Transformation Manager

Surrey County Council; Knaphill; Hybrid; GBP 62,000; Full time

Job summary

A local government authority in England seeks a Transformation Manager for Neurodiversity Partnership Programmes. This role involves leading transformation efforts in children's neurodiversity services, working closely with stakeholders across health and local authority. Applicants should have extensive programme management experience, strong analytical skills, and knowledge of health and children's services. The position offers a starting salary of £61,784 per annum and supports hybrid working arrangements.

Benefits

26 days' holiday

Employee Assistance Programme

Local government pension scheme

Lifestyle discounts

Qualifications

• Appropriate professional programme management qualification or equivalent experience operating at a senior level.
• Substantial experience of leading and implementing complex, multifaceted transformation programmes.
• Substantial knowledge of Health and/or Children's Services, and/or Education in the SEND/Neurodiversity arena.
• Demonstrable skills in partnership working across different organisations.

Responsibilities

• Drive continuous improvement and operational excellence for neurodiversity services.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to create a comprehensive map of services.
• Establish appropriate lines of governance for decision making and budget allocation.

Skills

Programme management experience

Leading transformation programmes

Strong influencing skills

Analytical skills

Education

Professional programme management qualification

Job description

Overview

This role has a starting salary of 61,784 per annum, based on a 36 hour working week. This is a fixed term contract/secondment opportunity for up to 6 months (until 31 March 2026).

We are excited to be hiring a new Transformation Manager for Neurodiversity Partnership Programmes. The role will be placed in our Additional Needs and Disabilities (AND) Transformation team, and offers hybrid working with an expectation that at least two days per week will be spent in locations across Surrey. This includes one day a week with the team who are based in our Woking office, with another spent in Surrey dependent on business requirements.

Rewards and Benefits

• 26 days' holiday (prorated for part time staff), rising to 28 days after 2 years' service and 31 days after 5 years' service
• Option to buy up to 10 days of additional annual leave
• An extensive Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) to support health and wellbeing
• Up to 5 days of carer\'s leave per year
• Paternity, adoption and dependents leave
• A generous local government salary related pension
• Lifestyle discounts including gym, travel, shopping and many more
• 2 paid volunteering days per year
• Learning and development hub where you can access a wealth of resources

About the Team

The AND Transformation team is dedicated to shaping, driving, and facilitating sustainable change and improvement for children with additional needs in Surrey. By partnering with, challenging, and supporting our stakeholders, we strive to achieve better outcomes for children and young people, against a challenging financial context. The team work directly with service leads and operational teams both within Surrey County Council Education and Lifelong Learning but also across our partners including health commissioners and providers, education settings and the voluntary and community sector. The AND Transformation Programme works to deliver the full programme of improvements outlined in our AND Partnership Improvement Plan following our Ofsted inspection in 2023, and those objectives set out in our AND Partnership Strategy, as well as the conditions of our Safety Valve agreement.

About the Role

As a Transformation Manager for Neurodiversity Partnership Programmes, you\'ll be working across both local authority and health (Integrated Commissioning Team and health providers) to rive continuous improvement and operational excellence. Your expertise and understanding of the Neurodiversity landscape, and of key stakeholders will be crucial in shaping and driving our programme activities.

You'll collaborate with colleagues both across the council and our health commissioners and providers in partner organisations to:

• Create a comprehensive and up to date map all provision for all children's neurodiversity services and groups currently commissioned and directly delivered by the LA, NHS and other partners across the Surrey system.
• Work with the Autism, ADHD Operational Teams (AuDHDOps) including all operational and front line teams that directly support CYP and their families, to understand current arrangements including access, eligibility and interventions and waiting time.
• Understand how our current provision meets the needs of children in Surrey across the continuum of need and identify any overlap or gaps that require addressing.
• Bring together key leaders to enable whole system planning and strategy making and support effective joint commissioning arrangements with an emphasis on early intervention support and prevention.
• Establish appropriate lines of governance for all organisations to ensure a coordinated and consistent decision making and budget allocation process moving forward.

You will ensure that effective project and programme governance is in place, so that if challenges arise, you\'ll be well positioned to take appropriate corrective actions to resolve issues, maintain progress and ensure successful outcomes are achieved. The benefits to this programme of work are expected to include;

• Assurance that planning and delivery of provision is coordinated and consistent across both the LA and NHS landscape
• Schools and families will know what provision is available and how to access it
• Information will be correct, consistent and up to date
• Assurance that none of the participating organisations are duplicating in their commissioning arrangements and budget allocation
• Identify opportunities for more streamlined and targeted joint working arrangements that better support children and their families in Surrey
• Reduce the reliance on requests for assessment, EHCPs and formal diagnosis where support could be accessed outside of these processes
• More cost effective service delivery through alignment of investment and budget allocation.

Shortlisting Criteria

To be considered for shortlisting for this position, your application will clearly evidence the following:

• Appropriate professional programme management qualification or equivalent experience operating at a senior level
• Substantial experience of leading and implementing complex, multifaceted transformation programmes
• Substantial knowledge and expertise within Health and/ or Children\'s Services and/ or Education, ideally within the SEND/ Neurodiversity arena
• Strong influencing and negotiation skills
• Demonstrable skills and experience of working with senior stakeholders and partnership working across different organisations
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to evaluate problems, assess risk and identify/ suggest solutions

Application Questions

To apply you will need to upload your CV and answer the following questions:

• Using a recent example, please tell us about the key skills and experience you have in relation to complex programme management and large-scale change.
• Please provide an example of a programme that you led where you were required to work across multiple stakeholders to achieve a common goal, detailing the challenges you faced, any strategies you used, and the measurable outcomes achieved.
• Please tell us about a transformation programme you are most proud of and why.
• Given what you know of the well documented challenges in the neurodiversity space, what do you see as the top priorities/ areas focus?

For an informal discussion about the role please email .

The job advert closes at 23:59 on 28th September 2025 with interviews to follow in person at our Woking office.

Local Government Reorganisation (LGR)

Surrey County Council is preparing for Local Government Reorganisation which will allow us to implement the Government led policy of devolution, which is all about giving more powers to local areas.

Currently, Surrey has a two-tier council system, with 11 district and borough councils and a county council, all responsible for different services. All these councils will be reorganised into a smaller number of new unitary councils which will come into effect in April 2027. At this point, this role will be transferred, with all existing terms and conditions intact into one of the new unitary councils.

Join our dynamic team and shape the future of local government. Make a lasting impact with innovative solutions and improved services for our community. Help us build a brighter future for our residents!

Our Commitment

Surrey County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Employer. A guaranteed interview will be offered to all disabled applicants where:

• The candidate has evidenced the minimum criteria for the role through their application
• The candidate has chosen to share that they have a disability on the application form

Our application form and onboarding process will provide an opportunity to request any reasonable adjustments for the interview and/or the role. We want to be an inclusive and diverse employer reflecting the community we serve and particularly welcome applications from all underrepresented groups.