Change Manager

The Role
We are working with a large education provider that is undergoing a major programme of integration and transformation. As part of this work, we are seeking an experienced Change Manager to join the central programme team.

The Change Manager will work closely with the Programme Manager to ensure that the people side of change is understood, supported, and successfully delivered. This role will be central to helping staff adapt to new systems, processes, and ways of working, while ensuring effective communication, engagement, and adoption.

Alongside the wider integration programme, the Change Manager will also play a key role in delivering a Policy Alignment Project-a large-scale initiative to unify legacy policies, implement a new digital policy management system, and support its adoption across both academic and professional services communities.

Key Responsibilities:
Change Management & Delivery
- Develop and deliver change management plans covering communications, engagement, training, and adoption.
- Assess change impacts and readiness across staff groups, ensuring appropriate support and interventions.
- Anticipate and address resistance, developing strategies to embed new processes and systems.

Stakeholder Engagement & Communication:
-Act as a trusted partner to senior stakeholders, including professional services leaders and academic staff.
- Manage expectations across diverse stakeholder groups, ensuring clarity on time lines and outcomes.
- Work with communications colleagues to design and deliver clear, timely messaging.

Policy Alignment Project:
- Support delivery and embedding of a new digital policy management system.
- Drive adoption and engagement, ensuring policies and tools are well understood and embedded.
- Support alignment of legacy policies into a single, streamlined institutional framework.

Collaboration & Teamwork:
- Work as part of a small, collaborative programme team.
- Align change activities with wider programme plans, ensuring coordinated delivery.
- Support and coach line managers and staff through transition.

Continuous Improvement:
- Promote a culture of openness, problem-solving, and continuous improvement.
- Champion best practice in change management and staff engagement.

Person Specification:
Essential:
- Proven experience of leading complex change initiatives in large organisations.
- Strong track record of stakeholder engagement at senior levels.
- Excellent interpersonal, facilitation, and influencing skills; credible and confident with senior leaders.
- Experience of managing resistance to change and embedding new processes, systems, or structures.
- Strong problem-solving ability with a pragmatic, solutions-focused outlook.
- Ability to operate in a challenging, multi-stakeholder environment with resilience and diplomacy.

Desirable:
- Experience within higher education, NHS, or wider public sector.
- Knowledge of organisational design and operating model change.
- Familiarity with policy management processes or adoption of new digital systems.
- Professional qualification in Change Management (e.g., Prosci) or equivalent.

Key Attributes:
- Collaborative and empathetic, able to listen and respond to staff concerns.
- Confident, credible, and authoritative with senior stakeholders.
- Adaptable, with a "can-do" attitude and strong problem-solving mindset.
- Skilled at balancing both the technical and people aspects of transformation