Programme Manager - Organisational Design

We're looking for an experienced Programme Manager - Organisational Design join us for 18 months to support the coordination and delivery of a high-impact organisational design change programme, currently entering Sprint 3. This critical phase focuses on translating an approved Target Operating Model (TOM) into detailed designs and implementation. As Programme Manager, you'll provide expert coordination and assurance across multiple workstreams, ensuring programme activity is aligned, risks are managed, and delivery stays on track. You'll act as a key enabler of progress through robust programme management disciplines, effective stakeholder engagement, and detailed planning. You'll play a pivotal role in ensuring the detailed design activities are sequenced, tracked and implemented with appropriate governance, considering people impacts, employment law obligations and financial considerations. At the RSC we embrace flexibility and offer hybrid working, which means our teams come together when they need to collaborate. Although this role is contractually based at our Cambridge office, you will be able to work from home within the UK, with the expectation that you will attend the office as needed for your role. If you need flexible working arrangements, please outline this in your application. Accountabilities Programme Coordination and Delivery Assurance

• Manage the integrated programme plan for Sprint 3, ensuring all activities (detailed design and implementation) are coordinated across People and Planning, Finance and Technology workstreams.
• Track delivery progress, monitor slippage and work with workstream leads to resolve issues and maintain programme momentum.
• Ensure programme outputs are aligned to the TOM and support the realisation of organisational design outcomes.
Risk, Governance and Decision Support
• Maintain the Risks, Assumptions, Issues, and Dependencies (RAID) log, proactively escalating blockers to the Organisational Design Lead as required.
• Support governance forums with high-quality reporting, status updates and decision documentation.
• Track and document key programme decisions to ensure traceability and auditability of the design process.
Stakeholder Engagement and Connectivity
• Act as the coordination point across workstreams to ensure delivery interlocks (eg People and Planning, Finance, Change Management, Operations) are managed effectively.
• Liaise with People Operations and Development teams to ensure that role design, team changes and implementation plans are compliant with employment legislation and people change policies.
• Coordinate inputs to stakeholder communications and change impact assessments in partnership with the Change Team, People Operations and Finance.
Cost Awareness & Financial Coordination
• Support the programme's financial tracking by monitoring delivery costs, identifying resource constraints, and ensuring programme decisions are made with appropriate cost consciousness.
• Provide coordination support for cost modelling and workforce impacts associated with detailed design outputs (eg new roles, spans of control, management layers).
Readiness for Implementation
• Ensure that detailed design deliverables are completed, quality assured, and ready for deployment.
• Coordinate implementation activities, including transition milestones, readiness assessments, and post implementation tracking.
  
  Project or Programme Management Qualifications (PRINCE2, MSP, APM) or significant equivalent experience.
• Significant experience coordinating complex change or organisational design programmes, particularly during detailed design and implementation phases.
• Proven ability to manage structured delivery plans and respond to shifting timelines and priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Highly proficient in developing and managing integrated delivery plans, status reports, and dashboards for different audiences and stakeholder groups.
• Familiarity with operating models, workforce planning, role design, and the mechanics of implementing new structures and ways of working.
• Proven ability to link programme outputs back to design principles and strategic goals.
• Strong awareness of financial planning principles and cost modelling impacts of organisational change.
• Proven ability to identify cost and business risks and support business case updates through structured inputs.
• Good understanding of people change processes and broader employment law obligations.
• Proven ability to coordinate with People and Planning, Enterprise Planning, and Finance Teams, to ensure compliance and alignment of design outputs to employment frameworks.
• Proficient in Microsoft Project, Excel, PowerPoint and collaborative tools (Teams, SharePoint).
• Highly skilled in working across multiple stakeholder groups to align delivery activities and manage dependencies.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills, with significant experience in producing clear structured reporting.
Desirable:
• Familiarity with organisational design or transformation methodologies.
• Experience using organisational design tools or change management platforms., As a part of the Disability Confident Scheme, we endeavour, where possible, to offer an interview to candidates meeting the essential criteria of the role, who has a substantial physical/mental impairment which impacts their ability to carry out day-to-day tasks.
  
  The Royal Society of Chemistry is the largest organisation in Europe for advancing excellence in the chemical sciences. Supported by a worldwide network of members and an international publishing business, our activities span education, conferences, science policy and the promotion of chemistry to the public.
The RSC has a broad range of diverse career opportunities. Our teams are highly motivated and successful with our employees citing 'the people' as the best thing about working at the RSC. Working for the RSC provides a great opportunity to keep up to date with the latest developments in science without working in a lab.

We promote a healthy work/life balance and flexible working options. Our benefits package includes:
• 26 days' paid holiday per annum plus bank holidays.
• Pension plan with up to 12% employer contributions (depending upon your contribution).
• Life assurance at 3 times basic annual salary.
• Enhanced parental leave.
• Paid volunteering days.