Change Implementation Manager in Newcastle upon Tyne, North East

On behalf of DEFRA, we are looking for a Change Implementation Manager (Inside IR35) until the end of September 2026 (to cover maternity leave). This is a hybrid working role (two days per week office based - Newcastle, York, Preston or Bristol). In the Defra group, we deal with a vast range of issues that profoundly impact on people's lives. We are responsible for England's environment, our countryside and rural economy, the food and farming sectors and have lead responsibility for protection from a wide range of natural threats and hazards.

We have developed a set of three strategic objectives covering our policy outcomes and corporate objectives. These objectives help us to deliver our ambitious vision to build our green and healthy future and provide a framework for all the important work we carry out. Our objectives are:

• To pass on to the next generation a natural environment protected and enhanced for the future.
• To lead the world in food, farming, and fisheries with a sustainable model of food production.
• To be an outstanding organisation focused on making a difference, with world class delivery capability.

Job Purpose: The Change Implementation Manager is accountable for ensuring that changes are successfully adopted, embedded, and sustained across the organisation. Sitting at the intersection of programme delivery and people change, this role focuses on the human, operational, and behavioural elements required to realise intended benefits and deliver lasting outcomes. This role leads the end-to-end change management lifecycle, translating strategic objectives into practical, role-level impacts and ensuring colleagues are enabled, ready, and supported to operate effectively in new ways of working.

The Change Implementation Manager works closely with sponsors, leaders, programme teams, and operational areas to align change delivery with business priorities and capacity. As a Change Implementation Manager, your main responsibilities will be to:

• Lead the implementation of service led- change, ensuring new ways of working are adopted and embedded without compromising live service performance.
• Act as the bridge between change initiatives and service operations, aligning delivery activity with service capacity, priorities, and constraints.
• Translate strategic change objectives into practical service level impacts- and actions.
• Define and own the business readiness approach for change impacting live services.
• Assess and evidence readiness across people, process, technology, data, controls, and governance.
• Establish clear entry and exit criteria for implementation milestones and service transitions.
• Provide informed go/no go- recommendations based on service risk, readiness, and adoption confidence.

Essential:

• Proven experience delivering change within live service environments, maintaining service performance and customer outcomes.
• Strong background in change management, with a focus on readiness, training, adoption, and embedding new ways of working.
• Experience preparing services for change through business readiness assessments and structured implementation planning.
• Ability to design or coordinate role-based training that builds real confidence and capability.
• Demonstrated experience driving sustained adoption beyond go-live.
• Strong stakeholder management and communication skills, with confidence working across operational and leadership teams.
• Resilient, practical, and delivery-focused, able to manage competing priorities in fast-paced service settings.

Desirable:

• Experience delivering large-scale or multi-wave service change, including frontline or customer-facing teams.
• Background in regulated or high-risk service environments.
• Experience supporting technology-enabled service change.
• Professional qualification in Change Management or Project Delivery.
• Familiarity with service management or ITIL-aligned environments.

Please be aware that this role can only be worked within the UK and not Overseas.

Disability Confident: As a member of the Disability Confident Scheme, DEFRA guarantees to interview all candidates who have a disability and who meet all the essential criteria for the vacancy. In cases where we have a high volume of candidates who have a disability who meet all the essential criteria, we will interview the best candidates from within that group. This scheme encourages candidates with a disability and/or neurodivergence to apply.

Armed Forces Commitment: DEFRA guarantees to interview veterans or spouses / partners of military personnel who meet all the essential criteria for the vacancy. In cases where we have a high volume of ex-military candidates / military spouses or partners, who meet all of the essential criteria, we will interview the best candidates from within that group.

In applying for this role, you acknowledge the following: 'this role falls in scope of the Off Payroll Working in the Public Sector legislation. Any rates of payment quoted will reflect the gross rate per day for the assignment and will be subject to appropriate taxes and statutory costs. As such the payment to the intermediary and your income resulting from this contract will be different.'