Director - Transition & Insourcing (Programme Leadership)
Location: Predominantly Remote (with travel to Westminster up to 4 days per month)
Security Clearance: NPPV3 required (SC may be accepted initially due to project timescales)
Engagement Type: Strategic advisory, programme leadership, transition shaping & delivery oversight
Contract opportunity for 3 months with possible extension (Inside IR35)
The Opportunity
We are seeking a Director-level Transition & Insourcing leader to operate as a senior trusted advisor and programme authority across complex public sector transition environments.
This role is focused on high-risk, business-critical transitions, including supplier exit, insourcing, knowledge transfer and service stabilisation. It requires an individual who can work credibly at senior levels, bring clarity to ambiguity, and ensure continuity of service while positioning organisations for long-term operational resilience.
You will play a pivotal leadership role, shaping both transition delivery and the identification of future support opportunities through deep understanding of client environments.
Role Purpose
As a Director, you will provide strategic oversight and hands-on leadership across complex transition programmes. You will guide organisations through transition risk, operational readiness, and service continuity challenges while defining clear, structured approaches to successful outcomes.
This is a specialist leadership role, not a generic programme position. Success depends on your ability to combine:
- Executive-level stakeholder influence
- Transition and operational expertise
- Commercial insight
- Pragmatic delivery judgement
Key Details
- Operate as a trusted advisor to senior stakeholders, providing clarity, confidence and direction in complex transition environments
- Lead transition and insourcing strategy, including supplier exit planning and service handover
- Oversee transition readiness assessments across people, process, technology, governance and operations
- Ensure service continuity and risk mitigation across all phases of transition
- Direct knowledge transfer strategy and assurance, ensuring retention of critical operational capability
- Provide structured oversight of service stabilisation post-transition
- Translate complex challenges into clear, actionable plans and governance structures
- Act as the senior bridge between stakeholders, delivery teams and programme leadership
- Provide executive-level reporting on risk, progress, readiness and opportunity
Strategic Opportunity Shaping
A core element of this role is the ability to identify and shape value-driven, outcome-focused support opportunities.
You will:
- Analyse client environments to understand underlying challenges and risks
- Identify areas where targeted intervention will add measurable value
- Develop and shape fundable work packages, such as:
- Transition readiness assessments
- Supplier exit assurance
- Knowledge transfer frameworks
- Operational readiness reviews
- Service stabilisation strategies
- Contribute to sustainable business growth through insight-led opportunity development (not direct sales activity)
Individuals who demonstrate strong capability in this area are expected to see extension and longer-term engagement opportunities.
Experience & Expertise
Core Capability
- Extensive experience operating at Programme Director/Director level within complex transformation or transition environments
- Proven leadership of:
- Large-scale transition or insourcing programmes
- Supplier exit and service handover
- Service stabilisation in live operational environments
- Deep understanding of:
- Service operations and IT operating models
- Governance, risk and dependency management
- Knowledge transfer and operational readiness
- Experience working across multi-supplier ecosystems and complex stakeholder landscapes
Leadership Profile
- Executive presence with the ability to influence at senior levels
- Calm, credible and authoritative in high-pressure environments
- Able to quickly establish trust in sensitive or politically complex contexts
- Strong judgement with a focus on practical, outcome-led delivery
- Skilled in balancing client value with commercial discipline
- Able to challenge constructively while maintaining alignment and confidence
Sector Experience
- Experience in public sector or similarly regulated environments is essential
- Exposure to secure, critical or high-dependency services is highly advantageous
Desirable Background
- Central government or secure service environments
- Large-scale insourcing or supplier transition programmes
- Complex service environments with Legacy constraints or operational debt
- Experience supporting transitions from incumbent suppliers
- Service health, reporting or stabilisation frameworks
Candidate Profile
This role is suited to a senior, commercially aware transition leader who:
- Operates naturally at Director level
- Brings both strategic insight and practical delivery expertise
- Is highly effective in ambiguous, early-stage environments
- Understands where intervention is valuable - and where it is not
- Is able to shape credible, outcome-based support approaches
- Focuses on service continuity, risk reduction and long-term stability
If you receive suspicious outreach claiming to be from us, please contact us via the ManpowerGroup website.