The Senior Director of Professional Services Integration will provide strategic leadership for the planning, coordination and delivery of the professional services integration programme for the merger between King’s College London and Cranfield University to become a £1.8Bn university and a £750-800m PS workstream. Working across all Professional Service functions and in close partnership with other parts of the Merger Management Office (MMO) and workstream leads, the postholder will lead the development and implementation of integration plans that enable the successful transition to a single University over the next 2-3 years. The role will be responsible for shaping and coordinating the professional services integration strategy for the merger, translating institutional objectives into deliverable programmes of work. The postholder will ensure alignment across functions, identify and manage critical interdependencies, mitigate operational, regulatory and organisational risks, and provide advice and assurance to support executive decision-making. They will oversee a complex portfolio of transformation activity spanning all professional service domains, including IT, Estates & Facilities, Students & Academic Services Division, RMID, Finance, Philanthropy & Alumni, Comms & Engagement, Chairman’s Office and HR. The Senior Director will report to the SVP (Operations) but be part of the MMO and will need to build a strong relationship with the Senior Director of the MMO and the Executive Director, Strategic Assurance. They will support, advise and prepare the Joint PS Integration Steering Group, which is co-Chaired by the Chief Operating Officers of Cranfield University and King’s. The Senior Director will play the most critical role in preparing the institution for day one readiness and ensuring sustainable PS integration beyond day one, developing target integration plans and operating models across all PS functions and helping to realise the strategic benefits of the merger and deliver the ambitions of King’s Strategy 2030 and beyond. This is a full-time post and you will be offered a fixed term contract for 18 months.
The Equality Act of 2010 protects the rights of our students and staff and provides a framework to fulfil our duties to eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation and in addition, to advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between those who share a protected characteristic and those who do not. At times, this will include balancing rights and beliefs that can feel in tension. We are committed to free speech and to academic freedom, believing that our foundational purpose as a university, is to create spaces where a wide range of ideas, including ideas that are controversial, can be discussed and debated, and where members of our community can express lawful views without fear of intimidation, harassment or discrimination. When engaging in the robust exchange of ideas, we ask that our community is mindful of our Dignity at King’s guidance.
To be successful in this role, we are looking for candidates to have the following skills and experience:
Essential criteria
- Significant senior leadership experience delivering large-scale organisational transformation, integration, restructuring or merger programmes within a complex organisation.
- Experience of operating successfully at executive level, providing strategic advice, challenge and assurance to senior leaders, governing bodies and executive decision-making forums.
- Significant experience leading complex, multi-disciplinary transformation portfolios spanning multiple functions, stakeholders and organisational boundaries.
- Proven ability to design and lead engagement and change management approaches that secure stakeholder buy-in, support adoption and enable successful delivery of complex organisational transformation.
- Proven ability to identify, assess and manage complex strategic, operational, financial, regulatory and organisational risks.
- Outstanding stakeholder management and influencing skills, with the ability to secure alignment across diverse groups where authority may be indirect.
- Exceptional strategic thinking, analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to shape institutional strategy and translate complex objectives into deliverable outcomes.
- Evidence of leading and developing high-performing teams through periods of significant change and organisational uncertainty.
Desirable criteria
- Experience of merger, acquisition or institutional integration activity within higher education or another similarly complex sector.
- Knowledge of higher education regulatory and governance environments.
- Formal programme or project management qualification (MSP, PRINCE2, APM, PMP or equivalent).
At King’s, we believe that the diversity of our community and a culture that is welcoming, open, inclusive and collaborative, are great strengths of the university.
Grade and Salary : £120,000 to £125,000 per annum plus London Weighting Allowance
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