Principal Advisor Product Portfolio

Principal Advisor Product Portfolio, Brisbane or Perth - Australia

At Rio Tinto, we’re finding better ways to provide the materials the world needs. For nearly 150 years we’ve been looking for new and better ways of doing things. Today you'll find our teams around the world doing just that: seeking opportunities to reduce our carbon footprint, partnering to develop new technologies to decarbonise steel and aluminium production, and creating new products from waste.

As part of the commitment to our purpose, Rio Tinto continues to build a world-class software product development team. Sitting within our company wide Information Systems & Technology function, our Products & Software Development (P&SD) team is focused on delivering high value and strategic products for the digital transformation of Rio Tinto.

We’re excited by the challenging problems we have to solve and supported by a culture that is value driven, diverse and inclusive, innovative, and fun. We think you might be surprised about what we’re creating here at Rio Tinto.

About the role 

The Principal Advisor Product Portfolio will work closely with the Portfolio Manager, Delivery Managers, Product Owners, and stakeholders to evaluate new and existing software product opportunities for our expanding teams, ensuring we are providing value in line with the business strategy. This role is ideally suited to someone from a Product Management or Consulting background with strong experience in modern software development practices and a passion for uncovering exciting opportunities to deliver value through technology.

The Principal Advisor Product Portfolio will be responsible for identifying, progressing and capitalizing on business development opportunities to grow the portfolio of the Product and Software Development (P&SD) function. To accomplish this, the role will need to collect business needs, establish problem statements, collaborate with stakeholders, establish strong relationships, and develop a pipeline of internal opportunities. This role is crucial for developing and enhancing the reputation of the Product & Software Development function with internal business units and to help our software product teams make a meaningful contribution to Rio Tinto’s digital future.

What you will do

As the Principal Advisor Product Portfolio you will:

• Act as a trusted advisor to the respective organisational business units and facilitate the engagement for product development, to prioritize value-driven outcomes.
• Continuously identify and qualify new product development opportunities, engaging with the broader organisation stakeholders who have business needs and problem statements.
• Regularly showcase the capabilities and value being delivered by our software product teams to stakeholders across Rio Tinto.
• Develop and maintain strong relationships with stakeholders to foster collaboration, build confidence, and secure constant growth of the portfolio for P&SD.
• Respond to inquiries and requests from stakeholders promptly and effectively.
• Lead and facilitate group discussions with stakeholders to assess their needs & objectives, understand the opportunity, and to assess the potential scope and value.
• Develop proposal(s) to create a strategy and roadmap for product development, aligned to the business needs and organizational objectives.
• Work in partnership with the Product Portfolio Manager to identify, track, progress and convert opportunities that will make meaningful difference to the Rio Tinto business and our people.
• Collaborate with various business units to understand their unique requirements and pain points, and to identify strong opportunities to deliver value through digital technology.
• Identify communication and relationship needs of stakeholder groups and develop strategies accordingly.
• Assess the scope and complexity of new or existing products, to help evaluate the initial financial resources and effort required for the software development.
• Participate in the Discovery phases of different products to ensure we are going to deliver value in line with the strategy.
• Guide and assist in any transition activities for existing software products moving into our portfolio.
• Provide regular reports and updates on key metrics, opportunity status, and internal customer feedback to relevant stakeholders, team members and portfolio management.

What we are looking for

• Bachelor’s degree level or holds a relevant professional qualification, i.e. Bachelor of Business, Project Management, IT, Computer Science, Software Engineering etc.is a plus.
• Project Management Institute Project Management Professional (PMI PMP), Professional Scrum Master (PSM), PRINCE2 Practitioner, or any other leading Project or Product Management certification is a plus.
• 5+ years’ experience in Product Management or Consultancy roles particularly related to software product development in technical business environments.
• Demonstrated ability to identify business opportunities, think strategically, and then act collaboratively to progress initiatives from idea to implementation.
• Proficient in principles, methods, techniques, and tools for effectively managing a program of initiatives and related activities through to the successful achievement of planned business benefits.
• Comprehensive knowledge of software development lifecycles, technologies, and practices.
• Demonstrated ability to absorb complex technical information and communicate that effectively at all levels to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Strong experience in strategic problem solving and drawing connections between various customer needs for the strategic benefit of the portfolio.
• Demonstrated experience in forecasting team structure, resource allocation, and project costs for the purpose of developing and implementing solutions.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate persuasively and effectively with multiple stakeholders at various levels of the entire business.
• Results-driven, proactive mindset with a focus on exceeding targets and delivering impactful results.
• Demonstrated leadership within a team, able to influence and while not necessarily having direct reports, displaying the Rio Tinto values of courage, care, and curiosity at all times.

Working at Rio Tinto

Be recognised for your contribution, your thinking and your hard work, and go home knowing you’ve helped the world progress. Our benefits for permanent Rio Tinto employees include:

• Your base salary reflects your skills, experience, and impact in the role you are performing in. Our salary ranges are reviewed annually to ensure they remain fair internally and externally.
• Health & Wellbeing. We care about your health. We offer flexible, comprehensive medical benefits to look after your total health and wellbeing to suit your needs and life stages. This includes subsidised private health insurance for employees and immediate family.
• Flexible Work Arrangements. We have a hybrid work model (in-office & from home), with our office always open to balancing flexibility and connection.
• Supportive Leave Policies. We enable leave for all of life’s reasons (vacation, sick, paid parental). Our inclusive parental leave policy supports all parents and carers throughout their parenting and caring journey.
• Growth & Development. We will support you to pursue growth and development opportunities aligned with your career aspirations.
• Employee Discount & Offers. We have established partnerships with several providers who offer access to exclusive employee discounts (banking, accommodation, car, retail and more).
• Superannuation & Shares. Extensive salary sacrifice and salary packing options. Plus, we offer an award-winning employee share plan – myShare.

Every Voice Matters

At Rio Tinto, we particularly welcome and encourage applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, women, the LGBTI+ community, mature workers, people with disabilities and people from different cultural backgrounds.

Come and join us in this exciting journey as a member of the leadership team, where you be integral in establishing and executing on our strategy, building our team, implementing best practices and technology to meet our plans for scaling and value delivery.

Please note, in order to be successfully considered for this role you must complete all pre-screening questions.