Change Lead - 6696

Job Title: Strategic Change Lead

Salary: £45,100 - £60,400

Location: Cambridge - With Hybrid working

Contract: Fixed Term/Secondment (18 months)

Hours: Full time 35 hours per week

Are you ready to take on an exciting new challenge to enhance your expertise in change management within our Cambridge Change Management Centre of Expertise. Get ready to lead and inspire people through change!

We are Cambridge University Press & Assessment, a world-leading academic publisher and assessment organisation and a proud part of the University of Cambridge.

We have a fixed-term opportunity for you to actively contribute to transformational initiatives within our publishing business here at Cambridge University Press & Assessment; supporting digital transformation, organisational design & new ways of working. This role offers experience in the world of cultural, behavioural, process, system, and mindset changes, where you can drive meaningful impact. We're looking for an experienced change lead who can bring a strong passion for change management and, ideally, some familiarity with the publishing ecosystem to help us deliver strategic change with impact.

About the role

In this critical role, you will deliver flexible and innovative change management to a key cross-organisational programme, whilst contributing towards our ongoing efforts to build enterprise change management capability to support transformation in publishing. Through the creation and implementation of change management strategies and plans, you will build organisational capability and maximise employee adoption and the impact of this programme.

Great communication and stakeholder management will be key to your success, collaborating with senior leaders sponsoring change initiatives and helping frontline employees build their readiness and adaptability to change. As a skilled facilitator & listener you'll confidently develop key stakeholder relationships and conversations at all levels. Adapting your style and approach, you will cut through complexity, balancing the need for individual change with the strategic outcomes required. Previous experience within publishing will be an advantage to help.

Additional responsibilities and accountabilities include:

• Empower leaders and colleagues to embrace new ways of working and adapt to complex change.
• Build change capability through coaching, collaboration, and the development of toolkits, playbooks, and dashboards.
• Use change management data, dashboards, and analytics to inform decisions and enhance visibility.
• Ensure alignment with an enterprise-wide view of change to support coordinated planning and delivery.

This position has been classified as a hybrid role, requiring the selected candidate to typically spend 40-60% of their time collaborating and connecting face-to-face at their dedicated location. Aside from our hybrid principles, other flexible working requests will be considered from the first day of employment, including other work arrangements should you require adjustments due to a disability or long-term health condition.

About You

Combining your curiosity and passion for trying new ideas with your knowledge of change management principles and methods, you're able to successfully lead the implementation and measurement of the people side of change to support the transformation of ways of working across our publishing business. You are committed to supporting managers to coach their people through complex change.

Through your experiences of managing and leading people through change, you will have high levels of change agility and adapt well when faced with complexity and ambiguity. You respond well to setbacks and bounce back from failure, learning from the experience and adjusting, where necessary.

Your excellent interpersonal and communication skills, and the ability to identify both the overt and covert culture of our organisation, will help you quickly build credibility with stakeholders at all levels, positioning you as a trusted partner.

If you meet the above minimum requirements, we encourage you to apply. Your application will be even stronger if you can also demonstrate the following desirable criteria:

• You challenge thinking and question assumptions (including your own) in a constructive way.
• You understand psychology/behaviours and their influence on how people respond to transition and change.
• You continuously strive towards new and improved ways to tackle change management successfully, proactively seeking out new and up-to-date information which can be applied to real life challenges.

For a detailed job description, please refer to the link at the bottom of the advert on our careers site.

We are a Disability Confident (DC) employer that is committed to equality and inclusion ensuring our recruitment process is accessible to all. The DC scheme's Offer of an Interview commitment applies to applicants who opt in, and disclose a disability or a long-term health condition, and best meet the minimum criteria for the role. In instances where interviewing all qualifying candidates is not practicable, we prioritise those that best meet the minimum criteria, as we would for applicants who do not have a disability or long-term health condition.

Cambridge University Press & Assessment is an approved UK employer for the sponsorship of eligible roles and applicants under the Skilled Worker visa route. Please refer to the gov.uk website for guidance to understand your own eligibility based on the role you are applying for.

Rewards and benefits

We will support you to be at your best in work and to live well outside of it. In addition to competitive salaries, we offer a world class, flexible rewards package, featuring family friendly and planet friendly benefits including:

• 28 days annual leave plus bank holidays
• Private medical and Permanent Health Insurance
• Discretionary annual bonus
• Group personal pension scheme
• Life assurance up to 4 x annual salary
• Green travel schemes

Ready to pursue your potential? Apply now.

The closing date for all applications will be Sunday 28th December 2025. We will review applications on an ongoing basis, and shortlisted candidates can expect interviews to take place on 13 January 2026.

• First stage interview: in-person at our offices in Cambridge.

If you require any reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process due to a disability or a long term health condition, there will be an opportunity for you to inform us via the online application form. We will do our best to accommodate your needs.

Please note that successful applicants will be subject to satisfactory background checks including DBS due to working in a regulated industry.

We are committed to an equitable recruitment process. As such, applications must be submitted via our official online application procedure. Please refrain from sending your CV directly to our recruiters. If you experience technical difficulties or require additional support with submitting your online application, contact the Recruiter.

Why join us

Joining us is your opportunity to pursue potential. You'll belong to a collaborative team that's exploring new and better ways to serve students, teachers and researchers across the globe - for the benefit of individuals, society and the world. Sharing our mission will inspire your own growth, development and progress, in an environment which embraces difference, change and aspiration.

Cambridge University Press & Assessment is committed to being a place where anyone can enjoy a successful career, where it's safe to speak up, and where we learn continuously to improve together. We welcome applications from all candidates, regardless of demographic characteristics (age, disability, educational attainment, ethnicity, gender, marital status, neurodiversity, religion, sex, gender identity and sexual identity), cultural, or social class/background.

We believe better outcomes come through diversity of thought, background and approach. We welcome applications from people from all backgrounds and communities, actively seeking to employ people from a wide range of different communities.

Pursuing Your Potential

At Cambridge University Press & Assessment, we are dedicated to fostering an environment where your career aspirations are not only recognised but actively supported. Whether you are looking for new responsibilities within your current team, interested in a promotion or secondment, or exploring a different career path, we offer various resources to support your professional development. Our Online Learning Platform, leadership development pathways, and mentorship schemes are readily available to all employees, ensuring you have the tools to reach your fullest potential.

If you're ready to take the next step in your Cambridge journey, we welcome your application. Together, we continue to shape a culture where everyone feels empowered to succeed and motivated to make a difference-for ourselves, for each other, and for learners worldwide.