Head of Transformation at London… · Walthamst…

Grade: Scale PO12 Salary: £81,732 - £88,506 Full-time/Fixed-Term (12 Months) Closing Date: 23/11/2026 Directorate: Chief Executive

Organisation: London Borough of Waltham Forest

Salary: PO12 Salary: £81,732 - £88,506

Contract Type: Full-time/ Fixed Term Contract - 12 Months

Working hours per week: 36

Application Deadline: Monday 23rd Nov 2026

Proposed Interview Date(s): TBC

Reference:  2408

About Us:

Bursting with culture, energy, and opportunity, the London Borough of Waltham Forest is a fantastic and exciting place to work.

We are a highly ambitious borough. Driven by culture and the innate creativity of our residents, we have developed new and innovative ways to build our communities. Our Council is relentlessly resident-focused, insight-led, digitally driven and commercially minded; a Council focused on meeting the needs of our existing and future residents.

London Borough of Waltham Forest is one of the Mayor of London’s Good Work Standard employers. This accreditation is a proof of our commitment to creating a healthy, fair and inclusive workplace. This includes fair pay and conditions, workplace well-being, skills and progression and diversity and recruitment.

The Council’s preference is for online application. However, if you have a disability and are unable to complete an online application, please email recruitment@walthamforest.gov.uk so we can arrange an alternative application method.

About the role:

The Head of Transformation will be expected to develop and lead the design and delivery of the overall transformation portfolio. They will manage a flexible team of resource to lead design thinking across the organisation, challenging the status quo and turning ideas into implementable plans. They will be the lead officer providing expertise on the design of transformation portfolios and individual programmes. They will have excellent facilitation and stakeholder management skills to develop innovative solutions in partnership with services, drawing on best practice from across the sector Their role will be to bring together transformation, strategy and policy resource from across the service to develop solutions to complex problems. They will be responsible for developing the Overall theory of change and ensuring that delivery is aligned to resident impact.

>> Click here to download the Role Profile <<

Key Responsibilities:

• Plan and ensure service delivery within a complex / diverse service area. Control operational activities within the service area and ensure professional standards are delivered

• Manage responses to complex professional or politically sensitive issues within the area of responsibility

• Manage key relationships with delivery partners 'providers suppliers to commission I manage I evaluate I enhance appropriate service delivery / capacity within area Of responsibility

• Develops service plans to meet strategic business goals. Ensure compliance with all internal and external standards.

• Ensure the development and delivery of continuous improvements in all aspects of the service.

• Lead, motivate and develop staff to create and maintain a highly competent and participative workforce

• Identify, secure, deploy and manage the resources necessary for the professional service area to meet/exceed its objectives.

• Ensure the necessary standards relating to safeguarding best practices/protocols are effectively communicated, monitored and maintained

• Implement a risk management programme and advise on issues affecting Council service areas

• Ensure the successful implementation Of health and safety legislation, policies and practices

•Lead on establishing a unified approach transformation design and delivery, ensuring strategic alignment

•Lead delivery of transformation programmes to meet agreed outcomes, working with services to develop innovative solutions, drawing on best practice on public reform

•Foster a culture Of design thinking and innovation across the organisation, challenging current approaches and turning innovative ideas into deliverable plans

•Lead on ensuring transformation deliverables are achieved whilst adhering to required governance arrangements, standards and best practice

•Build and maintain strong strategic relationships with key senior and political stakeholders to enable effective delivery transformation portfolio

•Proactive approach to managing emerging and strategic risks and issues across the Transformation portfolio.

Qualifications and Requirements:

To be considered for this position, you should meet the following requirements:

Knowledge, Skills and Experience • Direct experience Of structuring, running, managing and ensuring the delivery Of agreed Outcomes for portfolios Of complex people focused transformation projects.

• Experience Of building excellent relationships with senior managers and members, with a view to ensuring that corporate visions and priorities are delivered and that an excellent customer service is experienced by those stakeholders.

• Experience of detailed resource management and success in implementing new resourcing approaches.

• Experience of managing a mixed and varied workload of conflicting priorities responding effectively to the needs Of all customers.

• Experience Of report writing and communications for a variety Of audiences, demonstrating numeracy and literacy and applying expert knowledge.

