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Role summary

The Change Manager prepares the business for the changes delivered by the project. They act as a bridge between the project and business users, ensuring that activities are planned and completed to help the business implement the agreed change and realise the benefits.

Typical role responsibilities

Responsibility Detail
Delivery and leadership Provides visible and effective leadership in business change management and collaborates with the Project Manager to achieve the benefits and outcomes outlined in the business case. Develops a clear vision and standards, and champions best practice change management standards, tools, and processes. Builds strong networks both internally and externally. Assesses and understands stakeholder impact to increase the likelihood of change adoption.
Business case Leads the change management elements of the business case.
Change products Leads the creation of necessary change products for the project and engages with key contacts. Ensures these products are used appropriately by the Project Manager and the business.
Change planning Establishes and maintains the change plan for the project and provides input into the overall Project Plan.
Business readiness Identifies, qualifies, and updates business readiness criteria before implementation. Reports on tracking these criteria to determine go-live approval/refusal to the Project Manager.
Benefits management Partners with the Benefits Manager and stakeholders to plan benefits realisation as part of all change activities.
Change communication Leads change messaging and works closely with the Communications Manager. Provides content for communications related to change across the project.
Stakeholder management Identifies, classifies, and updates the stakeholder engagement plan. Leads stakeholder engagement on the project to ensure it meets change requirements. Serves as the point of contact for senior stakeholders.
Guidance and support Provides direction and guidance to the team and supports the development of others. Leads change activities across the project.
Digital and data Collects and shares data in line with data standards. Uses digital tools to manage change initiatives effectively, ensuring that data analytics support the identification and tracking of change impacts and the adoption of new ways of working.

Entry route

Project delivery professional

Suitable for individuals who are experienced Project Delivery practitioners with business change management experience.

Non-project delivery professional

Suitable for individuals with relevant skills gained in a non-project environment, such as change management skills and experience.

Technical competencies

Help with competency levels

None: No knowledge and no experience.

Awareness: Basic knowledge and limited or no experience. You understand how it can be applied. You can describe the benefits and importance. You may have applied it in a low complexity project under supervision or assisted others in delivering it.

Working: Working knowledge and practical experience. You have a good understanding of this competence. You have applied this independently in low complexity projects and/or under supervision in more complex projects.

Practitioner: Detailed knowledge and significant experience. You have a deep understanding of this competence. You have applied this independently in medium and/or highly complex projects. You advise and may supervise others in the delivery of this competence. You can adapt your approach to meet the requirements of the project.

Expert: Expert knowledge and experience. You are considered an expert within government and in the wider profession. You have applied this competence in multiple complex projects. You have been responsible for developing unique variations to suit specific situations. You champion capability development in this area.

Competency area Level
Requirements management
The ability to capture stakeholder needs, assess, define and justify those needs to arrive at an agreed schedule of requirements for the work.
Awareness
Solutions development
The ability to identify, document and analyse the various delivery options and select the optimal solution for the work.
Awareness
Planning
The ability to define the fundamental components of the work in terms of its scope, deliverables, time scales, resource requirements and budget. It also includes the production of broader plans incorporating risk and quality to provide a consolidated overview of the work.
Working
Scheduling
The ability to develop, produce and maintain schedules for activities that take account of dependencies, resource requirements and constraints in order to enable the efficient realisation of benefits.
Working
Resource management
The ability to identify, profile, secure and manage the resources required to deliver the work.
Working
Budgeting and cost management
The ability to estimate costs, produce a budget and control forecasts and actual spend against budget.
Awareness
Risk and issue management
The ability to systematically identify and monitor risks and issues, planning how to mitigate or respond to those risks and issues and implementing the responses.
Working
Business change and implementation
The ability to integrate the solution into operations ensuring that activities are planned and completed to enable the business to implement the change and realise the benefits.
Practitioner
Governance
The ability to clearly define roles, responsibilities and accountabilities and establish controls and approval routes appropriate to each stage of the work to monitor progress and compliance.
Working
Frameworks and methodologies
The ability to identify and amend appropriate frameworks and methodologies to enable a consistent and efficient approach to delivery at all stages of the lifecycle.
Awareness
Stakeholder engagement
The ability to systematically identify, analyse and communicate with stakeholders, using appropriate channels, to ensure all those impacted by the change are engaged, taking account of their levels of influence and particular interests.
Working
Assurance
The ability to establish, plan and manage reviews at appropriate points through the life cycle to provide confidence that the work can be delivered to the agreed outcomes and benefits within time, cost, quality, and other constraints.
Awareness
Change control
The ability to establish protocols to manage and document all requests for changes to scope, timescales, costs, benefits or other approved baselines for the work. This includes the capture, evaluation and approval or rejection of change requests.
Working
Business case development
The ability to prepare, develop, commission and update business cases to justify the initiation and continuation of projects in terms of benefits, value for money and risk.
Awareness
Benefits management
The ability to identify, value, plan and track benefits to justify investment and ensure the expected outcomes and social value are realised.
Working
Digital and data
The ability to effectively leverage digital tools and data analytics for better project delivery outcomes. Combining an understanding of digital technologies with the ability to manage, interpret and utilise data to make informed decisions, improve efficiency and achieve outcomes and benefits.
Working
Sustainability
The ability to incorporate environmental and social considerations into the strategic objectives of the work and to effectively identify, assess and manage these throughout the lifecycle, seeking to maximise benefits and mitigate negative impacts.
Working

