Career Insight: What’s Included in the Change Manager Job Description? What Should You Really Know?
So, you want to become a business change manager. What does that entail? What are the key factors about a change management manager’s job description that you absolutely need to know?
Change management is a field that is in high demand and one that has many different roles under the business change manager title.
For example, you could be a business change lead in charge of all user training on a new process. Or you could be a senior change manager who is planning and directing the entire change project.
Before you start applying for business change manager jobs, it’s important to know the difference in roles, job titles, and training for positions that all fall under the change management description.
Business Change Manager Job Description
Any business change manager job description will include certain similarities, such as asking for:
- Good verbal and written communication skills
- Ability to organize and multitask
- Excellent interpersonal skills
- Familiarity with the concepts of change management
- Analytical and problem-solving skills
- Leadership skills
Answering, “What is a business change manager?” can get complicated the larger the organization is. For instance, in a smaller organization, the business change manager position may be in charge of an entire change project, from start to finish.
This may include analyzing the need for change, coming up with a change strategy, assessing change readiness, and implementing the change management plan.
But in larger organizations, there may be different business change project manager roles. Some may be in charge of one area of the change, such as stakeholder management, while other senior change managers may have more responsibility for entire project oversight.
This is where you may find a difference in the requirements listed in a change manager job description. One may require a higher degree or level of experience than another, and some may ask for certified business change training.
In this AGS article, we’ll dig into the business change manager job description, the different types of roles under the “change manager” umbrella, and discuss steps to take to become a business change project manager.
If you’ve ever been interested in applying for business change manager jobs, the information below will put you on the right path.
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What is a Business Change Manager?
A business change manager is responsible for assessing, planning, implementing, and reinforcing a business change project.
Most organizational change projects involve multiple layers. Guiding the members of a company through a change successfully takes the expertise that is often described in a business change manager job description.
The answer to, “What is a business change manager?” can be summed up as the person that:
- Defines the change project benefits
- Ensures the organization is ready for the change
- Creates a detailed change management strategy
- Manages the “people” part of the change by addressing change resistance
- Implements all the moving parts involved with change (training, communications, etc.)
- Coordinates with all stakeholders
- Measures the success of the change
- Ensures that the change takes hold and is sustained
People that are organized and enjoy helping others improve the way they do things have traits that would make a good business change lead.
Next, we’ll get into more details on the business change manager job description, and then we’ll look at the different roles within the change manager position.
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Business Change Manager Job Description
When looking for a change manager job description, you’ll want to know three things.
- The types of activities that a business change manager would typically perform according to industry standards.
- What’s included in job postings for a senior change manager or other type of business change project manager role.
- The type of education, experience, and business change training needed.
We’ve got all three detailed below to bring you the best change management job description that encompasses both industry standards and what employers are seeking.
First, we’ll look at industry standards for business change manager jobs. Then we’ll take a look at what employers are asking for when they seek a business change manager. Finally, we’ll go through the business change manager training, education, and experience requirements.
Industry Standard Job Description Duties
These are the typical duties that a senior change manager will be responsible for in a change project:
- Change project assessment
- Organizational impact assessment
- Organizational readiness assessment
- Creating a change management project roadmap
- Stakeholder analysis & management
- Leadership coaching
- Creating a change champions network
- Implementing a resistance management plan
- Creating a communication plan
- Implementing user training
- Tracking change metrics
Job Descriptions in Business Change Manager Jobs Postings
Here are some of the most often used descriptors from employers writing a business change manager job description in a job posting.
- Develop and deliver business change management solutions
- Apply a structured change management methodology to change projects
- Conduct impact analysis, assess change readiness, identify key stakeholders
- Provide input on documentation and training requirements to support change
- Develop and execute change project plans
- Coach leaders and change agents
- Utilize metrics to monitor the adoption and effectiveness of a change project
- Budget development and tracking
- Risk and issue identification and resolution
- Coordinate and execute a communication plan
- Managing change management teams
Education, Experience, and Business Change Training
The requirements for education, experience, and business change manager training can vary according to the organizational requirements and the level of position you’re applying for.
For example, a senior change manager position would most likely require a higher level of experience than a junior business change lead.
We’ll give a range below of the typical requirements noted across several change manager job post descriptions on sites like LinkedIn and Monster.com.
- 3-10+ years of project or change management consulting, advisory, or equivalent
- Bachelor’s degree or Master’s degree or comparable military training
- Experience implementing organizational change using a defined change methodology
- Business change training and certification (Prosci, CCMP™, or similar)
We’ll get into the different types of business change training you can find shortly. Next, we’ll take a look at the different types of job roles that can be considered in the business change project manager description.
