Senior Change Partner (Maternity Cover)

Applications must be submitted by;

Vacancy for Senior Change Partner (Maternity Cover)

As the UK's innovation agency, we back the nation's most promising deep tech businesses in the UK’s priority sectors: providing the funding, expert support and connections that help them start, scale and stay in the UK.

*Please note this advert will close on the 11th November 2026 at 23.59pm.

Watch our video “Why Join Innovate UK?”here.

Title:               Senior Change Partner (Maternity Cover)

Band:             UKRI Band G (UKRI Ts & Cs)

Salary:            £70,752 gross per annum

Reports to:    Deputy Director Business Capability & Change

Location:        UKRI sites: Swindon, London, Harwell, Daresbury, Keyworth, Cambridge, Edinburgh
Contract:        Fixed Term (Until 30th November 2027)

Employees applying for any opportunity which may mean being away from your substantive role for a temporary period of time, please refer to the Recruitment Policy for further information in the first instance.  If you are made an offer, please ensure you liaise with your Line Manager and the designated HR Team as soon as possible in order that implications of any move are clear and understood, prior to a move taking place. 

Innovate UK works with businesses and stakeholders across every nation and region of the UK. As part of UKRI, our hybrid working approach is built around one simple principle: time should be spent where it delivers the greatest impact.  

This means working across three settings: UKRI sites, time on the ground with businesses, partners and stakeholders and time working from home. It's an approach designed to support collaboration, connection and impact. 

This role is in Tier 3, with 20-40% (1-2 days each week on average) of working time typically spent either at a UKRI site or engaging with external businesses and stakeholders across the UK. Outside of this requirement, you can work from home. 

Read the full UKRI Hybrid Working PolicyHybrid Working at UKRI

Innovate UK recognises the importance of work-life balance and we will be happy to discuss any requests for flexible working arrangements.

We are passionate about our commitment to making equality, diversity and inclusion a key part of everything we do, to ensure our organisation reflects our users and that in our workplace, everyone has a voice, and everyone can develop their potential.

Job Purpose:

The Senior Business Change Partner will support change readiness, engagement and adoption for theWhat We Offer workstream within theActivating our Strategy programme. Working closely with the Workstream Lead, Delivery Manager, PMO colleagues and change partners across the Business Capability & Change team, the role will help ensure change impacts are identified, planned and successfully embedded.

The role will work with stakeholders across Innovate UK to understand the people impacts of change and develop proportionate engagement and communication activities that support successful adoption. This includes helping teams understand upcoming changes, gathering feedback and ensuring staff are well supported through transition.

Working as part of the wider Business Capability & Change team, the postholder will contribute to a joined-up view of change across Innovate UK and UKRI, helping to identify dependencies, support change planning and ensure activities align to programme objectives.

The role will also support the assessment and tracking of change readiness and adoption, using insights and feedback to inform engagement approaches and help deliver successful outcomes for the What We Offer workstream.

Key Responsibilities and Accountabilities:

• Partnering with senior leaders and team/s across Innovate UK to develop mature, authentic and collaborative relationships to assess change needs and develop tailored, high-quality change, communication and engagement strategies.
• Improve the process of engagement and adoption of business change across the leaders and team/s you partner with and more broadly Innovate UK, collaborating with colleagues and senior stakeholders to support delivery of change.
• Working with team/s to improve consistent engagement and adoption of business change across the organisation and aligning with/influencing of the overall UKRI approach. 
• Working collaboratively with other Change Business Partners and more broadly the Business Capability and Change team to continue to evolve change and adoption methodologies and practices, keeping them innovative and current.
• Designing, baselining and tracking adoption and engagement for planned changes.  Producing and delivering communications and engagement strategies and/or advise delivery team/s, checking actions are in place to drive adoption and engagements.
• Developing a single roadmap for engagement and adoption of business change for the team/s you partner with, aligned with the organisational level roadmap to ensure change lands successfully creating minimum disruption for the organisation.
• Work closely with Business Capability and Change Leadership team, Senior Business Change Partners, Delivery Leads, Workstream Leads and business owners to develop a compelling narrative around change and the overall story about the Innovate UK change journey.
• Development of clear, meaningful, proportionate, compelling and high-quality communications which engage stakeholders and audiences at all levels.
• Coaching at all levels of the organisation, including ELB and Director level on the practice of good change management and change leadership. Developing guidance that can be cascaded throughout the organisation.  
• Advising, mentoring, and challenging senior staff and stakeholders to ensure Business Change can deliver complex and disruptive change in the most effective ways.
• Contribute to the development and evolution of frameworks to be used by Programme and Project Managers to drive increased engagement and provide smooth transition of change projects into BAU.
• Work closely with Business Capability and Change Leadership, Senior Change Business Partners, Change Business Partners, Delivery Leads, Workstream Leads and business owners to develop a compelling narrative around change and the overall story about the Innovate UK change journey.
• Supporting Programme and Project Managers in the co-ordination and production of engagement activities which drive effective adoption, smooth transition of change into BAU and ensuring benefit realisation.
• Management of engagement and adoption channels, tools and techniques to support the delivery of business change, ensuring the channels of communication are complimentary and appropriate to the organisation’s needs.
• Working across IUK with the aim of influencing and improving the Staff Survey results relating to Management of Change.
• Managing Business Change Partners and resources as required including line management and budget.