Behavioural competencies

Help with competency levels

None: No knowledge and no experience.

Awareness: Basic knowledge and limited or no experience. You understand how it can be applied. You can describe the benefits and importance. You may have applied it in a low complexity project under supervision or assisted others in delivering it.

Working: Working knowledge and practical experience. You have a good understanding of this competence. You have applied this independently in low complexity projects and/or under supervision in more complex projects.

Practitioner: Detailed knowledge and significant experience. You have a deep understanding of this competence. You have applied this independently in medium and/or highly complex projects. You advise and may supervise others in the delivery of this competence. You can adapt your approach to meet the requirements of the project.

Expert: Expert knowledge and experience. You are considered an expert within government and in the wider profession. You have applied this competence in multiple complex projects. You have been responsible for developing unique variations to suit specific situations. You champion capability development in this area.

Competency area Level
Visible leadership
The ability to engage, motivate and coach others. To act as a role model and inspire and empower others. Aligned to the leadership Civil Service behaviour.
Working
Credible action
The ability to promote the wider public good in all actions and to act in a morally, legally and socially appropriate manner at all times. Challenges unacceptable behaviour. Aligned to the leadership Civil Service behaviour.
Practitioner
Working with ambiguity
The ability to work in an environment of uncertainty and continual change. Able to feel comfortable making decisions and setting direction without having the full picture and re-focus as details emerge. Can apply knowledge and techniques to reduce ambiguity. Aligned to the making effective decisions Civil Service behaviour.
Practitioner
Collaboration
The ability to establish and develop productive relationships with internal and external stakeholders, bringing people together to benefit the project. Aligned to the working together Civil Service behaviour.
Practitioner
Influencing
The ability to influence, change and impact decisions with both internal and external stakeholders. Aligned to the communicating and influencing Civil Service behaviour.
Practitioner
Conflict resolution
The ability to recognise, anticipate and effectively deal with existing or potential conflicts at an individual, team or strategic level. Aligned to the working together and leadership Civil Service behaviours.
Working
Inspiring others
The ability to create and present a compelling vision and set clear direction, that motivates others to work towards a common goal. Aligned to the leadership Civil Service behaviour.
Working
Resilience
The ability to adapt to changing circumstances and adverse situations whilst remaining calm, reassuring others and maintaining performance. Aligned to the delivering at pace Civil Service behaviour.
Working
Innovation
The ability to think of, research and apply new ideas and ways of doing things. Encourages and supports innovations from others, is willing to experiment and follow ideas through to implementation. Aligned to the changing and improving Civil Service behaviour.
Working
Culture change
The ability to plan, lead and effect positive cultural change, securing commitment and buy-in, and promoting a positive long term vision. Recognises when broader culture change is necessary to deliver a project. Aligned to the seeing the big picture, and changing and improving Civil Service behaviours.
Working

Job titles for recruitment

This role profile is for a business change manager at Grade 7. It could also be advertised as a senior business change manager.

Hiring managers should refer to the standardised job titles framework for guidance on which titles to use for recruitment.

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