Change Manager (12M FTC)

Sainsbury's; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 50,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading UK retailer is seeking a Change Manager to ensure successful delivery of finance transformation initiatives. You will plan and implement change management strategies, supporting stakeholders and fostering relationships across business areas. The ideal candidate has experience in complex change initiatives and is skilled in communication, organization, and change management methodologies.

Benefits

Colleague discount

Pensions scheme

Life cover

Performance-related bonus

Private healthcare

Employee Assistance Programme

Holiday allowance

Qualifications

• Experience in delivering large-scale, complex change initiatives.
• Adept at building relationships and influencing at all levels.
• Skilled in change management methodologies.

Responsibilities

• Ensure successful delivery of key initiatives to modernize finance operations.
• Plan and implement change management strategies for significant projects.
• Support stakeholders and produce materials for communication and training.

Skills

Change Management

Communication

Stakeholder Management

Organizational Skills

Job description

This role can be based in London or Manchester

About the team

The Finance Operations & Change division lies at the heart of Sainsbury’s mission to deliver operational excellence and continuous improvement across all finance functions. We are a collaborative, forward‑thinking team dedicated to integrating, automating, and optimising processes that make life easier for our customers and our colleagues.

Our division partners closely with stakeholders across the business to drive transformation, encourage innovation, and ensure that change delivers sustainable value. If you thrive in an environment that values curiosity, teamwork, and making a tangible impact, you’ll find a like‑minded community here.

More About the role

As a Change Manager, you’ll play a pivotal role in ensuring the successful delivery of key initiatives that modernise our finance operations. Reporting to the Head of Finance Transformation, you’ll work in a matrix environment alongside colleagues from Finance, Sainsbury’s Tech, Commercial, and other business areas. You will be responsible for planning and implementing change management strategies for significant projects, supporting stakeholders at all levels, and producing high‑quality materials to facilitate communication, training, and engagement.

Your day‑to‑day activities will include stakeholder analysis, change impact assessments, and business readiness planning. You will proactively identify and manage risks, champion new ways of working, and support workstream leads to monitor and embed change. As a subject matter expert, you’ll provide guidance and challenge to ensure the best outcomes for Sainsbury’s and our customers, driving our Next Level Strategy forward.

More About you

To succeed in this role, you’ll bring experience of delivering large‑scale, complex change initiatives within a fast‑paced environment. You are adept at building relationships, influencing at all levels, and communicating clearly and confidently. Your organisational skills and attention to detail enable you to manage multiple projects and deadlines effectively. You are skilled in change management methodologies and have a track record of supporting colleagues through change, always seeking out opportunities to improve our ways of working.

Our valued behaviours—Own it, Make it better, Be human—are central to your approach. You take ownership for delivering results, embrace and encourage innovation, and proactively foster honest, supportive relationships. You understand the importance of effective communication and adapt your style to suit the needs of stakeholders throughout the business.

Essential Skills

• Experience in Change Management, including communication, engagement, and training activities
• Proven track record of delivering change initiatives of significant complexity within multi‑year programmes involving multiple stakeholders
• Expert knowledge of formal Change Management methodologies (e.g., ADKAR/Prosci, Kotter, Lewin)
• Experience in developing and executing end‑to‑end change plans from inception to adoption
• Ability to work autonomously and manage multiple priorities to tight deadlines in a matrix environment

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Qualifications

We are committed to being a truly inclusive retailer so you’ll be welcomed whatever you are and wherever you work. Around here, there’s always the chance to try something new — whether that’s as part of an evolving team or somewhere else across the business - and we take development seriously and promise to support you. We also recognise and celebrate colleagues when they go the extra mile and, where possible, offer flexible working. When you join our team, we’ll also offer you an amazing range of benefits. Here are some of them:

Starting off with colleague discount, you'll be able to save 10% on your shopping online and in‑store at Sainsbury's, Argos, TU and Habitat, and we regularly increase the discount to 15% at points during the year. We've also got you covered for your future with our pensions scheme and life cover. You'll also be able to share in our success as you may be eligible for a performance‑related bonus of up to 20% of salary, depending on how we perform.

Your well‑being is important to us too. You'll receive an annual holiday allowance, and you can buy up to an additional week’s holiday, and we provide private healthcare. We also offer other benefits that will help your money go further such as season ticket loans, interest‑free car loan of up to £10k, cycle to work scheme, health cash plans, salary advance (where you can access some of your pay before payday) as well as access to a great range of discounts from hundreds of other retailers. And if you ever need it there is also an Employee Assistance Programme.

Moments that matter are as important to us as they are to you which is why we give up to 26 weeks’ pay for maternity or adoption leave and up to 4 weeks’ pay for paternity leave.

Please see www.sainsburys.jobs for a range of our benefits (note, length of service and eligibility criteria may apply).

Responsibilities

We’d all like amazing work to do, and real work‑life balance. That’s waiting for you at Sainsbury’s. For a FTSE business, we move incredibly fast. When we’re not handling projects, we’re helping all corners of the wider group with what they’re trying to achieve. And around here, you can see the results of your work as soon as you walk into a store, which gives you a real sense of purpose and responsibility. Better still, the team around you will listen to your ideas and opinions, and you’ll have every chance to try something new. The sheer scale and complexity of our set‑up means there’s always something else around the corner, and we’ll help and support you every step of the way. We’re trusted to get on with it. So get ready to make things happen here.