CHANGE MANAGEMENT CONSULTANT

Change Management Specialist

Responsible for developing, coordinating, and supporting the execution of change management and communications plans for a defined portfolio of strategic initiatives. This role focuses on the people side of change by assessing stakeholder impacts, identifying readiness needs, supporting sponsor and leader engagement, developing communication and adoption strategies, and monitoring change effectiveness. Partners with program managers, initiative sponsors, operational leaders, communications, education, project teams, and frontline stakeholders to help ensure changes are understood, adopted, and sustained. Supports the deployment and continuous improvement of standard change management methodologies, tools, templates, and reporting practices throughout the organization.

Location: Springfield, IL

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications:

• Education: Bachelor's degree in Business, Healthcare Administration, Organizational Development, Organizational Psychology, Communications, Education, Project Management, Information Systems, or related field required; Master's degree preferred.
• Licensure/Certification/Registry: Change management certification required. Example: Prosci Change Management Practitioner, ADKAR-based training, or equivalent methodology. Project management, Lean Six Sigma, organizational development, communications, or related certification preferred.
• Experience: Three or more years of experience in structured change management, communications, project management, organizational development, transformation, operations, or related work required. Experience developing change management plans, communication plans, stakeholder engagement plans, readiness assessments, training support plans, and adoption strategies required. Experience supporting complex, cross-functional initiatives with significant stakeholder impact required. Experience partnering with project managers, program managers, executive sponsors, operational leaders, and frontline stakeholders required. Healthcare experience preferred. Experience supporting enterprise strategy execution, transformation, PMO/EPMO, or large-scale organizational change preferred.

Other Knowledge/Skills/Abilities:

• Demonstrated understanding of change management principles, methodologies, and tools.
• Knowledge of stakeholder analysis, impact assessment, readiness assessment, resistance management, communication planning, adoption measurement, and sustainment planning.
• Ability to assess the people, process, workflow, role, communication, training, and organizational impacts of change.
• Ability to develop practical change deliverables that support stakeholder engagement, leader alignment, communication, adoption, and sustainment.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to communicate complex information clearly and concisely.
• Ability to build trusted relationships and work collaboratively with leaders, managers, colleagues, project teams, and stakeholders.
• Ability to facilitate stakeholder discussions, listening sessions, readiness conversations, and feedback forums.
• Strong analytical, planning, organizational, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to identify adoption risks, stakeholder concerns, and points of resistance and recommend mitigation strategies.
• Ability to monitor and report on readiness, engagement, adoption, and sustainment measures.
• Proficient with Microsoft Office products, including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint required. Experience with survey tools, collaboration platforms, Smartsheet, Microsoft Project, Visio, or similar tools preferred.

Responsibilities

Principal Duties & Responsibilities:

1. Serves as an internal change management practitioner supporting a defined portfolio of strategic initiatives.
2. Develops and executes change management and communications plans to support initiative success, stakeholder readiness, adoption, and sustainment.
3. Conducts stakeholder analyses, change impact assessments, readiness assessments, and adoption risk assessments for assigned initiatives.
4. Partners with program managers, project teams, initiative sponsors, operational leaders, communications, education, and other stakeholders to integrate change management activities into initiative plans.
5. Creates actionable change management deliverables, including stakeholder engagement plans, sponsor plans, leader talking points, communication plans, readiness materials, FAQs, training support plans, adoption plans, and sustainment plans.
6. Supports initiative sponsors and leaders in serving as visible and effective change champions by preparing key messages, engagement materials, feedback loops, and leader actions.
7. Develops and coordinates communication strategies to ensure consistent, timely, and audience-appropriate messaging throughout the change process.
8. Identifies anticipated resistance, adoption barriers, stakeholder concerns, and change risks; recommends strategies to mitigate or address these concerns.
9. Facilitates stakeholder engagement sessions, listening sessions, readiness discussions, and feedback forums to build understanding, address concerns, and support adoption.
10. Monitors change readiness, stakeholder engagement, adoption, and sustainment indicators; gathers feedback and recommends adjustments to change plans as needed.
11. Develops executive summaries, presentations, dashboards, and reports related to change readiness, communications, engagement, adoption, and sustainment.
12. Supports deployment of standard change management methodologies, tools, templates, playbooks, and reporting practices across the organization.
13. Identifies opportunities to improve Strategy Execution Office change management practices, tools, templates, and ways of working.
14. Maintains professional knowledge of change management, communications, strategy execution, organizational development, and healthcare industry trends.
15. Performs other related work as required or requested.