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Types of Business Change Manager Jobs
“Business change manager” is a general term that can mean different things to different types of organizations. It helps to know the standard types of roles contained in the business change manager job description so you can zero in on the ones that fit you best.
We’ll take a look below at four common types of business change manager jobs that you can find when seeking a career as a change manager.
Senior Change Manager
The senior change manager is going to be someone with extensive experience executing change management projects and be familiar with all aspects of facilitating organizational change.
They’ll typically be in charge of other business change manager roles and may either head up the change project, coordinating and directing everyone else, or be the second in command to a business change lead.
A senior change manager will typically have a higher experience requirement, 10+ years, for example, and may also be required to have extensive business change manager training and hold a certification in change management.
Business Change Project Manager
A business change project manager is typically more involved with the project management part of the change project. This can include developing the change management strategy, and designating project milestones.
This position may also take the lead in creating the communication and training plans that are then implemented by others on the change management team. They’ll typically ensure the project is going along as planned.
Certification expectations for a business change project manager may be more along the lines of a Project Management Professional (PMP) certification.
Business Change Lead
The business change lead can be a position either leading up the entire change management project or coordinating the project and reporting back to the overall business change manager.
Different organizations will put the business change lead role in different leadership positions within the change management structure, but it is considered a senior-level change management role.
The business change lead will have similar requirements for experience and change training, as does the senior change manager.
Business Change Analyst
The business change analyst position will typically perform two key functions. One is to analyze organizations to see where a change in a process, software, etc. may be beneficial and improve the company’s bottom line.
The other function would be to keep track of change management KPIs to help the others on the change management team know how the project is progressing and ensure they stay on track with timeline, budget, and expected results.
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How to Become a Business Change Manager
What is a business change manager’s career path? If you’re interested in business change manager jobs, here are some of the steps you can take to become a business change manager.
What is the Change Manager Job Description?
Review Your Experience for Gaps
Do a gap analysis of your job experience and the business change manager job description requirements. See if you lack in any areas.
If you need more experience, you can potentially translate project management to change management experience, depending upon the employer.
You want to ensure you meet minimum requirements before applying for business change manager jobs.
Take Business Change Training Courses
You can improve your chances of finding a job as a business change lead or business change manager by going through change management training. You can take training specific to a particular change methodology or change management in general.
Update Your Resume
If you haven’t worked in change management before, then you’ll most likely need to update your resume to include some of the keywords and phrases used in change manager job description listings. This will help give your resume a better chance of getting you the position you want.
Look for Business Change Manager Jobs
There is no lack of listings for business change manager jobs. You can find them on all the popular job search engines like Indeed, Monster, ZipRecruiter, LinkedIn, and others.
You’ll also have plenty of choices when it comes to the type of business change manager jobs you’re looking for, such as:
- Full-time or part-time
- Remote (work from home)
- Ongoing or short-term
- Enterprise, government, change consulting firm, etc.
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Business Change Manager Training Opportunities
A great way to fill any gaps in your knowledge or experience with change management is to go through business change manager training.
We have an extensive article on business change training here that you can review. Below, we’ll go over the basics of change training opportunities.
Business change training can be done a few different ways:
- Certification in a change methodology (See Top 8 Best Change Certifications)
- Certification in change management, not a specific methodology
- Business change training without certification (methodology or non-methodology specific)
There are plenty of online and classroom opportunities for training that can help you better meet the requirements of a business change manager job description. You can also find multiple free change training resources on our website.
A few other places to find business change manager training online are:
- Prosci: Change Management Certification & Training
- APMG International: Business Change Manager Training
- ACMP: Change Management Certification & Training
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Conclusion: Business Change Manager Job Description, Training, Roles
If you’re interested in a career as a business change manager, there are multiple opportunities as far as scope and role. This means there are chances to specialize in an area such as a change management analyst and move into higher positions, such as a senior change manager.
But “What is a business change manager?” ultimately is the person responsible for helping an organization plan for, implement, and successfully navigate through any type of organizational change.
If you have the background training and knowledge on change management, in addition to the right experience, you can choose from any number of classifications within the change manager job description to chart your future career path.
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Authors: Ogbe Airiodion (Senior Change Management Lead) and Francesca Crolley (Content Manager)
Note: Content on OCM Solution (Formerly Airiodion Global Services (AGS))'s ocmsolution.com website is copyrighted. If you have questions, comments, or tips about this OCM Solution (Formerly Airiodion Global Services) content or product, please contact OCM Solution today.
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Easily explain the value of change management to your leadership, key stakeholders, sponsors, and management with this ready to use Change Management Presentation PPT Deck: Making the Case for Change Management.
Easily explain the value of change management to your leadership, key stakeholders, sponsors, and management with this ready to use Change Management Presentation PPT Deck: Making the Case for Change Management.
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