Business Readiness Lead (Contract)

Role Title: Business Readiness Lead (Delivery Support)

Location: Mostly Remote (Telford 2 days per month onsite )

Duration: 3 months

Rate: £445 per day/inside IR35

IR35 Status: Inside IR35 ( PAYE/Umbrella only )

Clearance: Active SC Clearance required

Overview

We are seeking an experienced Business Readiness Lead to drive planning, coordination, and execution of readiness activities across a complex transformation programme. You will ensure new capabilities are usable, stable, and fully adopted by end users, leading on readiness planning, UAT/BAT coordination, change impact, training, communications, and go-live activities.

Key Responsibilities

Business Readiness Planning Governance
- Define and maintain the Business Readiness Plan , roadmap, and acceptance criteria
- Establish readiness governance including checkpoints, go/no-go criteria, and cutover planning
- Produce dashboards and reporting packs for senior stakeholders
Change Impact Adoption
- Lead change impact assessments across people, process, technology, and data
- Develop adoption strategies, including operating model updates and SOPs
- Track adoption and benefits realisation post go-live
UAT/BAT Leadership
- Define and manage UAT/BAT strategy , including scope, scenarios, and environments
- Coordinate test preparation, execution, and defect management
- Ensure readiness sign-off and audit compliance
Training, Communications Stakeholder Engagement
- Own training strategy (TNA, materials, delivery methods)
- Deliver targeted communications plans and measure readiness
- Engage and influence senior stakeholders with evidence-based recommendations
Go-Live Early Life Support
- Lead cutover planning, rehearsals, and contingency planning
- Coordinate Early Life Support (ELS), including hypercare and stabilisation
- Capture lessons learned and drive continuous improvement
Risk, Assurance Controls
- Maintain RAID logs and manage readiness risks and mitigations
- Support assurance reviews, audits, and compliance activities
- Ensure security, data protection, and accessibility requirements are met
Data, MI Tooling
- Manage readiness MI and reporting (RAG status, training completion, test results)
- Utilise tools such as Jira, Confluence, SharePoint, MS Project, Power BI
- Align readiness data with programme delivery and benefits tracking

Key Skills Experience

Essential: Strong experience in business readiness / change delivery within complex programmes
Background working in government or highly regulated environments
Proven experience leading UAT/BAT and go-live readiness activities
Strong stakeholder management and ability to influence at senior level
Experience delivering at pace across multiple workstreams
Excellent communication skills, including producing board-level materials
Hands-on experience with Agile, Waterfall, or hybrid delivery models
Previous experience working in the Public and/or Government Sector

Additional Information

Additional vetting required onboarding timelines may be extended

If this matches your background and experience, please apply today!

Business Readiness Lead