Change Management Lead (12 Month Contract)

Job description

Role Purpose Project Compass is one of the Bank's most strategically important transformation programmes, and this role will lead how change is understood, embraced and embedded across the organisation. Reporting to the Head of Strategic Transformation, the Change Management Lead will define and deliver the programme's change strategy, shaping its narrative, building stakeholder support, and ensuring the business is ready to adopt new ways of working. This is a hands-on leadership role requiring someone who can operate comfortably at both strategic and delivery levels. One day, they may be advising senior leaders on stakeholder strategy or programme positioning; the next, they may be creating communications, facilitating workshops, analysing stakeholder feedback, or building change artefacts themselves. We are looking for someone who enjoys rolling up their sleeves, brings energy and momentum to those around them, and is comfortable building approaches from first principles in a fast-moving environment. The successful candidate will be a strong advocate for modern, AI-enabled ways of working, using technology to improve insight, accelerate delivery, and enhance the quality and reach of communications and change activity. As a key member of the Transformation Office, they will play a central role in helping Compass land successfully across the Bank. 1. Programme Narrative Develop and own the overarching Compass narrative, ensuring a clear, consistent and compelling story Define and establish the programme “brand” (tone, identity, messaging framework) Create core communication artefacts (e.g. slide decks, updates, FAQs, leadership briefings) Use AI tools to accelerate content creation, iterate messaging, and tailor communications to different audiences Act as a quality gate for programme communications to maintain consistency and clarity 2. Stakeholder Management & Engagement Develop and maintain a comprehensive stakeholder map across all impacted areas Build and manage a structured stakeholder engagement plan aligned to programme phases Leverage AI and analytics to enhance stakeholder insight (e.g. sentiment tracking, segmentation, engagement patterns) Identify key influencers, sponsors and potential points of resistance Support senior stakeholders with messaging, briefing materials and engagement strategies Continuously assess stakeholder sentiment and adapt approach in real time 3. Change Strategy & Planning Define and implement a pragmatic, scalable change management approach for Project Compass Embed AI-enabled approaches into change delivery (e.g. automated comms planning, impact assessment support, knowledge management) Establish core change deliverables (impact assessments, change plans, comms plans) Integrate change activity into overall programme plans and governance Ensure change considerations are proactively embedded into workstream delivery 4. Business Readiness & Adoption (as programme matures) Assess business readiness for change across impacted teams and functions Define and track readiness criteria and adoption metrics Use data and AI-enabled insights to identify adoption risks and target interventions Develop and deliver plans to support adoption of new processes, tools and behaviours Coordinate with SMEs and workstreams to ensure changes are understood and embedded 5. Capability Building & Upskilling Identify change capability gaps across the programme and wider business Promote adoption of AI tools to enhance productivity and effectiveness in change and communication activities Support upskilling of leaders and managers to lead change effectively in an AI-enabled environment Provide practical guidance, tools and coaching to teams delivering change Champion modern, digitally-enabled approaches to change management across Compass 6. Governance, Tracking & Continuous Improvement Establish simple, effective tracking of change activity and outcomes Use AI to streamline reporting, generate insights and highlight emerging risks or themes Provide regular reporting on engagement, adoption and change risks Capture feedback and lessons learned to continuously improve the approach Ensure alignment with broader Transformation Office / PMO standards and evolving AI practices • Relevant degree or equivalent professional experience • Change management certification (e.g. Prosci, APMG) desirable but not essential • Evidence of continued professional development, particularly in AI / digital tools, is advantageous Core Change & Transformation Expertise Proven experience delivering change management within large-scale transformation programmes Strong grounding in core change disciplines (communications, stakeholder engagement, impact assessment, business readiness) Experience shaping and implementing change strategies from early-stage programme definition through to delivery Comfortable operating in ambiguous, fast-moving environments and building structure from first principles Communications & Narrative Development Demonstrated ability to develop compelling programme narratives and translate strategy into clear, engaging messaging Strong written and visual communication skills, with experience creating executive-level materials (ExCo updates, town halls, briefing packs) Ability to distil complex concepts into simple, audience-appropriate messages with clear “so what” outcomes Experience establishing and maintaining a consistent “brand” for programmes or initiatives Stakeholder Management & Influencing Proven ability to engage and influence senior stakeholders, including Executive-level audiences Experience developing structured stakeholder maps and engagement plans across complex organisations Strong interpersonal skills, with the ability to build trust and navigate resistance constructively Comfortable acting as a trusted partner to senior leaders, shaping messaging and engagement approaches AI & Digital Ways of Working Demonstrated interest in and practical use of AI tools to enhance productivity and quality of outputs Experience using AI to support content creation, analysis, or insight generation (e.g. communications, stakeholder insight, reporting) Ability to identify opportunities to embed AI-enabled approaches into change and transformation activities Mindset of continuous improvement, leveraging technology to simplify and accelerate delivery Business Readiness & Adoption Experience supporting organisations through implementation and embedding of change Ability to define and track readiness and adoption measures, and respond to emerging risks Experience designing and delivering interventions to support behaviour change and adoption Strong appreciation of how change lands operationally across functions Ways of Working & Personal Attributes Highly organised and delivery-focused, with the ability to manage multiple priorities Pragmatic and outcome-oriented, balancing structure with pace Strong attention to detail, with a focus on clarity and quality of outputs Proactive, self-starting and comfortable operating as a standalone change lead Collaborative and low-ego, able to work effectively across teams and disciplines Hybrid working Contributory personal pension plan: - Minimum: Employee 2% and Employer 7%. Employer matches contributions in 1% increments to a maximum of: Employee 5% and Employer 10% Life Assurance – 4 times annual salary Group Income Protection Private Medical Insurance – this may include cover for partner and or children at company cost. Cover includes Optical, Dental and Audiology Discretionary Bonus Competitive Annual Leave 2 Volunteering Days Benefit Hub Crown Agents Bank is a vastly growing and regulated UK bank that connects emerging and frontier markets to the rest of the world, using FX and payments technology. We are transforming the way payments and FX move through emerging markets, reducing friction so that more money gets to those who need it. Emerging markets payments are usually challenging, expensive, unreliable and opaque. Our solutions help fix these pain points. Ultimately, we connect traditionally hard-to-reach regions to global financial infrastructure, giving access to the best prices and the fastest, most reliable settlement. FX and cross-border payments are often complex and expensive, especially when operating in emerging markets. Crown Agents Bank (CAB) wraps its deep and trusted relationships and strength of network around innovative digital capabilities, and cross-border transaction banking solutions to enable fintech, corporates, governments, development organisations and banks to move money to, from, and across often hard-to-reach markets.