Working on Oxford's Digital Transformation: Meet the team

Leadership 

Senior Responsible Officer (SRO) 

Oxford’s digital transformation is led by Professor Anne Trefethen, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for People and Digital. You can read more about Anne here, and take time to listen to Anne’s new podcast ‘Digital Oxford’.   

Programme Director 

Natasha Heaton has recently joined Digital Transformation as the Programme Director. Natasha’s career spans 27 years in IT, ranging from infrastructure support to digital transformation in both commercial and Higher Education, including at Elsevier where she worked with global teams to move the company from publishing to global information analytics. She was part of a digital transformation moving from waterfall delivery to Agile, specifically squads using SCRUM.  

Natasha moved across roles in product, IT, programme management and change management. She then joined the Business School and delivered a customer centric transformation, creating a new data architecture supported by a change programme to simplify and automate manual processes across the customer journey. 

Programme 

The Programme Team has recently been realigned for success of phase 2 of the digital transformation and now spans three distinct areas: Programme Delivery, Change Management, and Communications:  

Programme Delivery 

Programme delivery is led by Cathy Farrow and ensures that we organise and execute our activities effectively across the programme. This involves planning, quality, budgeting, and reporting. Current activities include setting up our expertise hub to support the Portfolios and delivery teams in new ways of working, planning and supporting pilots, and providing guidance where required to new investigative work and interventions under phase 2.  

Change Management 

Change Management for Digital Transformation is led by Heidi Hunt and covers all aspects of the people side of change. This includes areas such as planning and delivering the training we need to build new capabilities, ensuring we introduce changes in planned and structured ways that minimise disruption and supporting colleagues during the changes through engagement and involvement.   

Heidi’s current focus is working on supporting the new governance committees as they progress through the financial year, introducing new reporting capabilities as well as introducing new processes for approvals.  

The change team will also be supporting the Education pilot teams as they trial the new agile-based delivery approach, bringing together project and service teams to deliver continuous improvements in an agile way.  

Communications 

Communications is led by Ejaz Khan, and he is supported by Talietha Willett. This programme communications team ensures that all staff - academics, researchers, professional, technical and support staff - in divisions, departments, Colleges, and Professional Services - students, and other stakeholders can feel informed, engaged, and inspired by Oxford’s digital transformation.  

The scope of the communications team includes:  

• Overall programme communications (e.g. website, Digital Oxford podcast, ‘on tour’ sessions, Digital Digest newsletter, asset bank, explainers, events such as the Digital Festival)  
• Change communications to support Transformational initiatives (Phase 2, Competency Centres, Capabilities, and communication advice / review / approve service for colleagues involved with interventions and Investigative assignments.  
• Change communications to support Digital Governance and operating model (change engagement campaigns with Change Champions, Digital Hub Governance SPO site, Ask the Digital team / drop-ins / clinics (coming soon) and communication plans to support the introduction of the new Digital Governance Unit (DGU). Plus supporting communication for the innovation-focused Digital Tribe community.  
• Change communications to support Shared Infrastructure Services (e.g. website, FAQs, resources, and division-by-division communications).  
• Change communications to support Continuous Transformation (foundations campaigns: data, identity, UX, people, environment, moving to portfolio-based continuous transformation and being agile).  

Extended Digital Transformation Programme 

The extended digital transformation programme team includes:  

Competency Centres 

A key part of Oxford’s digital transformation is the introduction of new competency centres. Alwyn Collinson is Head of the Competency Centres.  
 
You can work with each competency centre team to ask for expert support in a key area of digital technology. The current Competency Centres support cybersecurity, Research Cloud computing, and workflow automation. New centres being introduced in 2024 include Immersive Technologies and AI and ML Support. Each competency centre can share expertise in new digital solutions through training, advice, and support for Oxford’s people: academics, researches professional services staff, and relevant students. Each centre is made up of a small group of dedicated staff who will support you in growing your confidence and competence as the University moves though its digital transformation. They provide free training, free consultancy, and help your team to deploy new technologies. You can read more about Oxford’s Competency Centres here. 

Shared Infrastructure Services  

The programme manager for the Shared Infrastructure Services programme is Brendan Donnelly. The Programme will be delivering on the work of the IT Infrastructure Services Review and will facilitate a more connected and collaborative IT infrastructure across the University. Work has begun to consult with colleagues across the Divisions to determine priorities for this academic year based on the initiatives from the Service Review. The Programme will look to define what a shared service is then find, and create, those services and support them with members across the Divisions. Further communications will follow during the next few weeks and months.  

Data  

The Data programme manager is Alex Gray. This programme will implement the new Data Strategy which aims to improve data governance through improved processes and technology; and make that data more easily available through improved BI reporting, signposting to reports and access to data via integrations. These improvements support other Digital Transformation and IT projects; university strategic initiatives such as Professional Service Reviews and Value for Money review; and reduce burden on staff. 

Originally published on the IT staff Gateway