Management Head, Program ​/ Project Manager

Description

Role

Title:

Head of Change

Grade and Salary: Grade 9, Competitive Salary

FTE and working pattern: Full-time, 35hrs per week;
Open-ended

Reward and Benefits: 33 days annual leave, plus 9 building closed days for all full time staff.

The Head of Change is responsible for establishing, leading, and embedding the University’s central change function and change ecosystem in support of Strategy 2035. This role will oversee the delivery performance of the University’s strategic and operational change portfolio, including capital projects and business change initiatives. The role owns the end‑to‑end change system: from intake and prioritisation of demand, through portfolio planning and governance, to delivery oversight, benefits realisation, and transition into business as usual.

Acting as the University’s senior authority on change, the postholder ensures that change investment decisions are aligned to strategy, capacity and risk appetite, and that change is delivered consistently, sustainably and with measurable value for all stakeholders.

• Own and operate the University’s change portfolio, providing a single authoritative view of demand, priorities, sequencing and capacity.
• Lead portfolio shaping, prioritisation and balancing of change against BAU capacity.
• Establish portfolio‑level decision support for executive governance (value, risk, benefits confidence, readiness).
• Define, design and continuously improve the University’s change ecosystem, including change lifecycle processes and standards for multi‑category, multi‑speed and multi‑method delivery (scaled by risk and size), portfolio, programme and project governance, assurance and stage‑gate controls.
• Establish new change governance structures, up to and including University Executive and Committees of Court; establish clear decision rights, delegated authorities and escalation routes across the change lifecycle.
• Provide process, planning and governance enablement and assurance for the University’s Strategy 2035 programme and Transformation Office, working in partnership with the Transformation Office leadership.
• Provide senior oversight (excluding day‑to‑day delivery management) of major programmes and high‑risk change initiatives; ensure delivery approaches are appropriate (waterfall, agile or hybrid) and consistent with university standards; intervene where delivery confidence, benefits or adoption are at risk.
• Establish and own the University’s value and benefits management framework and ensure robust business case management for all major initiatives; use benefits confidence to inform portfolio prioritisation, continuation or closure decisions.
• Provide leadership and line management across all change disciplines (programme/project management, business analysis, change management, PMO); lead strategic workforce planning, recruitment and capability development for change capability, including competency frameworks and communities of practice.
• Establish an effective operating partnership with Technology leaders to align digital transformation and change delivery.
• Own the University’s change reporting and MI, including portfolio, delivery, risk, benefits and capacity views; provide trusted, timely reporting and MI to executive leaders and governance forums; use reporting and MI to drive decision‑making, transparency and continuous improvement.

• Director of Strategic Planning, Projects & Performance – Line Manager accountable executive
• Executive Director of University Operations – Senior Executive Leader (matrix)
• University Secretary & Vice Principal – University Executive Leader
• Vice Principal & Provost – University Executive Leader
• Programme/Project Managers, Business Analysts and Project Support Analysts (PMO) – Direct Reports
• Professional Services Directors – Sponsors / stakeholders / peers
• Academic School and Global Research Institute Directors – Sponsors / stakeholders

• Recognised functional owner for change across the University.
• Authority to define, implement and maintain University‑wide change standards,…