Business Change

Job summary

Business Change at GCHQ focuses on delivering a wide range of change initiatives across the organisation, from technology implementation and structural reorganisation to cultural transformation and operating model change. Working as part of a supportive and collaborative team, you’ll partner with colleagues across the organisation to understand requirements, engage stakeholders, and help ensure change is delivered effectively, making a real difference to how GCHQ works.

Job description

Responsibilities will vary depending on your level of experience:

As a Business Change Analyst the focus is on supporting change initiatives and developing your skills across the change lifecycle. This may involve delivering smaller pieces of change or contributing to larger change initiatives, working closely with experienced colleagues as you build your capability.

As a Business Change Manager, responsibility extends to owning more complex change initiatives, advising stakeholders on the best approaches and leading delivery across multiple areas. The role also includes supporting and developing less experienced colleagues and contributing to building an effective change community.

As a Senior Business Change Manager, the emphasis is on acting as a trusted partner to senior stakeholders, shaping strategy and guiding the organisation through its most complex change challenges. Insight, influence and leadership are key to ensuring change is successfully embedded across the business.

Person specification

Experience of delivering business change in a professional environment is essential, alongside a flexible and pragmatic approach to applying change tools and techniques. A collaborative approach and readiness to work across a range of initiatives are also important, along with the ability to adapt to contexts and priorities.

Effective communication skills are needed, including the ability to build relationships, engage stakeholders, and contribute to shared outcomes. Curiosity and openness to learning are key, with a willingness to develop skills, share knowledge, and improve how change is delivered.

The level of experience required will vary depending on the role:

Business Change Analyst: Experience supporting change initiatives across at least two areas is expected, such as technology change, process or policy change, culture, organisational design, or operating model change. If you don’t already hold a recognised Business Change qualification, you’ll be supported to obtain one during the early stages of your role.

Business Change Manager: Significant experience across multiple areas of change is required, along with the confidence to lead more complex initiatives and advise stakeholders on effective approaches. A recognised Business Change qualification (such as APMG International or Prosci) is expected, otherwise, you will be expected to achieve one during the initial stages of your role.

Senior Business Change Manager: Extensive experience delivering complex change, including transformational change, across a broad range of areas is essential, with confidence influencing at senior levels. Sound judgement and effective leadership are expected, as well as the ability to shape strategic approaches to change and a requirement to hold a recognised Business Change qualification.

Across all roles, adaptability, proactivity and a readiness to work in a fast-paced environment where priorities can shift quickly are important.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £43,083, GCHQ contributes £12,481 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

You’ll receive a starting salary of £43,083 to £68,745 (depending on the role), as well as additional benefits including:

• 25 days’ annual leave, rising automatically to 30 days after 5 years' service, plus an additional 10.5 days’ public and privilege holidays
• opportunities to be recognised through our employee performance scheme
• an interest-free season ticket loan
• an excellent pension scheme
• cycle to work scheme
• facilities such as a subsidised gym, restaurant, and on-site coffee bars (at some locations)
• paid parental and adoption leave

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

GCHQ is proud to have achieved Leader status within the Department for Work and Pensions’ Disability Confident scheme. This scheme encourages employers to think differently about disability and take action to improve how they recruit, retain and develop disabled people. Being Disability Confident, we aim to offer a fair and proportionate number of disabled applicants who best meet the minimum criteria for these positions an interview, if it is practical for us to do so. This is our ‘Offer of Interview’ (OOI). To secure an interview for these vacancies, the essential criteria (in order of application process) are:

1. You'll be required to reach the minimum pass mark for the online Situational Judgement Test (SJT), which assesses criteria important for all roles in our organisation
2. Meet the minimum pass mark for the application question which explores your CV, motivation and suitability for this role and organisation.

There is a wide range of extra support available throughout the recruitment process to enable you to do your best. See our website for information on reasonable adjustments we can offer.

What to expect

Our recruitment process is fair, transparent, and based on merit. Here is a brief overview of each stage, in order:

1. An initial online application form, including pre-screening questions to ensure you meet our eligibility criteria.
2. An online Situational Judgement Test (SJT) in which you rate the appropriateness of responses to a series of short scenarios.
3. A full online application form including a CV and application sift, looking at your motivation and suitability for the role and organisation
4. A virtual interview, in which you will be asked questions relating to your motivation and our core competencies.
5. If successful, you will receive a conditional offer of employment and proceed to the vetting stage.

Please note, you must successfully pass each stage of the process to progress to the next. Your application may take around 6 to 9 months to process including vetting, so we advise you to continue any current employment until you have received your final job offer.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be ap