Organizational Change Management Lead- Strategic Programs
American Water

Requisition ID: 107065

Share Our Purpose. Be Yourself. Feel Valued.

People are the heart of our business. As an American Water employee, you will be offered a competitive salary and health benefits package, along with opportunities to develop, grow, and evolve your career. Our benefits packages focus on key areas such as health & wellness, emotional & well-being, and savings for current & future goals.

We are Beautifully Different. We strongly believe having diversity across our company makes us more successful and helps us provide essential services to our customers. We are stronger because we embrace different ideas, viewpoints, experiences, and backgrounds. American Water is the best choice for your next role! Click here for more information on our inclusion, diversity, and equity journey.

About American Water
American Water (NYSE: AWK) is the largest regulated water and wastewater utility company in the United States. With a history dating back to 1886, We Keep Life Flowing® by providing safe, clean, reliable and affordable drinking water and wastewater services to more than 14 million people across 14 regulated jurisdictions and 18 military installations. American Water's 6,500 talented professionals leverage their significant expertise and the company's national size and scale to achieve excellent outcomes for the benefit of customers, employees, investors and other stakeholders.

As one of the fastest growing utilities in the U.S., American Water expects to invest $30 to $34 billion in infrastructure repairs and replacement, system resiliency and regulated acquisitions over the next 10 years. The company has a long-standing history of executing its core operations, aligned with sustainable best practices, through its commitments to safety, affordability, customer service, protecting the environment, an inclusive workforce and strengthening communities.

American Water has been recognized on the 2023 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index for the fifth consecutive year, ranked 18th on Barron's 100 Most Sustainable U.S. Companies 2023 List, earned the U.S. Department of Homeland Security SAFETY Act designation and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's WaterSense® Excellence Award, among additional state, local and national recognitions.

For more information, visit amwater.com and join American Water on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Primary Role

This position will partner with key stakeholders to lead and implement the 'people side of change' across multiple key projects and programs. They will drive a successful change experience design, a communications strategy, an organizational readiness plan, and behavior change and adoption. Key responsibilities include:

• Creating and implementing change management and communication strategies and plans that maximize stakeholder adoption and usage while minimizing resistance
• Drive organizational readiness to support the adoption of new tools, technology, processes and/or solutions as defined by organization's priorities and program goals and objectives
• Assisting the program leadership with managing all aspects of change and communications associated with the transformation of the organization to align with business processes, systems and technology, job roles and organizational structures
• Coordinating with senior leaders throughout the enterprise to ensure consistency of messaging, appropriate scheduling and coordination of efforts
• Supports the Organizational Change Management Advisory Committee and provides feedback to the program leadership team and company executives

Key Accountabilities

• Leads execution of activities related to organizational change management and end user readiness
• Works with process teams to ensure that new design elements are being appropriately communicated to the organization and effectively incorporated into end user training content
• Assess stakeholder impact through change impact analysis identifying potential project impacts/risks
• Complete overall change management assessment
• Identify and anticipate organizational challenges and/or resistance; develop risk mitigation plan
• Develop and maintain applicable Change Management framework, guidance, standards, and best practices including but not limited to an in-take process and using data to determine CM resource allocation(s).
• Create an OCM dashboard to provide visibility into OCM status and risks/issues at both the project and program levels
• Educate and instill in the organization that Change Management is an essential element of the performance improvement consisting of Leadership, Project Management and Change Management.
• Embed Change Management and communications in the way we do business
• Demonstrate the business value and ROI of change management and include in OCM dashboards
• Coach sponsors, people leaders, project managers, and all team members in Change Management practices and mindsets.

Communication:

• Work with process teams to ensure that new process and technology design elements are being appropriately communicated to the organization
• Ensure consistent presentation of the project in all media, including presentations, Web sites, memos, speeches, print, etc.
• Coordinate the change network responsible for communicating the change into the organization (i.e. Extended Transition Team, Executive Communication Program)

Knowledge

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill and/or ability required.

Role Specific:

• Confident leader with dotted-line relationships
• Strong cross-functional leader
• Understands the American Water business and its unique culture
• Presents data in an organized manner
• Confident in presenting to the ELT and the Board of Directors
• Experience writing scripts/guides/storyboards/emails/internal communications content/ presentations/etc.
• Managing a master change comms calendar to understand and advise on other change initiatives across the company

Self-Management:

• Delegates to team members well
• Entrepreneurial spirit
• Strong adherence to deadlines
• Willing to hold others accountable who are not in line of reporting
• 360 degree thinker

Change management:

• Advanced knowledge of various change management frameworks (Kotter, McKinsey's 7-S Model™, Prosci or equivalent)
• Ability to breakdown large complex concepts into consumable messages for various audiences, workflows and/or processes for the relevant audience with a pristine communication strategy

Skills

• Facilitation: Experienced in moderating workshops with diverse project teams (physically & virtually)
• Strategic Thinker: Strong strategic skills to develop long term visions and the ability to translate them into actionable roadmaps that are broadly accepted; Ability to articulate vision of transformation efforts and a sense of mission; Possesses strong analytical skills, good listening skills with ability to effectively coach and mentor others; must be able to lead by influence
• Relevant mindsets: growth mindset, entrepreneurship, customer centricity, data- driven, systems / design thinking, embracing the operating principles, and change leadership
• Strong communicator: ability to build substantial organizational awareness and trust quickly; ability to explain complex organizational set-up and concepts in an easily understandable written format; Excellent interpersonal and communication skills and proven ability to work effectively at all levels in the organization;
• Well-organized: Ability to juggle multiple tasks at once while keeping an eye on the big picture and documenting progress; Ability to effectively manage multiple competing priorities with high attention to detail
• Team player: ability to generates enthusiasm and drive commitment; ability to work with virtual teams across the organization, located in different time zones and with differing culture; highly collaborative work style; Exhibits effective team skills
• Results oriented: willingness to commit to a direction and drive operations to completion; Willingness to take change and provide direction; Ability to make decisions at the project team level and properly escalate those decisions that cannot be resolved on a timely basis
• Strong presentation skills: engaging a variety of audiences from the frontlines to the Board of Directors; Strong presentation, verbal and written communication skills with the ability to articulate complex ideas in easy-to-understand business terms to all levels of management including senior leaders
  

Experience/Education

• Proven experience in a leadership position with direct and dotted line reports
• At least 5 years of experience in a leading Organizational Change Management or communications role across sites and cultures
• Proficient in change management principles, methodologies, and tools such as Prosci, Change First, ACMP, etc.; psychology of change, Project Management
• Bachelors degree with appropriate project experience in Organizational Development, Human Performance Technology, Communications is required
• MBA or Master's degree in Organizational Development, Human Performance Technology, Communications or related field highly preferred
• Change management certification preferred

Work Environment

• Primarily in an office environment
• Will require field visits to drive process transformation efforts through change management program readiness, change, and adoption
  

Travel Requirements

• Up to 50%

Competencies

Champions safety

Customer obsessed

Cultivates innovation

Nimble learning

Drives Results

Collaborates

Join American Water...We Keep Life Flowing™

American Water is firmly committed to Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) and prohibits employment discrimination for employees and applicants based on his or her age, race, color, pregnancy, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, marital status, citizenship, or because they are an individual with a disability, protected veteran or other status protected by federal, state, and local laws.

Nearest Major Market: Philadelphia

---