This is not an exhaustive list and you might be encouraged to undertake any other duties across the wider directorate, commensurate with the Band and level of responsibility of this post, for which the post holder has the key experience and/or training.

Shortlisting criteria

(S) – Assessed at shortlisting

(I) – Assessed at interview

(S&I) – Assessed at both shortlisting and interview

Person Specification:

Experience & Qualifications:

Essential –

• Change Management qualification or equivalent experience (S).
• Project Management or Continuous Improvement qualification or equivalent experience (S).
• Significant experience of and in-depth understanding of change and the implications of taking individuals, teams and organisations on a change journey (S&I).
• Proven ability to build and maintain mature and collaborative relationships with individuals and teams, particularly at senior/executive leadership level (S&I).
• Proven experience of leading and advising on change strategies and approaches specifically to support change programme goals (S&I).
• Extensive experience of developing, writing and editing high quality, engaging communications for a wide range of audiences and channels, with excellent knowledge of how to use different channels to maximise effectiveness (S&I).
• Exceptional verbal and written communications skills and the ability to translate complex information into clear and accessible messages (S&I).
• Strong organisational and project management skills and the ability to manage multiple projects, deadlines and stakeholders (S&I).

Competencies:

All team members demonstrate compatibility with and capability against our Core Competencies such as:

Thinking and Problem Solving – Stakeholder management – Communication skills – Influencing – Self-awareness/self-management – Strategic awareness – Working with others– Project management

Some of the above competencies will be assessed at interview stage, in addition to the criteria’s listed in the person specification.      

Travel Requirements:

There will be a requirement to travel, mostly national, and there is some flexibility in this. Innovate UK staff make extensive use of telepresence tools for meetings to minimise unnecessary travel. In general, you will need to work in the Swindon office once a week and may have four to six nights away from home per month on average to attend conferences and events.

Please note, if you will require sponsorship to work in the UK, as part of your sponsorship application, you and any dependants travelling with you, will be required to pay costs directly to The Home Office for the application before you start your role with us. UKRI is normally able to reimburse some, or all of these fees after you have become an employee and this can be discussed with the Hiring Manager. For more information, please visit https://www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa/how-much-it-costsor contactRecruitment@ukri.org.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion:

Innovate UK is a diverse workforce of people. We believe that encouraging these differences and drawing the best from them will build a productive environment in which everyone feels valued, where talents are fully utilised and in which organisational goals are met. Underpinning this is a belief that it is a fundamental right for everyone to be treated equally, with fairness, respect and dignity. We will act directly and use our influence to ensure that this right is promoted and upheld; we encourage applications from all those who meet the criteria set-out in our role profiles.

Equal Opportunities:

We are an equal opportunities employer, committed to employing any person who meets the criteria for our roles. When undertaking recruitment we may require applicants to undertake certain tests or assessments, some of which will be online and others may be in-person. If you have a disability, heath condition or specific learning difficulty such as dyslexia then you may be entitled to support with undertaking this type of assessment exercise. Where you feel that reasonable adjustments are required to support you, we ask that you advise your recruitment point of contact in a timely fashion, providing further information. In confidence, Innovate UK will then review your application for adjustments and provide support as required.

UK Research and Innovation:

Innovate UK is partner organisation within UK Research and Innovation. If successful in securing the position, your employer will be UK Research and Innovation. More information can be found onlinehttp://www.ukri.org/.

Employee Benefits:

We offer a benefits package crafted to provide an excellent work/life balance. This includes 30 days’ annual leave, 10.5 public and privilege days, flexible working hours, an exceptional defined benefit pension scheme, and access to a variety of support networks and discount schemes.

Benefits of working at UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)

Flexible Working:

We understand the importance of work-life balance, and are happy to discuss the possibility of flexible working with applicants.

Artificial Intelligence:

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be rejected and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action.

Pre-employment Screening:

To enable us to hire the very best people we will conduct a comprehensive pre-employment check on successful applicants as part of the recruitment process.

The role holder will be required to have the appropriate level of security screening/vetting required for the role.  UKRI reserves the right to run or re-run security clearance as required during the course of employment.

UKRI supports research in areas that include animal health, agriculture and food security, and bioscience for health which includes research on animals, genetic modification and stem cell research. Whilst you may not have direct involvement in this type of research, you should consider how this aligns with your personal values or beliefs. To enable us to hire the very best people we will conduct a full and comprehensive pre-employment check as a crucial part of the recruitment process on all individuals that are offered a position with UKRI. This will include a security check and an extreme organisations affiliation check.

Applications must be submitted by;