Transformation Director, Academic

Transformation Director, Cambridge University Press

Salary: £76,000 - £104,500 plus competitive benefits

Location: Cambridge, UK - Hybrid

Contract: Permanent

Hours: Full time 35 hours per week

Lead the creation of a new Transformation Management Office

We are Cambridge University Press & Assessment, a world-leading academic publisher and assessment organisation and a proud part of the University of Cambridge.

Are you passionate about driving transformation, shaping organisational change, and enabling teams to deliver meaningful impact? We're looking for a highly skilled Transformation Director to lead our new Transformation Management Office (TMO) within Cambridge University Press, the Academic publishing division of Cambridge University Press & Assessment.

About the role

Academic publishing is undergoing a period of significant change. Evolving customer needs, digital transformation, new business models and the rise of AI are reshaping how we work and how we deliver value. To ensure we remain competitive and continue to deliver against our strategy, we are seeking an exceptional Transformation Director to lead our new Transformation Management Office and accelerate this evolution.

This role goes far beyond oversight - you will be a strategist, delivery expert, and "player-coach," intervening directly in high-risk areas where deeper leadership is needed. You must have the confidence and credibility to operate with Board-level stakeholders and the ability to influence decision making across a large, matrixed organisation.

Strategic Leadership

You will be the architect and storyteller of our academic transformation, owning a clear, compelling narrative that connects long-term strategy to real world outcomes. You'll translate this narrative into a robust roadmap and investment case, ensuring priorities are clear, funded, and deliverable.

As leader of the Transformation Management Office, you'll build and inspire a high performing team, working in close partnership with the Central PMO to ensure academic transformation is fully aligned with wider organisational priorities.

Delivery & Execution

You'll establish and govern the academic transformation portfolio, accelerating delivery while maintaining strong control. Chairing TMO delivery forums, you'll drive decisive action, remove barriers, and focus relentlessly on outcomes.

Where delivery needs an extra push, you'll lead senior level programme "deep dives", providing hands on intervention and direction. You'll raise organisational delivery maturity by embedding pragmatic frameworks, coaching leaders, and partnering with the Academic Design Pod to ensure solutions are scalable, coherent, and fully integrated. You'll also oversee change management, ensuring new ways of working are not just launched but embedded and sustained.

Value, Finance & Governance

You'll provide clear, confident Board-level visibility on performance, risk, and return on investment. With accountability for financial control across the transformation portfolio and cost centre, you'll enforce rigorous business case development and benefits realisation tracking.

You'll hold delivery leaders accountable for value creation, ensuring transformation outcomes align directly to P&L impact and strategic priorities.

Stakeholder Leadership & Culture

Success in this role depends on trust and influence. You'll build confidence with senior stakeholders and cultivate a culture defined by pace, transparency, and delivery discipline. You'll champion consistent design and delivery standards and lead impactful TMO communications and change strategies across the Academic community.

This position has been classified as a hybrid role, requiring the selected candidate to typically spend 40-60% of their time collaborating and connecting face-to-face at their dedicated location. Aside from our hybrid principles, other flexible working requests will be considered from the first day of employment, including other work arrangements should you require adjustments due to a disability or long-term health condition.

About You
Essential Knowledge & Experience

• Experience of setting up and/or running a TMO in another organisation
• Exp…