Manager, Strategy and Transformation

American Engineering Testing Inc•Saint Paul, MN

2d•$100,000 - $140,000•Onsite

About The Position

American Engineering Testing (AET) is seeking a Manager, Strategy & Transformation to be the execution engine behind their multi-year enterprise transformation program, Road to 2030. This role is crucial for keeping strategic initiatives on track, ensuring smooth annual planning, and maintaining clear, consistent internal communications during a period of significant change. The position blends program management and organizational change management, focusing on ensuring that people adopt new ways of working. The ideal candidate will bring rigor to change adoption, similar to milestone tracking, with a structured, proactive, and accountable approach to outcomes. This role reports to the VP of Strategy & Growth and collaborates across the organization. The ideal candidate is adaptable, execution-focused, experienced in managing multi-initiative transformations in small to mid-sized organizations, possesses strong change management expertise, can influence without authority, and has the judgment to escalate or resolve issues effectively. The role requires both strategic thinking and operational discipline, with the ability to handle executive updates and cross-initiative coordination meetings.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in business, organizational development, engineering, or a related field, or equivalent experience
7 or more years of experience in program management, transformation management, or strategy execution
Demonstrated experience managing complex, multi-workstream programs over multiple years in a small to mid-sized organization where success required building structure rather than inheriting it
Demonstrated change management expertise including the ability to plan for and support adoption, not just delivery of operating model, process redesign, systems implementation, and culture change
Comfortable adjusting quickly when priorities shift or new constraints emerge without losing momentum on the broader program
Demonstrated ability to create structure where it does not exist and make sound decisions with incomplete information
Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to frame complex information clearly and concisely for senior audiences
Exceptional ability to influence without formal authority, engaging effectively with senior leaders and cross-functional teams
Experience working effectively across a wide range of stakeholders, from front-line teams to senior executives, without direct authority over any of them
Skilled at running productive meetings, surfacing real issues, and helping groups make decisions rather than talking around them
Ability to work on-site at AET's office in St. Paul, MN
Must be authorized to work for any employer in the U.S. without requiring visa sponsorship now or in the future.

Nice To Haves

Experience in the architecture, engineering, or construction industry is a plus but not required
Potential, infrequent travel to regional office locations

Responsibilities

Own the governance structure that keeps the transformation program running, including cross-initiative coordination cadence, integrated program roadmap, dependency and risk tracking, and the governance calendar.
Establish and maintain the governance structure with full accountability, cadences, reporting, and decision-making forums to keep AET's transformation initiatives on track.
Translate strategic priorities into clear, actionable execution plans with defined milestones, owners, and dependencies.
Design and facilitate program meetings, prepare pre-work, follow through on decisions, and ensure the program maintains a consistent, reliable operating rhythm.
Facilitate cross-initiative coordination to resolve dependencies and conflicts between workstreams.
Hold multiple workstreams progress simultaneously, track complex interdependencies, and maintain forward momentum across a long-horizon program.
Maintain and continuously update the RAID log and program dashboard.
Build trusted working relationships with senior leaders across the organization, influencing outcomes without direct authority.
Partner with business leads and executive sponsors to build realistic work plans, track against milestones, surface risks, and drive decisions to closure.
Serve as the accountability and discipline layer across all initiatives, integrating efforts rather than managing individual workstreams.
Define and deploy project management templates, standards, and operating rhythms for initiative teams.
Prepare and deliver monthly program updates to the senior leadership team, maintain the integrated roadmap, and develop materials for executive decision-making.
Synthesize complexity into clear, concise narratives for senior audiences.
Prepare options papers, business case framing, and decision structures for leaders.
Track decisions and ensure follow-through.
Prepare leaders for upcoming decisions and flag issues proactively.
Coordinate change management and communication activity across initiatives, integrating change readiness planning, training timelines, and stakeholder engagement with execution milestones.
Partner with the communications function to ensure consistent, timely employee messages tied to initiative progress.
Contribute to a culture of accountability, transparency, and disciplined execution.
Actively develop the project management and execution skills of business leads and sponsors.
Treat governance forums and planning sessions as opportunities to build organizational capability.
Support the annual strategic planning process, translating priorities into execution plans, maintaining the multi-year roadmap, and managing future-phase work.