PEAK Change Management Lead

$130,000 - $170,000/Yr

University of Minnesota - Minneapolis, MN

Full-time - Mid Level

Minneapolis, MN

Educational Services

About the position

The Change Management Lead plays a critical role within the PEAK Project Office at the University of Minnesota, overseeing the change management workstream for the PEAK Initiative, a strategic transformation effort aimed at enhancing efficiency across non-academic functions. This position involves leading change management activities, engaging with stakeholders, and ensuring successful adoption of changes throughout the organization.

Responsibilities

• Apply a structured methodology to lead end-to-end change management initiatives consultation on change readiness and adoption of PEAK transformation.
• Strategically engage with stakeholders at all levels to drive adoption and behavior change; serve as an expert advisor to leadership and a mentor/advisor for the program team.
• Provide vision, direction, and consult with relevant Unit and Service stakeholders (strategic change insights and coaching).
• Provide change enablement consultation on change management deliverables related to people impacts such as stakeholder analysis, impact assessment, change readiness assessment.
• Cultivate relationships with key partners in present and future phases of the initiative.
• Encourage executive sponsors and other leaders to continue their sponsorship of PEAK, continue communications, and continue training efforts throughout the project lifecycle.
• Act as an 'integrator' who can effectively coordinate and work across groups ranging from internal program team to University units, functional/operations teams, and Talent/Human Resources teams.
• Responsible for the creation, management and successful execution of the overall change management plan and artifacts for PEAK.
• Drive the planning process to define and assess change impacts, developing an integrated and holistic change plan that aligns with communication plan and training/learning plan.
• Anticipate and highlight risks related to people impacts, change significance, and people readiness for change.
• Facilitate regular Change Management workstream meetings to ensure deliverables are completed and there is alignment with the other PEAK workstreams.
• Collaborate closely with other workstream leads and partners and solicit thought leadership with SMEs and talent strategy consultants.
• Maintain the stakeholder assessment and sponsor coalition map and develop unit-specific action plans to increase support.
• Define change success in terms of the behaviors people will adopt at implementation. Post-implementation, confirm desired results compared to how change success was defined and identify any remaining gaps.
• Design, develop, and deliver change leadership training to Executive Sponsors, Transition Teams, and supervisors.
• Leverage industry leading practices to drive the change management approach and develop the change capacity within the organization.
• Partner with the project team to identify opportunities for continuous improvement.
• Help identify change management opportunities across the program.
• Solicit informal feedback and organize lessons learned sessions throughout implementation.

Requirements

• BA/BS degree plus at least 8 years of change management experience.
• Proven experience in change management, preferably within large-scale and/or complex transformation projects.
• Strong understanding of change management principles and methodologies.
• Proficiency in change management tools and artifact creation/management.
• Ability to influence and build relationships with stakeholders at all levels and lead through ambiguity and successfully execute with a strong sense of accountability during times of change.
• Excellent communication, presentation, and facilitation skills; ability to guide discussions at multiple management levels.
• Demonstrated critical thinking, thought leadership, and strong problem solving skills.

Nice-to-haves

• MA/MS in Organizational Development, Organizational Leadership, Psychology, Human Resources, or a related discipline.
• Certification in change management (e.g., Prosci) or equivalent years of experience.
• Experience leading enterprise-wide change initiatives.
• Experience managing change initiatives involving shared governance collaboration.
• Familiarity with University of Minnesota colleges, campuses, and units or experience working in a higher education environment.

Benefits

• Competitive salary range of $130,000 - $170,000 annually based on experience.
• Flexible hybrid work environment with some on-site participation required.