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!