Operating Model Redesign and Change Programme for a Russell Group University

A Russell Group university with more than 30,000 students and 8,000 staff was facing sustained financial pressure: real-terms tuition fee erosion, rising staff and energy costs, and softening international recruitment in several priority markets. A board-approved financial sustainability plan called for £42 million of recurrent savings over three years, alongside a deliberate strategic shift towards a more research-intensive portfolio. Previous restructuring efforts had produced limited durable savings and significant cultural cost. Trade union relationships were sensitive, the academic community had limited confidence in central professional services, and the executive needed a programme that delivered the financial outcome without compromising research quality, the student experience or the institution's standing in the next REF cycle.

Intology was appointed Change Director, working alongside the Registrar and Chief Financial Officer with explicit sponsorship from the Vice-Chancellor. We led the design of a target operating model that consolidated transactional professional services into a shared services function, freed local college and faculty capacity to focus on academic-facing activity, and re-balanced central versus devolved decision rights with clear, evidenced principles. Engagement with academic colleagues, professional services staff and union representatives was placed at the centre of the design phase, with multiple structured touchpoints rather than a single consultation. Financial targets were translated into specific operating model changes rather than cascaded as percentage cuts, providing a defensible, evidenced rationale at every level. Implementation was phased, with hypercare for early-adopting faculties used to refine the model before wider rollout. People processes were run carefully under HR leadership, prioritising redeployment and voluntary routes wherever feasible.