Forsyth Barnes Consultancy
Head of Change (Ref: 197741)
Get notified of more jobs like this · No spam, ever
How your CV stacks up
Upload your CV to see how well it fits this job role
?%
About the Role
About Us
Operating in investment banking, our client supports the movement, management and growth of capital through sophisticated financial services and market activity. The organisation is strengthening its enterprise capabilities to support sustainable development, improve operational effectiveness and deliver dependable outcomes for clients in a complex, regulated environment. Its Leeds-based operation combines commercial ambition with disciplined governance and a clear focus on executing strategic priorities.
With change central to its future direction, this organisation is investing in the leadership, portfolio discipline and delivery capability required to translate strategy into measurable business value. The successful candidate will work within an environment where senior stakeholders recognise the importance of well-governed transformation and informed decision-making.
Job Description
The Head of Change will provide enterprise leadership across the organisation’s change agenda, ensuring strategic initiatives are selected, sequenced and delivered with appropriate control. Based in Leeds, the role will connect executive priorities with practical delivery across business and technology functions, creating a transparent view of capacity, dependencies, risks, investment and expected benefits.
Success will involve making change easier to govern, more consistent to execute and more closely aligned to business outcomes. You will lead an established change capability, advise senior decision-makers, challenge competing demands and ensure delivery teams have the direction, resources and standards required to achieve meaningful results.
As a senior contributor to change governance, you will bring clarity to complex decisions and maintain momentum across a varied portfolio. The position requires a balanced approach: strategic enough to shape the future operating environment, and sufficiently engaged in delivery detail to identify issues early, protect value and maintain confidence among stakeholders.
This is an influential leadership appointment for an experienced transformation professional who can mature an existing model while preserving its strengths. You will help establish the conditions for sustainable change across a regulated investment banking business, with visible impact on organisational performance, client service and strategic execution.
Reasons to use Rodeo
Start with a chat, not a search bar
Grad scheme, placement, apprenticeship? Not sure what you want yet — that's fine. Your agent talks it through with you and turns "I have no idea" into a shortlist.
It searches the market for you
Every day your agent scans the market matching roles against what actually matters to you, not just keywords on a CV.
Only hits
No noise. No "maybe this fits." Just roles with a clear explanation of why they're right — and where to focus when applying.
Key Responsibilities
- Set the enterprise change strategy and translate organisational priorities into an integrated portfolio of initiatives.
- Direct the planning, prioritisation and sequencing of business and technology change across the organisation.
- Lead, coach and develop the change function, establishing clear accountability and high professional standards.
- Chair or contribute to relevant governance forums, presenting concise analysis and recommendations to senior stakeholders.
- Maintain oversight of portfolio capacity, funding, dependencies, delivery risk, issues and benefits realisation.
- Strengthen change frameworks, controls, reporting and assurance practices in line with regulatory and business expectations.
- Build effective relationships with executives, business leaders, technology teams, risk functions and external delivery partners.
- Challenge proposals where scope, sequencing, resourcing or expected value do not support the organisation’s strategic objectives.
- Promote consistent approaches to impact assessment, stakeholder engagement, readiness, adoption and post-implementation review.
- Provide timely intervention when delivery performance deteriorates, ensuring recovery actions are agreed and tracked.
Requirements
- Extensive senior experience leading enterprise change, transformation, portfolio management or a comparable strategic delivery function.
- Evidence of managing complex, interdependent portfolios within a financial services, investment banking or similarly regulated setting.
- Strong understanding of governance, risk, control, regulatory obligations and executive-level decision-making.
- Demonstrable success overseeing both business-led and technology-enabled change from strategic definition through implementation and benefits review.
- Experience developing an established change, transformation or programme management capability and improving its operating model.
- Confidence presenting portfolio insight, investment cases, risks and delivery recommendations to executive committees or boards.
- Ability to balance long-term strategic planning with active oversight of delivery quality, dependencies and emerging problems.
- Commercial judgement, including the ability to evaluate investment, articulate benefits and protect value throughout delivery.
- Highly developed influencing, facilitation, negotiation and communication skills across technical, operational and executive audiences.
- Proven ability to lead, motivate and retain high-performing professionals through changing priorities and demanding delivery conditions.
- Methodical attention to detail, supported by strong analytical capability and experience using data to inform prioritisation and assurance.
- Credibility to challenge constructively, make difficult decisions and maintain professional independence when required.
- Adaptability, resilience and sound judgement when managing ambiguity, competing demands and critical deadlines.
- Relevant professional qualifications in change, programme management, project management or business transformation would be advantageous.
Get help with your application
Your very own career expert that helps elevate your application to the next level.
Benefits
- A senior leadership remit with direct influence over enterprise priorities, investment decisions and strategic execution.
- The opportunity to shape and mature a change capability that is central to the organisation’s next phase of development.
- Broad exposure to executive stakeholders and varied business and technology initiatives within investment banking.
- A role where effective portfolio leadership can produce measurable improvements in operational performance, client outcomes and organisational resilience.
- Access to professional development aligned with leadership, transformation and regulated financial services delivery.
- A Leeds-based position within a structured, governance-focused environment that values informed challenge and continuous improvement.
Other
Igor Pestrikov
Associate Recruitment Consultant
FinTech Specialist
igor.pestrikov@forsythbarnes.com
My Other Roles
- Senior DevOps Engineer (Ref: 197453)
Berlin, Germany
“It took my CV and asked me questions relevant to understanding what kind of jobs to suggest for me. Suggestions were almost perfect. Jobs were exactly what I’ve been looking for.”
Jessica, London
Location