Programme Manager

• Are you a seasoned Programme Manager with experience leading on complex Target Operating Model changes within the University / Higher Education sector?
• Are you looking for an opportunity to work within a creative, agile environment with variety of senior stakeholders across various change projects and business areas?
• Do you have an personal interest in driving transformation at the Heart of Creative Education?

If so, this could be a great opportunity for you going into 2026.

This exciting role, will position you at the centre of our Strategic Change Team, working closely with the new Vice-Chancellor and Senior Leadership Team to shape and ensure the delivery of our new refreshed University strategy, focused on building an inclusive, user-focused culture for both Staff, Students and Partners.

A cornerstone of this strategy is the transition from a functional model to a service-led operating model. This ambitious Programme Manager role will be involved in scoping and sequencing key priorities to create an operating model that balances innovation with efficiency to drive the overarching goal of improving academic and professional services excellence.

The Role

This is a rare opportunity to lead one of University's most high-profile programmes. As Programme Manager, you will oversee the operational management and delivery of this multi-strand redesign. You will:

• Strategically Lead the Programme: Shape and enable a transformative Target Operating Model (TOM) to reflect their differing strategic priorities and ambitions.
• Manage Change with Precision: Hold accountability for all interconnected workstreams, ensuring seamless coordination of their differing interdependency and respective budgets.
• Engage and Influence Stakeholders: Facilitate effective communication, building credibility and trust across a diverse community of academics, professional teams, and governance bodies, allowing for an environment where collaboration and creativity, amidst complexity is key.
• Deliver Holistic TOM Solutions: Advance towards a modernised, service-orientated model that prioritises its users while addressing operational challenges like duplication and inefficiency.
• Foster Adaptability and Innovation: Create room for continuous improvement and innovative thinking. Develop quick wins that build a foundation for organisational shifts, balancing pragmatism with strategic vision.

To excel in this role, you’ll bring a range of experience and attributes, including:

• Proven success of leading large-scale operating model redesign or Target Operating Model (TOM) programmes, ideally within higher education, the public sector, or consultancy in to these sectors.
• Attention to detail in programme delivery while maintaining the broader strategic picture. Ability to adapt to ambiguity and manage complexity.
• Strong stakeholder skills and resilience. Collaborative and credible with the ability to immediately establish trust and align diverse voices. Skilled at navigating passionate, multi-opinion environments.
• Team Leadership - whilst this role doesn't have direct reports it will have oversight of a virtual programme team or approx. 4-5.

You’ll need to navigate complexity, inspire change, and embrace the challenges that come with transformation, ensuring meaningful and lasting impact for students, staff, and stakeholders alike. If you thrive on collaboration, innovation, and delivering strategic service design in dynamic environments, this is your moment to step up and lead an extraordinary journey of change.