STFC Transformation Programme Director

STFC Transformation Programme Director

Salary: £94,931 Per Annum

Hours:

Full Time or Part Time (Minimum 0.8 FTE)

Contract type:
Fixed Term (12 Months with likelihood of renewal)

Location:

Swindon / Rutherford / Daresbury

Grade: UKRI X

Positions available: 1

Closing date: 23 August 2026

Proposed interview date: 17 September 2026

UKRI RESERVES THE RIGHT TO CLOSE OUR ADVERTS EARLY WITHOUT PRIOR NOTICE.

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is the UK’s national agency for research and innovation, bringing together seven research councils, Innovate UK and Research England to support discovery, innovation and the skills driving economic growth and societal progress.

The Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) delivers some of the UK’s most ambitious scientific capabilities. From world‑leading national laboratories and large‑scale research facilities to space science, particle physics, astronomy and advanced computing, STFC enables researchers and innovators to tackle some of the biggest challenges facing society.

STFC is a place where exceptional science meets real‑world impact; creating knowledge, developing transformative technologies, supporting industry and inspiring the next generation of scientists and engineers. We are seeking leaders who can help shape the future of UK science and technology and deliver impact at a global scale.

This is a rare opportunity to lead one of the most significant organisational transformation programmes within UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). As STFC Transformation Director, you will provide strategic leadership for STFC's transformation, shaping the future operating model of an organisation of approximately 3,000 people and ensuring it remains financially sustainable, operationally effective and fit for the future.

Working at executive level, you will lead a complex portfolio of change spanning people, culture, governance, processes and organisational design. You will build alignment across senior leaders and stakeholders, translating strategic ambition into deliverable outcomes and ensuring transformational benefits are realised at pace.

The role is critical to delivering sustainable financial, operational and cultural change, strengthening STFC's long‑term resilience and enabling the continued delivery of world‑class science, engineering and technology in support of UKRI and government priorities.

• Provide executive leadership for STFC’s Transformation, acting as the senior accountable leader responsible for shaping, mobilising and delivering transformational change which enables STFC’s strategic ambitions, UKRI priorities and government objectives.
• Translate the strategic vision into an integrated transformation strategy and roadmap, defining the future operating model, required capabilities and sequencing of change across the organisation.
• Lead the development and implementation of STFC’s future operating model, ensuring alignment across strategy, governance, organisation design, culture, people, processes, technology, data and delivery capability.
• Establish and lead effective transformation governance as a complex portfolio of programmes, projects and activities. Ensuring alignment with the Government Functional Standards, including clear accountability, proportionate assurance, investment governance, risk management, dependency management and transparent reporting.
• Own the business case and benefits framework, ensuring investment decisions are evidence-based, affordable, deliver value for money and realise measurable organisational benefits.
• Provide executive oversight of major transformation initiatives, ensuring programmes and projects are appropriately designed, resourced, assured and delivered through effective portfolio management disciplines.
• Create the conditions for sustainable organisational change, embedding new capabilities, behaviours, processes and ways of working.
• Lead enterprise‑wide engagement and communications, building understanding, confidence and commitment among colleagues, leaders, UKRI partners, government stakeholders and external communities.
• Build maturity and capability across STFC, developing the people,…