Execution
-
Drive cross‑portfolio initiatives, including integration projects, process harmonisation, and operational improvements.
-
Monitor progress against KPIs, identifying risks, dependencies, and opportunities for acceleration.
-
Support the development and implementation of scalable frameworks across onboarding, compliance, reporting, and governance.
-
Leadership Support & Internal Communication
-
Act as a trusted advisor and sometimes Deputy to the Portfolio Director, providing insight, challenge, and structured thinking to complex issues.
-
Facilitate effective communication across the leadership team, ensuring clarity of expectations, timelines, and responsibilities.
-
Coordinate leadership meetings, offsites, and quarterly business reviews, ensuring agendas, materials, and follow‑ups are well‑managed and closed out.
-
Cross‑Functional Coordination
-
Serve as a central point of contact between the portfolio and Vesta Software Group’s central functions (Finance, HR, Legal, M&A, IT).
-
Support integration of newly acquired businesses into the Portfolio, ensuring smooth onboarding and alignment with portfolio standards.
-
Partner with HR to support talent planning, organisational design, and leadership development.
-
Project & Initiative Leadership
-
Lead or support high‑impact projects such as new markets, product rationalisation, customer experience improvements, compliance readiness, or operational restructuring.
-
Ensure project governance, documentation, and reporting are consistent and transparent.
-
Drive continuous improvement by identifying inefficiencies and proposing pragmatic, scalable solutions.
-
Data, Insights & Reporting
-
Oversee preparation of portfolio dashboards, performance reports, and operational insights at and above CSI standards.
-
Ensure data accuracy and consistency across business units, supporting informed decision‑making.
-
Partner with finance and operations teams to support forecasting, budgeting, and performance tracking.
Qualifications
-
Relevant university degree with a global mindset.
-
Experience in Chief of Staff, Strategy, Operations, PMO, or senior advisory roles within software, or consulting environments.
-
Understanding of SaaS metrics, operational frameworks and cross‑functional leadership. Or, a strong interest and learning capability in these areas.
-
Strong communication skills to translate complexity into clarity for diverse audiences.
-
Demonstrated ability to manage multiple priorities, navigate ambiguity, and drive outcomes in a decentralised organisation.
-
Experience working across multiple jurisdictions and cultures, ideally within Europe.
-
High emotional intelligence, discretion, and the ability to build trust quickly with senior leaders and operating company teams.
Personal Attributes
-
Strategic thinker with a bias for action.
-
Highly organised, detail‑oriented, and proactive.
-
Collaborative, diplomatic, and able to influence without authority.
-
Comfortable operating in a fast‑paced, evolving environment.
-
Values transparency, accountability, and continuous improvement.
Location & Travel
-
Based in the UK or India, with periodic travel to operating companies and Ceres offices as required.
Business Unit
-
Ceres Ops
Scheduled Weekly Hours
-
37.5
Number of Openings Available
-
1
Worker Type
-
Regular