Head of Business Change / Head of Change Management

Head of Business Change / Head of Change Management - £850 per day - Inside IR35 - Hybrid working from a site in Manchester or Derby - 6 Months initial contract. Our client, a global engineering organisation, is seeking a Head of Business Change to lead the people, process, and organisational aspects of large-scale Digital and Technology transformation programmes. This is a strategic leadership role responsible for ensuring that significant investments in digital capabilities, enterprise systems, and technology platforms deliver measurable business outcomes through successful adoption, engagement, and behavioural change. Leading a team of change professionals, you will define and drive the organisations change management strategy across a portfolio of complex transformation initiatives. Acting as a trusted advisor to executive stakeholders, you will ensure that employees, leaders, and business functions are prepared, supported, and equipped to embrace new ways of working.

Key Responsibilities -Change Leadership & Strategy -

• Define and implement the enterprise-wide Business Change strategy across Digital and Technology programmes.
• Establish change management frameworks, governance, standards, and best practices.
• Lead organisational change activities across major transformation initiatives, including ERP, enterprise platforms, digitalisation, and business process change.
• Ensure change activities are aligned with programme objectives, business priorities, and benefits realisation targets.
• Build and mature the organisations change management capability.

Stakeholder & Executive Engagement -

• Partner with C-suite executives, senior leaders, and programme sponsors to drive visible leadership and advocacy for change.
• Build strong relationships across business and technology functions.
• Coach leaders and managers in their role as change sponsors.
• Facilitate executive workshops, steering groups, and stakeholder forums to drive alignment and decision-making.

Business Readiness & Adoption

• Oversee organisational readiness assessments and change impact analysis across transformation programmes.
• Ensure business units are prepared for new technologies, processes, operating models, and ways of working.
• Develop adoption strategies that drive engagement, utilisation, and sustained behavioural change.
• Monitor adoption metrics and intervene where additional support is required.

Communications, Learning & Engagement

• Lead enterprise communication and engagement strategies that create awareness, understanding, and commitment.
• Oversee training and capability development activities to ensure successful knowledge transfer and user adoption.
• Develop compelling change narratives that translate complex technical change into clear business value.

Governance, Reporting & Benefits Realisation

• Establish robust reporting, measurement, and governance processes.
• Define and track change KPIs, adoption metrics, readiness indicators, and business outcomes.
• Provide executive reporting to programme boards and leadership teams.
• Support benefits realisation activities to ensure technology investments achieve their intended value.

About You -You will be an experienced Change Leader with a proven track record of delivering successful organisational change across large-scale Digital and Technology transformation programmes. You will bring:

• Significant experience leading business change within complex global organisations.
• Proven success delivering Digital, IT, ERP, enterprise systems, or business transformation initiatives.
• Deep knowledge of organisational change management methodologies such as Prosci, ADKAR, Kotter, or equivalent.
• Strong leadership experience managing and developing change teams.
• Outstanding stakeholder management and influencing skills, including engagement at executive level.
• Experience driving business readiness, adoption, communications, training, and benefits realisation activities.
• The ability to translate complex technical programmes into meaningful business outcomes.
• Strong commercial awareness and a focus on delivering measurable value.

Desirable Experience -

• Engineering, manufacturing, aerospace, defence, energy, utilities, infrastructure, or other highly regulated sectors.
• Enterprise platforms including ERP, PLM, CRM, EAM, HR, or digital workplace technologies.
• Agile, Waterfall, and hybrid delivery environments.
• Enterprise-wide transformation, operating model change, and culture change programmes.