Lead, IT Change & Interventions

Role Overview

This leadership position sits within the Technology and Digital Innovation function and takes ownership of change delivery across five interlinked workstreams: transformation programme initiatives, formal change requests, standalone IT projects, delivery planning and roadmap oversight, and continuous improvement. The role is specifically weighted towards testing, meaning the postholder will shape test strategies, lead test activities on complex initiatives, and build testing capability across the organisation. Day to day, you will partner with project leads and technical teams to unblock issues, assess and deliver change requests, and ensure that every IT change follows consistent governance and delivers measurable value.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and shape testing activity across transformation initiatives, including defining test approaches, scope, scenarios, and risk-based strategies, and stepping into active delivery roles where needed.
• Take end-to-end ownership of complex change requests, covering impact assessment, estimation, resourcing, financial oversight, stakeholder management, and governance alignment with the PMO.
• Manage IT projects that sit outside the formal transformation portfolio, such as platform migrations or shared tenancy implementations, ensuring they meet the same standards and delivery expectations as portfolio initiatives.
• Contribute to product roadmap development and monitor delivery timelines, working with the Senior Lead to ensure changes are sequenced appropriately and dependencies are coordinated across teams.
• Drive continuous improvement by dedicating up to a fifth of your time to initiatives such as enhancing Atlassian tooling practices, improving change request processes, and embedding DevSecOps principles.
• Establish and mature a testing community of practice, mentoring project managers and peers to raise the quality of test plans, methods, and knowledge sharing across all types of change.
• Act as an escalation point for change-related risks and dependencies, resolving IT roadblocks that cannot be managed within existing capacity, and intervening when change requests are poorly scoped or misaligned with strategic objectives.
• Work cross-functionally with product owners, technical teams, and the PMO to manage dependencies, resolve conflicts, and promote a joined-up, continuous improvement culture across IT delivery.

Requirements & Qualifications

• Considerable experience working in large, complex IT environments, with direct accountability for issue resolution, dependency management, and building the capacity of others to solve problems.
• Proven hands-on testing experience, including creating test approaches, methodologies, strategies, and scope, with a clear understanding of functional scope and risk-based testing principles.
• Strong background in one or more of: IT change requests, release management, or product/technology roadmap delivery, with the ability to apply structured approaches under operational constraints and competing priorities.
• Ability to assess IT change through impact analysis, and to support business case creation, prioritisation, and sequencing across functional areas.
• Familiarity with industry frameworks such as ITIL, Agile, or DevOps, backed by formal training or applied experience, and the ability to apply appropriate governance while holding teams accountable.
• Demonstrated experience engaging and collaborating with global stakeholders at all levels, including senior leaders, across diverse contexts.
• Proven ability to operate in a matrix organisation, overseeing resources without direct line management, and working across multiple functional areas.
• Experience mentoring, coaching, and providing hands-on guidance to strengthen IT team capability, even without formal management responsibility.
• A track record of delivering high standards in a fast-paced, high-change environment with quick turnaround times.
• Project management experience across hybrid delivery models, with relevant certifications in project management, Agile methodologies, or related technologies (e.g., PMP, PRINCE2, ScrumMaster, Agile Certified Practitioner).
• Desirable: knowledge of the non-profit sector, particularly international development projects, and a second language such as French, Spanish, or Arabic.
• Desirable: ITIL certification or other IT service management qualifications, plus ongoing professional development in technology management and leadership.