Group Strategy & Change Director

Bettys & Taylors of Harrogate; Harrogate; Hybrid; GBP 80,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading family-owned company in Harrogate seeks a Group Strategy & Change Director to shape long-term strategies and oversee major organisational change initiatives. This role involves advising executive leadership and managing cross-functional strategies. Strong candidates will demonstrate effective communication, collaboration, and a background in strategic planning. The position offers a dynamic work environment with options for hybrid working. Generous employee benefits include free meals and development opportunities.

Benefits

Free meals, drinks, and snacks

Quarterly profit-share bonus

Holiday allowance options

Health cash plan

Wellbeing support

Qualifications

• Experience in delivering long-term strategies in a matrixed business.
• Leadership in major organisational change programmes affecting culture.
• Capability to apply external market insights to strategic priorities.

Responsibilities

• Oversee the Strategic Network for collaboration across groups.
• Advise Co-CEO and support strategy execution.
• Lead Group-wide prioritisation process for resource allocation.

Skills

Cross-functional collaboration

Influencing at all levels

Effective verbal and written communication

Job description

• Location: Harrogate
• Department: CEO Office
• Reports to: Co-CEO (Purpose & Strategy)

About The Role

Ready to shape the future of our independent, family‑owned and values‑led business? Join us as Group Strategy & Change Director and lead the development of Bettys & Taylors Group’s long‑term strategy and the multi‑time horizon approaches to delivering it.

This pivotal role will advise our Co‑CEO and Group Board, as well as act as a strategic partner to our Group Executive Team (GET) and oversee our Strategic Network – the way of working we have implemented to define, agree and enact our strategies – to ensure our future plans are informed by internal and external insight and supported by effective structures, prioritisation and resource allocation.

You will also form part of our newly created CEO Office, led by Paul Cogan (our Co‑CEO member with responsibility for Purpose & Strategy), which brings together a small number of disciplines to ensure strategy, policy and governance reflect our purpose, values and risk appetite.

Key Responsibilities

• Oversees the Strategic Network, on behalf of Co‑CEO, ensuring cross‑Group coordination, collaboration and integration of strategies.
• Owns the process for reviewing and resetting Group strategies, ensuring efficient stakeholder engagement.
• Acts as a strategic advisor to Co‑CEO and supports collective strategy execution.
• Works as a strategic partner to the Group Executive Team, leading work to ensure strategy creation is informed by GET and their engagement is fostered and sustained, and providing visibility of and challenge regarding progress against agreed strategies.
• Oversees the development and delivery of strategic insights across business, industry, customer and stakeholder landscapes, leveraging external partnerships.
• Leads the Group-wide prioritisation process for strategic prioritisation and associated resource allocation.
• Leads the Group-wide approach to measurement of and reporting on progress against strategic approaches.
• Leads our approaches to establishing clear ‘line of sight’ from individual roles to Group strategy.
• Identifies emerging strategic change needs and aligns people, culture and technology capabilities through partnering with the relevant GET & Co‑CEO members.
• Works with leaders to develop change capability and foster a culture aligned with strategic transformation.
• Builds strategic relationships with peer organisations to inform and benchmark change agendas.
• Owns (where agreed), advocates for and oversees the delivery of our Group-wide strategies on Change, OD, Strategic Thinking and Practice and Sustainability within their area of business leadership.

Team structure

The successful candidate will have one direct report and will influence and deliver through others in our matrixed, networked environment including via our Strategic Network and Change practitioners.

About You

You will have experience in:

• Delivering long‑term strategies in a matrixed business.
• Effectively leading and steering major organisational change programmes impacting culture and ways of working.
• Working across multiple functions to achieve integrated outcomes.
• Applying external market and industry insights to strategic priorities.
• Designing governance and prioritisation processes for large‑scale initiatives.

This experience will be complemented by the ability to:

• Cross‑functionally collaborate, fostering integration.
• Influence skilfully at all levels, including Board and Co‑CEO.
• Engage and manage diverse internal and external stakeholders.
• Communicate effectively, via excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the emotional intelligence to build strong, collaborative partnerships.

This is a demanding, full‑time role, based at our main site at Plumpton Park in Harrogate, HG2 7LD. We’d be happy to discuss flexible working patterns, including hybrid working, and ideally this would include c.3 days per week on site at Plumpton Park. If you would like to discuss flexibility options, please provide more details in your application.

What We Offer You

As a minimum, all our employees receive free meals, drinks and snacks while at work, a discretionary quarterly profit‑share bonus, holiday allowance with the option to buy and (in some cases) sell additional days, company‑wide employee discounts, access to our health cash plan, wellbeing support, company funded counselling, and enrolment in the company pension.

We also offer a range of development opportunities no matter your role and ambitions. We encourage everyone to explore what makes them the best version of themselves, and we do this through external training programmes, apprenticeships and internal 1:1 coaching schemes.

Great People, Great Culture

We are Bettys & Taylors Group. Our family business is home to three iconic Yorkshire brands – Yorkshire Tea, Bettys and Taylors of Harrogate. Together we share a passion for quality, service and doing things properly. We are driven by our purpose and our values, and we believe our people are what set us apart. We welcome applications from all cultures, backgrounds, and experiences and we are committed to offering an inclusive culture where everyone can thrive.

Applications

If you are ready to make a significant impact and help shape the future of our Group, we would love to hear from you.

Click here to learn more about life at Bettys & Taylors Group.

In the first instance, questions should be directed to Jo Cowling, People Director at [e-mail].

The closing date for this vacancy is 5pm on 2nd January 2026. To apply for this role, you will be required to submit a CV and cover letter via our Applicant Tracking System. Sifting will take place shortly after.

There will be a minimum two‑stage recruitment process for this role. We plan that the first stage will take place on 16th January 2026; if you are unable to attend this date, please state this in your application.