• Experience in dealing with a range Of complex and contentious matters requiring a consistently high degree of support, persuasion and advocacy and an awareness of major policy objectives.

• Experience of matrix managing and coordinating employees carrying out work across a range Of major functions.

• Strong leadership, influencing, people engagement, and people management skills.

• Ability to work autonomously to meet the objectives of the organisation.

• An ability to respond to unpredictable volume of work, with a positive attitude and a willingness to learn new ways to accomplish work activities and objectives.

• An exceptional communicator able to operate and empathise with stakeholders and business groups, influencing and gaining commitment to objectives.

• Excellent planning and organisational skills coupled with a strong focus on the delivery of the Objective.

• Creative and innovative in finding solutions to complex problems.

• Knowledge Of governance frameworks for both the constituent projects and the programme itself.

• Possess strengths in organisational, attention-to-detail, reasoning, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills.

Indicative Qualifications:

• Educated to degree level or equivalent standard

• Relevant professional qualification.

Terms and conditions:

The below terms and conditions apply to this role:

Satisfactory employment references and CIFAS identity checks;

• Satisfactory declaration of interest;
• As a public authority, we must ensure that members of staff in public-facing roles are able to speak fluent English. This means that they must have a command of spoken English, with confidence and accuracy, sufficient for the effective performance of their role. This requirement does not refer to any particular English language qualifications, regional or international accents, dialects, speech impediments or the tone of conversations. It does not require staff to speak only in English.

How to Apply:

Interested candidates are invited to submit their applications online by pressing the ‘Apply’ button below. This includes a supporting statement that outlines to us how your skills and experience make you a good candidate for this vacancy.

We are a Home Office–licensed sponsor; however, for this specific role we are not able to provide Skilled Worker visa sponsorship. To be considered, you must already hold a form of UK work authorisation that does not require sponsorship.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.

Contact Information:

If you have any questions about this vacancy or the application process, please contact Daniel Gardiner, Assistant Director of Strategy & Design at Daniel.Gardiner@walthamforest.gov.uk

If you have any technical issues when trying to apply for this post, please contact our Recruitment Team via email at recruitment@walthamforest.gov.uk.

Equal Opportunity Employer:

Waltham Forest is a diverse borough where diversity is valued and is integral to both, service delivery and employment of its staff. The Council is proud of its rich mix of communities and as the largest employer in the area, it works hard to respond to the changing needs of its population. We use our statutory duties on race, gender and disability equality and best practice in respect of age, faith and sexual orientation to ensure equality of opportunity in the workplace. The Council is committed to meeting its 4 equality objectives: - Promoting equality of opportunity - Opposing all forms of discrimination, intolerance and disadvantage - Ensuring our workforce reflects the diverse communities of Waltham Forest at all levels. - Providing fair, appropriate, accessible and excellent Services to all. Respecting Diversity is a core Council value.

To support the above and reduce the risk of bias in its recruitment activities, the council is operating an anonymous shortlisting process, which hides personal information that can identify individuals until their application has been considered for shortlisting. The council also operates a scheme whereby, for jobs graded up to and including scale SO2, internal candidates are considered first. This includes those candidates who self-identify as having a disability for the purposes of the Disability Confident scheme. For more information, please refer to our recruitment and selection policy.

We are keen to support employees to balance their working life with other commitments. Therefore, wherever possible, we will consider working arrangements that suit an individual's personal circumstances whilst still meeting the needs of the Council. If you would like to discuss the possible flexible working options that might be applicable to this role, please contact the person named below or feel free to discuss this during your interview.

For more information on the benefits of working for the Council, please visit https://www.walthamforest.gov.uk/jobs-and-training/find-jobs-and-other-opportunities/working-us.

Fraud Awareness Notice The London Borough of Waltham Forest only advertises vacancies via our official website and approved recruitment platforms (e.g. Jobsgopublic).

We will never ask for payment or request sensitive personal or financial information as part of our recruitment process.

If you are contacted by a third party claiming to represent the Council, please verify the vacancy via our official careers website before sharing any information.

If you have concerns about a job advert or communication, please report it to: fraud@walthamforest.gov.uk

Click here for further information on the Human Resources recruitment privacy notice.