Emma Ogden, SUMS Principal Consultant
The question is: who actually drives that strategic intent into reality?
Two elements are increasingly shaping the answer: a Chief of Staff (CoS) and a Strategic Change Unit (SCU). While both support the university’s leadership in realising institutional priorities, they do so through distinct approaches. Understanding their differences (and how they can complement each other) should become a central question for sector leaders aiming to future-proof their operating models.
This conversation is particularly relevant in the current climate, where leadership bandwidth is stretched, scope of efficiencies vary across institutions, and the balance between operational delivery and strategic oversight must be carefully managed. For many, choosing between these two models can have a significant impact on their ability to deliver sustained, strategic change.
As a trusted partner to the sector, SUMS Consulting is uniquely placed to support universities in exploring this question. With deep insight into sector-wide trends and hands-on experience designing and implementing operating models, SUMS can provide both the strategic lens and the practical know-how to help institutions make the right call for their context.
Chief of Staff: the executive integrator
The CoS is emerging as a pivotal figure in UK HE, most commonly linked directly to the Vice-Chancellor. Drawing from international best practice, the CoS role acts as the “executive glue”; an integrator across governance, planning, communication, and institutional priorities. In leading universities, the CoS ensures that strategic direction is not only well-articulated but acted upon cohesively.
CoS functions typically include:
- executive coordination and governance support
- strategic communications and narrative-setting
- agile decision-making facilitation
- external affairs and policy alignment
- crisis response triage and institutional risk advising.
At their best, CoS roles bring discipline, pace, and coherence to the executive layer, ensuring that the university operates as a strategic system rather than a collection of competing units. They are trusted advisors and critical friends who can challenge constructively and facilitate difficult conversations. In federated or complex institutions, the CoS helps translate ambition into action without owning delivery themselves.
Yet, CoS roles must be carefully scoped. Without clarity, they risk overlap with other Professional Services (i.e., Planning, Communications, or Registry). Crucially, their power stems from the strength of their relationship with the Vice-Chancellor and the trust of the executive. When this alignment exists, they can significantly increase institutional agility and responsiveness.
Strategic Change Units: the engines of transformation
While CoS roles offer proximity to power, Strategic Change Units focus on the machinery of institutional transformation. These teams (which may otherwise be known as Business Transformation, Institutional Effectiveness, or Strategic Programmes) are responsible for designing, delivering, and embedding change at scale.
Common features of SCUs include:
- ownership of the strategic change portfolio (projects, programmes, capability building)
- embedded change expertise across functions (e.g., Estates, HR, IT)
- PMO or agile governance models with delivery frameworks
- strong focus on continuous improvement, business process design, and culture change
- close alignment to strategic planning and budget cycles.
The best SCUs are not centralised enforcers of change, but instead they work with rather than for the institution. This distinction matters. Effective SCUs empower local teams to co-own initiatives while ensuring institutional alignment and pace. They serve as translators between strategy and delivery, providing both capability and capacity.
However, building a high-functioning SCU requires significant investment, both financially and culturally. Their success hinges on visible executive sponsorship, clarity of scope, and institutional trust. Without it, SCUs can be dismissed as central bureaucracies or struggle to gain traction across academic units.
So, is it either CoS or SCU… or both?
Benchmarking analysis from SUMS shows that many global institutions are choosing both. Why? Because these roles are complementary, not competitive.
- The Chief of Staff ensures that the right strategic conversations happen, that the executive is aligned, and that governance keeps pace with decision-making.
- The Strategic Change Unit ensures that what is agreed actually gets delivered—with clear ownership, methodology, and performance monitoring.
In high-performing systems, the CoS plays a convening role, setting the tone and tempo, while the SCU provides the tools and hands-on support to get things done.
Implications for the sector
For universities considering how best to deliver strategy in today’s volatile environment, the following questions offer a useful decision lens:
Strategic success in HE today isn’t just about having the right plan. It’s about building the structures and relationships that allow that plan to adapt, be owned, and be delivered with discipline.
- The CoS gives the leadership team its connective tissue.
- The SCU gives the institution its ability to move.
Both are crucial in an era that demands both strategic clarity and operational agility.
The choice for universities isn’t either/or but rather how to sequence and shape both for your context and institutional culture. Ensuring there is strategic clarity, prioritisation, and direction from an Executive is key to enable a SCU to thrive, and equally having a collaborative CoS who provides clarity and direction against competing priorities will enable success. Either way, whether it’s a lone architect or a collective change engine, the goal is the same: enable your university to be faster, smarter, and more coherent in delivering the future it wants.
A moment of reflection for universities
In light of increasing strategic complexity and organisational pressure, SUMS encourages university leaders to reflect on these key questions:
- do we have the right structure in place to drive and sustain transformation?
- is our current approach enabling joined-up leadership, accountability and momentum across strategic priorities?
- are we overly dependent on individuals, or have we built the institutional capacity for change?
Whether you are considering establishing a new Chief of Staff role, formalising a Strategic Change Unit, or rethinking your current centre-led structures, we can help. We bring an impartial, evidence-based approach to:
- benchmark different models in the sector
- clarify the scope, authority, and positioning of strategic roles or teams
- facilitate design decisions that align with your culture and ambitions
- build capabilities and internal engagement around your chosen model.
Get in touch with our expert consultants at consulting@sums.ac.uk to begin the conversation.
