Change Leads

Arden University; Baginton; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 75,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

30 days holiday + bank holidays

Aviva pension plan

Private Medical Insurance

Perkbox benefits

Study Arden courses

Job summary

Arden University is seeking two experienced Change Leads to drive transformational change across the Transformation team. You will shape practical, scalable change management approaches, engage stakeholders, and ensure adoption and readiness across multiple initiatives.

You will work with the Director of Transformation and program leaders to embed lasting change that enhances staff and student outcomes, while aligning with Arden’s hybrid working model and strategic goals.

Qualifications

• Significant experience leading change within large-scale transformation programmes.
• Proven track record delivering sustainable organisational change across multiple workstreams.
• Experience with senior leaders and stakeholder influence.
• Expertise in stakeholder engagement, communications, adoption and change readiness.

Responsibilities

• Lead change strategies, stakeholder engagement, and readiness activities across initiatives.
• Develop adoption plans and ensure changes are understood, embraced and sustained.
• build relationships with senior leaders to drive commitment and value delivery.
• Identify risks and dependencies to coordinate change activity effectively.

Skills

Change management

Stakeholder engagement

Communications

Adoption planning

Readiness

Facilitation

Coaching

Presentation

Analytics

Collaboration

Education

APMG Change Management

Prosci

PRINCE2

Agile PM

MSP

Job description

Salary: £70,000 - £75,000 per annum

London weighting: £4,000 per annum (if applicable)

Employment type: Permanent

Hours per week: 37

Reporting into: Director of Transformation

Department: Transformation

This role operates on a hybrid working arrangement, combining remote working with attendance at our agreed Arden campus or office. This may fluctuate in line with business requirements. Our hybrid working arrangements are a non-contractual benefit, and an Arden work location will be included in your employment contract.

About Arden University

We are an aspirational and multi-award-winning university, delivering rapid growth with ambitious plans to disrupt the HE sector through our passion for innovation and digital education. Our vision is to become the first-choice university for career-focused lifelong learners worldwide, ensuring that everyone, everywhere can access higher education.

There has never been a more exciting time to join Arden University, as we expand into new disciplines, forge worldwide partnerships, and expand our locations.

About our Department

The Transformation team is leading the Arden AI Transformation Programme, helping shape how the University works, delivers education and supports its people and students. Working across the organisation, the team brings together colleagues and programmes to turn our transformation ambitions into meaningful and sustainable change.

About the Opportunity

We’re looking for 2 experienced Change Leads to play a pivotal role in supporting the successful adoption of transformational change across Arden University.

Working closely with the Director of Transformation and programme leaders, you’ll help establish and embed a practical, scalable approach to change management that supports multiple initiatives taking place across the University. You’ll lead change strategies, stakeholder engagement, impact assessments, communications, adoption planning and readiness activities, ensuring that change is understood, embraced and sustained.

You’ll build strong relationships with colleagues and senior leaders across the University, helping create commitment and confidence in the changes ahead. You’ll also identify potential risks, dependencies and barriers to adoption, ensuring that change activity is coordinated, proportionate and focused on delivering lasting value.

This is an opportunity to shape how the University approaches transformation, strengthen organisational change capability and help ensure that new ways of working deliver a positive and sustainable impact for staff and students.

About You

You’ll be an experienced change professional with a strong track record of leading significant organisational change within complex transformation programmes. You’ll bring a sound understanding of recognised change management approaches, alongside the judgement to adapt them to different circumstances and organisational needs.

Essential experience and skills

• Significant experience leading change within large-scale transformation programmes.
• A proven track record of delivering sustainable organisational change across multiple workstreams.
• Experience working with senior leaders and influencing stakeholders at all levels.
• Demonstrable expertise in stakeholder engagement, communications, adoption and change readiness.
• Experience managing complex stakeholder landscapes and navigating competing priorities.
• Experience leading or managing teams and developing high-performing cultures.
• Strong understanding of recognised change management methodologies, such as Prosci, ADKAR, Kotter or equivalent, with the ability to adapt approaches to suit different needs.
• Excellent facilitation, coaching, presentation and communication skills.
• Strong analytical, organisational and problem-solving capabilities.
• The ability to work collaboratively and influentially, building trust and credibility quickly.

Desirable experience and qualifications

• A qualification in APMG Change Management, Prosci, Agile PM, PRINCE2, APM PMQ, MSP or equivalent.
• Experience delivering digital, technology, AI or organisational transformation programmes.
• Experience working in higher education or similarly complex environments.
• Knowledge of benefits realisation and portfolio management approaches.

Why Arden:

At Arden, you will become a part of a passionate and dedicated team who are committed to removing unnecessary barriers to learning and making education more accessible. Our people work hard to ensure our students journeys are the best they can possibly be, as such we want to reward our people with fantastic benefits. Employees benefit from:

• 30 days holiday + bank holidays on-top, and even a Christmas closure!
• A generous Aviva pension plan, company contributions starting from 7%
• BUPA Cash Plan
• Private Medical Insurance coverage (applies to certain job roles)
• Access to Perkbox benefits
• Study any Arden course for free, with a discount for all family and friends
• Plus, other excellent benefits
• Our ‘Golden Ticket’ which allows you to gift anyone in your life a free Arden education

Our Values:

Stand out, Progressive, Accessible, Resourceful, Kindness, reflect who we are as an institution, a team and as individuals. If they also reflect you and you are excited by the chance to be the driving, creative force within a growing business, we want to hear from you.

There has never been a more exciting time to join Arden University, as we expand into new disciplines and locations.

Closing Date: 17th November

We reserve the right to close this vacancy before the specified closing date should we receive sufficient applications or in order to respond to business needs. In order to avoid missing an opportunity to apply please submit your application as early as possible.

If you are a current Arden student or have an upcoming course with us, you are not eligible to apply for Student Experience roles due to a conflict of interest related to system access.

Arden University is proud to be a Disability Confident Employer. This means that if you have a disability, as defined by the Disability Equality Act 2010, you may be guaranteed an interview if you meet the essential criteria for the role.

If you wish to be considered under this scheme, you can indicate via the application form below. By doing so, you are also consenting for this information to be shared with the hiring team. For more details on what qualifies as a disability under the Disability Equality Act 2010, please refer to the guidance here.

As an Equal Opportunity Employer we celebrate diversity and are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace. Therefore, we make sure that our recruitment and selection processes never discriminate based upon people's age, disability, gender, race or ethnicity, religion or belief, sexual orientation, or other personal circumstances, and actively welcome applications from all groups.

Sponsorship statement:

Please be aware that some roles may not meet the points requirement for a sponsored Skilled Worker visa, or fulfil the criteria we have for providing sponsorship. However we welcome applications from candidates who do not currently have the right to work in the UK but may be eligible for a visa through an alternative route.