Senior Lean Portfolio Analyst
THIS IS NOT A REMOTE POSITION
Stafford, Virginia | Minimal Travel
Work arrangement: This position is fully on-site in Stafford, Virginia. Remote work is not available.
Position Overview
The Senior Lean Portfolio Analyst enables portfolio leaders to make timely, evidence-based investment and execution decisions by improving the flow, visibility, and governance of strategic initiatives. Supporting the PMO, the analyst will manage initiatives from intake through analysis, prioritization, implementation, and completion using the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) Portfolio Kanban. The role will advise leaders on sequencing, dependencies, risks, capacity constraints, and readiness; facilitate decomposition of epics into executable capabilities and features; and deliver decision-ready reporting for portfolio governance and Program Increment (PI) Planning. Success requires close coordination with stakeholder teams, Agile Release Trains (ARTs), acquisition professionals, and technical leaders to align portfolio investments with strategic themes, capability roadmaps, and approved priorities.
Role Priorities
Align portfolio investments and execution with approved strategic themes, capability roadmaps, acquisition priorities, and governance requirements.
Improve initiative flow, visibility, traceability, data quality, and decision support across the portfolio.
Establish sustainable portfolio operating procedures, governance controls, metrics, and change practices.
Enable SAFe-aligned planning and execution without imposing unnecessary process or reporting burden.
Provide leaders and stakeholder teams with timely analysis, clear recommendations, and decision-ready information.
Key Responsibilities
Portfolio Intake, Analysis, and Flow
Manage the Portfolio Kanban in Jira to improve the visibility, flow, and governance of strategic initiatives from intake through completion.
Facilitate the analysis and decomposition of epics into capabilities and features so initiatives are sufficiently defined for prioritization, planning, and execution.
Analyze initiative readiness, sequencing, dependencies, risks, capacity constraints, and alignment with strategic objectives.
Portfolio Planning and Governance
Support Portfolio Syncs, program management reviews, Integrated Product Teams, Program Increment Planning, and governance forums by preparing decision-quality data, documenting outcomes, and tracking actions to closure.
Establish and improve portfolio operating procedures, data standards, governance controls, and configuration practices that strengthen traceability, consistency, and auditability.
Capture and manage risks, issues, and opportunities associated with portfolio initiatives, ensuring clear ownership, mitigation actions, escalation paths, and current status.
Reporting, Analytics, and Jira Enablement
Configure and maintain Jira workflows, filters, dashboards, and portfolio reports that identify bottlenecks, aging work, dependencies, risks, and data-quality issues.
Analyze portfolio metrics and recommend actions to improve prioritization, sequencing, throughput, predictability, and strategic alignment.
Develop concise, executive-ready information and decision briefs, acquisition documentation, and recommendations that communicate status, alternatives, trade-offs, risks, and required decisions.
Stakeholder Facilitation and Continuous Improvement
Advise portfolio leadership and cross-functional stakeholders on SAFe Lean Portfolio Management practices, Jira usage, and practical process improvements.
Facilitate stakeholder discussions, resolve competing requirements, and communicate complex issues, risks, trade-offs, and decisions clearly.
Coordinate across acquisition, technical, operational, and Agile delivery organizations to prepare initiatives for execution and resolve cross-organizational impediments.
Required Qualifications
Bachelor’s degree and ten or more years of progressively responsible experience in defense…