"Change Management Lead - Computing Services"

Job Details

CMU’s Computing Services department is searching for a Change Management Lead. This is an excellent opportunity for someone who thrives in an interesting and exciting work environment. You will be supporting transformational system implementations in Research by developing and leading change strategies tailored to CMU's readiness. You will be collaborating with functional owners to identify change impacts, applying structured approaches to help with user adoption, and implementing adoption tracking metrics. You will serve as a trusted guide in both current- and future-state systems and processes, supplying insight to ensure that change strategies are grounded in operational realities.

Your core responsibilities will include:

• Establish and maintain a scalable change framework rooted in standard practices, calibrated for an academic research environment with varying levels of change readiness.
• Promote university-wide standard change processes. Mentor team members and functional partners across a variety of programs.
• Facilitate user engagement and awareness efforts, including identifying change champions, mapping impacted audiences, and crafting communication plans that clearly articulate the "why," benefits, and upcoming changes in roles, processes, and systems.
• Establish readiness tracking mechanisms (e.g., surveys, listening sessions, ADKAR assessments) to monitor adoption progress, surface resistance early, and adjust change tactics to meet partner needs.
• Collaborate with training staff to ensure learning objectives, training plans, and materials are aligned with user needs and system changes. Define the “who, what, when, and why” of training based on change impact analysis, and support measurement of training effectiveness as part of overall adoption success.
• Other duties as assigned, such as: Identify and document functional requirements for new applications or enhancements to existing applications. Work with customers to analyze current procedures and suggest process or system revisions. Work with administrative programmers to ensure understanding of the users’ needs.

40% – Change Strategy and Planning:

• Establish and maintain a scalable technology-focused change strategy for Research Administration, calibrated for an organization with varying levels of change readiness.
• Develop technology-focused change roadmaps, impact assessments, and user engagement strategies to support the implementation, configuration, and user adoption of new or upgraded research administration systems.
• Coordinate with the Office of the Vice President (OVPR) for Research to ensure that activities align with OVPR strategies and initiatives, training programs, communications, and timelines.

40% – User Engagement and Communications:

• Cultivate relationships with user groups to surface concerns, promote two-way communication, and build advocacy for the next-generation Research Administration platform implementation. This may include tactics such as establishing a change champions network or hosting office hours as the Implementation nears.
• Lead development and execution of targeted communications plans, collaborating with functional working groups, department administrators, and faculty-facing staff to drive awareness and alignment.
• Ensure readiness by coordinating testing, pilots, and phased rollout support with a focus on enabling sustained behavior change.
• Partner with project and functional leads to define system training needs, create learning objectives, and support delivery of training and support materials.

10% – Change Measurement and Iteration:

• Develop and implement tools to measure organizational readiness, adoption rates, and user feedback.
• Use qualitative and quantitative insights to refine change tactics over time and report progress to project governance structures.

10% - Current and Future System Enhancements:

• Work with functional users to identify and design appropriate system solutions and complete technology projects as required by the OVPR or other university departments.
• Research workflow activities from initiation to completion, collaborate with the operational units, and analyze the effectiveness of critical steps.
• As needed, perform the business analyst role by assisting with requirements gathering, specification development, and testing and implementation of system enhancements or solutions to process gaps.

Flexibility, excellence, and passion are vital qualities within Computing Services. Inclusion, collaboration, and cultural sensitivity are valued competencies. Therefore, we are in search of a team member who is able to effectively interact with a varied population of internal and external partners at a high level of integrity. We are looking for someone who shares our values and who will support the mission of the university through their work.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience in a related field such as Communications, Organizational Leadership, Education, or Information Systems.
• Demonstrated experience applying structured change management methodologies (such as ADKAR or Prosci) within higher education, research administration, or similarly decentralized and federated environments.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Related certifications, such as Prosci or Certified Change Management Professional. (CCMP)
• Familiarity with research administration functions and related systems (e.g., proposal development, compliance, award management, IRB) is highly desirable but not required.
• A combination of education and relevant experience from which comparable knowledge is demonstrated may be considered.

Analytical Skills:

• Oral and Written Communication Skills
• Problem-Solving and Reasoning Skills
• System Analysis & Design Experience

Requirements:

• Successful background check