From People Management to Strategic Transformation: The Chief People Officer in a Changing Higher Education Landscape
Higher Education is experiencing a period of profound structural change. Financial sustainability, volatile student recruitment, technological disruption, changing expectations of work and increasing pressure to rethink institutional operating models are creating difficult choices for university leaders. The Office for Students’ 2026 assessment of financial sustainability reflects the continuing financial challenges facing providers in England, while recent sector analysis points to restructuring, operating-model change and financial resilience as increasingly prominent institutional priorities. Within this environment, universities understandably focus on strategy, finance and structures. But transformation ultimately happens through people. This makes the role of the Chief People Officer increasingly important to institutional strategy. Just as the University Secretary and Registrar can ensure that governance, risk and institutional capability inform strategic choices, the CPO brings another essential perspective: whether the institution has the people, skills, structures, leadership and culture required to turn those choices into reality. The challenge is therefore much bigger than managing the workforce. The modern Higher Education CPO needs to help the institution answer a more fundamental question: what kind of organisation, workforce and culture will we need to deliver our future strategy? From workforce reduction to workforce strategy Financial pressure makes this question particularly difficult. For many institutions, staff costs represent one of the largest areas of expenditure, meaning that financial restructuring often has significant workforce consequences. Sector analysis in 2026 highlights universities reviewing operating models and undertaking restructures as part of their response to continuing financial pressures. The immediate challenge can therefore become one of reducing cost. But reducing workforce cost is not the same as developing a sustainable workforce. This distinction is critical. Short-term reductions can inadvertently remove skills and institutional knowledge that will subsequently be needed to deliver transformation. Research published by the Higher Education Policy Institute in September 2026 highlights precisely this challenge among professional and support staff. It warns that restructuring, recruitment freezes and reductions in training can erode institutional capability, potentially leaving universities having to rebuild skills they have previously lost. The strategic CPO therefore needs to help leaders look beyond immediate headcount and ask: These are strategic questions, not simply HR questions. AI makes the people agenda even more important Artificial intelligence adds another dimension. It is tempting to approach AI primarily as a technology investment or potential source of efficiency. But introducing new technology without reconsidering roles, skills, processes, behaviours and ways of working is unlikely to deliver its full potential. Recent research into professional and support staff in UK universities specifically identifies the danger of investing in technology while underinvesting in the people, training and process redesign necessary to make that technology effective. This creates an important leadership role for the CPO. The question should not simply be “Which jobs can AI automate?” It should also be “How can AI change the way work is designed, and what new capabilities will our people need as a result?” That could mean redesigning roles rather than removing them, developing data and AI literacy, equipping managers to lead increasingly technology-enabled teams, reconsidering career pathways or creating new relationships between academic and professional services. Seen this way, AI becomes as much a people and organisational transformation challenge as a technology challenge. Leading through uncertainty There is also a profound human dimension to transformation. Repeated restructuring, financial uncertainty and changes to established ways of working can affect morale, trust, engagement and people’s willingness to embrace further change. At the same time, institutions still need talented people to deliver excellent education, research and student services. The CPO therefore has to operate within an increasingly difficult tension: helping the institution change at pace while preserving the engagement, trust and organisational capacity needed to make that change successful. This cannot simply be achieved through good communications once decisions have been made. Successful transformation requires leaders to understand how change will be experienced across the organisation, listen to challenge, communicate honestly about uncertainty and involve people appropriately in designing new ways of working. The CPO has a critical role in making that happen. The CPO as a strategic partner This is why the CPO needs to be involved early in institutional strategy, rather than being asked to manage the workforce consequences of strategic decisions once those decisions have already been taken. A strategically positioned CPO can encourage executive teams and governing bodies to ask: That last question is especially important. A restructuring programme can achieve its financial target and still leave an organisation less capable of delivering its strategy. Conversely, investment in skills, leadership or organisational development may increase expenditure in the short term while creating greater institutional resilience and productivity over the longer term. The CPO brings the people and organisational evidence necessary to help leaders understand those trade-offs. Building the organisation, not simply managing its workforce There is an opportunity here to rethink the purpose of the people function itself. Traditionally, university HR functions have carried substantial operational responsibilities around recruitment, employee relations, policy, reward and employment processes. These remain important, but the transforming Higher Education environment requires the function to develop further. The emerging agenda is increasingly one of organisational capability. That means bringing together workforce planning, organisational design, leadership development, culture, skills, employee experience, equality and inclusion, digital transformation and change capability around the institution’s strategic priorities. It also requires universities to think carefully before treating organisational development and staff development as discretionary activities when finances become difficult. Recent Higher Education Policy Institute research provides a timely warning that cutting development capability can undermine the very improvements in productivity and effectiveness that institutions are seeking. The strategic question is not simply “How many people can we afford?” but “What organisation can we afford not to become?” From Chief People Officer to Chief Transformation Partner Ultimately, Higher Education transformation will not be delivered by a new strategy document, organisational chart, technology platform or financial plan alone. It will be delivered by people. The universities that navigate the current environment most successfully are therefore likely to be those that can align strategy, people, structures, skills,