Digital Transformation Programme Manager

Digital Transformation Programme Manager (Digital Services for u3as – DSU)

Third Age Trust

Department: Operations

Reports to: Head of Operations

Key relationships: Leadership, Finance, DSU Project Board, transformation partner, suppliers and u3a volunteers

Location: London, Blackfriars/hybrid, with occasional UK travel

Salary: £60,000–£65,000

Contract: Full-time, fixed term (expected project duration 18–24 months)

About the Third Age Trust and DSU Programme

The Third Age Trust supports more than 1,000 independent, volunteer-led u3as across the UK, with over 400,000 members. It provides national leadership, shared services and digital tools for membership, finances, groups and websites.

The Digital Services for u3as (DSU) Programme will replace fragmented legacy systems with a modern digital estate. Following a 2026 discovery phase, it will deliver:

• Tier 1: A SaaS membership platform for u3as.
• Tier 2: Custom-built, Trust-owned integration middleware.
• Tier 3: Trust SaaS platforms for CRM, finance, events and communications.

Job Purpose

Lead delivery of the DSU programme across all three tiers, from planning, procurement and implementation through pilot, phased rollout and handover. The postholder must have proven experience procuring, developing and implementing CRM, membership, volunteer management or customer data systems, including integrations, in a charity, membership, association or nonprofit setting.

This is a delivery and change leadership role, rather than a technical specialist post. You'll manage budgets and suppliers, challenge technical proposals with support from the Digital Transformation Partner, and co-design with volunteers. As adoption by independent u3as is voluntary, clear communication and support for varying digital confidence are essential.

Key Responsibilities

Programme Planning and Delivery

• Develop an integrated plan with phases, milestones and success criteria.
• Manage workstreams, dependencies, resources, risks and changes to scope, costs and timescales alongside business-as-usual activity.

Budget and Procurement

• Partner with Finance to manage budgets, forecasts, reporting, future funding requests and whole-life affordability, including ongoing licensing, maintenance and support.
• Lead procurement under Trust governance requirements, assessing suppliers, value for money and contracts.
• Manage implementation partners and the Digital Transformation Partner, tracking performance and agreeing requirements with staff and volunteers.

Data, Integration and Testing

• Oversee cleansing, migration and secure integration of data across platforms, retaining legacy systems until replacements are proven.
• Embed UK GDPR and data protection in system design.
• Coordinate user acceptance and integration testing, sign-off and go/no-go decisions.

Rollout and Change

• Run a pilot with varied u3as, then phased rollout and legacy-system decommissioning.
• Deliver communication, training and change plans for staff, volunteers and u3as; establish volunteer champions for testing and peer support.

Governance and Handover

• Report to the Programme Board, Senior Leadership Team and Trustees; maintain risk, issue and decision logs and escalate concerns.
• Track benefits and deliver sustainable support, handover and post-implementation review.

Key Deliverables

• Approved plan and budget, including sustainable service/support costs.
• Governance, risk and progress reports; procurement documentation.
• Data migration and testing plans, and go-live assessments.
• Change and training plan; pilot, rollout, benefits and handover plans.

Person Specification

Essential Experience

• End-to-end delivery of CRM, membership or similar customer data systems, from procurement and requirements to go-live and adoption.
• Multi-workstream digital transformation and integration of different suppliers' platforms.
• Software procurement, supplier and implementation partner management.
• Programme/project delivery covering budgets, timelines, risks, dependencies and senior/board reporting.
• Pilots and phased rollouts to independent users or sites.
• Stakeholder engagement, training, communications and business change.
• Oversight of data migration and user acceptance testing.

Essential Knowledge and Skills

• Project management methods and tools; sound understanding of SaaS, APIs, data migration and integration architecture to challenge suppliers.
• UK GDPR and data protection in systems implementation.
• Accessible, user-centred design and support for people with low digital confidence.
• Excellent planning, prioritisation, stakeholder engagement and influencing skills, including leading without direct authority.
• Clear written and verbal communication, explaining technical matters simply; strong analysis, problem-solving and attention to detail.
• Project/programme management qualification, such as PRINCE2, MSP, APM PMQ or AgilePM; change management or business analysis qualification.

Personal Attributes

• Collaborative and approachable, committed to working with volunteers.
• Pragmatic, outcome-focused, self-motivated, adaptable and resilient under pressure.
• Committed to u3a's values and equality, diversity and inclusion.
• Willing to travel within the UK and occasionally work outside normal hours.

Desirable

• Experience in charity, nonprofit, membership or volunteer-led organisations.
• Implementation of Zoho, Sheep CRM, Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics 365 or similar.
• Designing digital services for older people or users with low digital confidence.
• Change management or business analysis qualification.

This description may be adjusted as organisational needs and DSU programme phases evolve.