Business Change Manager

Business Change Manager - £600 per day - Inside IR35 - Hybrid working - 2 days a week on site in Manchester or Derby. - 12 months initial contract. Our client, a global engineering organisation, are seeking an experienced Business Change Manager to lead the people, process, and organisational aspects of major Digital and IT transformation programmes. This is a critical role responsible for ensuring that technology investments deliver tangible business value through successful adoption, behavioural change, and business readiness. Working across multiple strategic initiatives, the Business Change Manager will act as the bridge between Digital / IT delivery teams and the wider organisation, ensuring that employees, leaders, and stakeholders are prepared, engaged, and equipped to embrace new ways of working. The successful candidate will bring strong organisational change management expertise, exceptional stakeholder engagement skills, and a proven track record of delivering sustainable change within complex environments.

Key Responsibilities -

• Change Strategy & Planning
• Develop and implement comprehensive change management strategies aligned to Digital, IT, and business transformation programmes.
• Establish structured change frameworks, methodologies, and governance processes.
• Conduct change impact assessments to understand organisational, process, role, and behavioural impacts.
• Create and maintain integrated change, communication, engagement, and adoption plans.
• Ensure alignment between programme objectives, business priorities, and change activities.
• Identify potential barriers to adoption and develop mitigation strategies.
• Stakeholder Engagement & Leadership -
• Build strong relationships with stakeholders across all levels of the organisation.
• Partner with senior leaders to create visible sponsorship and advocacy for change initiatives.
• Coach and support leaders and managers in fulfilling their roles as change sponsors.
• Facilitate workshops, leadership sessions, and stakeholder forums to drive engagement and alignment.
• Influence decision-making and gain commitment from diverse stakeholder groups.
• Business Readiness & Adoption -
• Assess organisational readiness for change and identify areas requiring intervention.
• Develop and execute readiness plans to ensure successful deployment of new capabilities.
• Ensure impacted teams understand and are prepared for new processes, technologies, roles, and responsibilities.
• Monitor adoption levels and implement corrective actions where engagement or usage falls below expectations.
• Support transition from project delivery into business-as-usual operations.
• Communication & Engagement -
• Develop and deliver communication strategies that drive awareness, understanding, and commitment.
• Create clear and compelling change narratives tailored to different audiences.
• Support executive communications and leadership messaging.
• Manage communication channels, feedback mechanisms, and engagement activities throughout the change lifecycle.
• Promote transparency and build confidence in transformation initiatives.
• Training & Capability Development -
• Conduct learning needs analyses to identify capability gaps.
• Work with subject matter experts and learning teams to develop training materials and learning solutions.
• Define and oversee training delivery strategies, ensuring effective knowledge transfer.
• Support the development of change champion and super-user networks.
• Measure training effectiveness and user competency post-deployment.
• Change Governance, Measurement & Benefits Realisation -
• Establish and maintain change governance frameworks and reporting structures.
• Define and track key change performance indicators, adoption metrics, and business outcomes.
• Monitor risks, issues, dependencies, and stakeholder sentiment.
• Provide regular reporting to programme boards, steering committees, and senior leadership teams.
• Support benefits realisation activities to ensure expected business outcomes are achieved.
• Continuous Improvement -
• Capture lessons learned and best practices from transformation initiatives.
• Contribute to the development and maturity of organisational change management capability.
• Promote a culture of continuous improvement, innovation, and adaptability.

Skills & Experience - Essential -

• Proven experience delivering organisational change management within large-scale Digital, IT, ERP, or business transformation programmes.
• Demonstrable experience operating as a Business Change Manager in complex organisations.
• Strong knowledge of recognised change management methodologies such as ADKAR, Kotter, Prosci, McKinsey, or equivalent.
• Experience conducting stakeholder analysis, change impact assessments, and business readiness activities.
• Excellent communication, facilitation, presentation, and influencing skills.
• Strong stakeholder management experience, including engagement with senior executives.
• Experience managing multiple concurrent change initiatives.
• Ability to translate complex technical change into clear business-focused messaging.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with a data-driven approach to measuring adoption and outcomes.

Desirable -

• Experience within manufacturing, engineering, aerospace, defence, energy, utilities, infrastructure, or highly regulated industries.
• Knowledge of ERP, PLM, CRM, HR, EAM, or enterprise digital platforms.
• Familiarity with Agile, Waterfall, and hybrid programme delivery methodologies.
• Experience supporting enterprise-wide transformation and cultural change initiatives.
• Formal project or programme management exposure.

Key Competencies -

• Strategic thinker with strong commercial awareness.
• Exceptional stakeholder engagement and relationship-building capability.
• Highly resilient and adaptable in fast-paced environments.
• Strong leadership presence with the ability to influence without direct authority.
• Collaborative and team-oriented approach.
• Results-driven with a focus on business value and benefits realisation.
• Strong planning, organisation, and prioritisation skills.
• Ability to manage ambiguity and navigate organisational complexity.