National System Change Manager

National System Change Manager 
Contract type: Permanent    
Full time: 34.5 hours, we are open to a conversation about how you work these hours  
Location: Hybrid to our London Office (1-2 days a month in office)
Salary range: £53,000 - £59,000  

About us

At Macmillan you'll find talented people working together to do whatever it takes to support people living with cancer. We're going all out to find even better ways to help even more people who need our support. Our values are at the heart of who we are and everything we do, inspiring our thinking and guiding our actions.

Our new organisational strategy sets out how we’ll fight even harder to make every pound raised count for even more. With your help, we’ll transform cancer care for good.

About the role  

As our National System Change Manager, you will lead the operational delivery of our national system change work - overseeing projects, driving progress, and ensuring our strategies are grounded in evidence, insight and lived experience.

Acting as deputy to the Head of National System Change, you’ll help shape the team’s direction, strengthen ways of working, and ensure our portfolio delivers impact across all four nations. You’ll bring together research, data and stakeholder expertise to design compelling propositions that influence national levers for change and improve outcomes for people living with cancer.

Key responsibilities:

• Lead analysis of national health systems across the four UK nations to understand patient experiences, system challenges, and what’s working - helping to shape evidence-based solutions that drive real change for people living with cancer.
• Apply expertise in systems thinking, problem analysis and theory of change to shape national strategies.
• Oversee the team’s operational plan, ensuring projects progress effectively and align with organisational priorities.
• Act as a deputy for the Head of National System Change, helping shape team direction and priorities.
• Support commissioning and synthesis of research and evidence to inform system change propositions.
• Develop clear, evidence‑led proposals for the adoption of national system interventions that improve outcomes.
• Lead and coordinate matrix teams to build shared understanding and deliver system change strategies.
• Contribute to Macmillan’s system change partnerships and advocacy work.
• Develop impact metrics for systems change and integrate them with wider organisational measurement.
• Represent Macmillan externally, championing evidence‑based system change across the four nations.

About you   

We're looking for someone who brings: 

• Sound knowledge of health and social care policy, ideally across all four nations of the UK.
• Experience of applying systems thinking and strategies that deliver real, national change.
• Proven skills in evidence synthesis, research commissioning and critical analysis.
• Ability to identify levers for change and develop evidence‑led solutions that deliver measurable impact.
• Experience of convening and influencing diverse internal and external stakeholders.
• Understanding of how to operate effectively across different political and policy contexts in all four nations of the UK.
• Strong leadership experience, including managing multi‑disciplinary teams and providing matrix leadership.
• Ability to oversee multiple projects, maintain a whole‑system view and drive delivery.

In return, we offer a range of benefits including:

• 25 days holiday plus flexible bank holiday options, increasing by 1 day every year of service up to 30 days 
• Pension matched up to 7.5%
• 120+ learning and development offers, with access to external professional qualifications
• Flexible working patterns, such as compressed hours, flexibility to work earlier or later around our core working hours of 10am-4pm
• Holiday buying and selling scheme, life insurance, free wills, retail discounts and much more
  
  

Recruitment Process

Application deadline: 23:59 on Wednesday 21st January 2026

Interviews: Virtual interviews will take place on w/c 2nd and 9th February 2026 (exact dates TBC)

To ensure fairness and consistency to select the best candidate for this role, all our applications are anonymised up until an interview has been confirmed.

So we can support you to be your best during the application or interview process, please contact Macmillan TA Team TATeam@macmillan.org.uk for advice and reasonable adjustments. 

We welcome applications from everyone who meet the criteria and strongly encourage individuals to apply who have a disability, impairment or health condition or individuals who identify as Black, Asian or from another minority ethnic background, as these groups are currently under-represented at Macmillan. Our Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy here along with our internal employee representation body, ‘Our Voice’ and 8 Employee Network groups help us promote fairness and belonging, becoming an engaged and inclusive organisation for all our people.