Senior Manager Change Management, Communications

Responsible for ensuring that the program's strategic initiative is: organized, proactively and thoughtfully communicated, aligned with our DFS culture and other global priorities. Partners with all identified stakeholders by level within DFS and type (early adopter, neutral, and resister). Guiding principles to the CM team include and are not limited to: aligning CM areas (herein) with a consistent and pragmatic approach to complement those established within the DFS broader organization; establishing early confidence; developing a strategy, approach and plan that facilitates early adoption through awareness; and bringing the ultra-collaborative, resistant to change organization along a journey by leading them to water. In addition to being responsible for driving change within Finance, Business Technology ("BT") and throughout the DFS organization as it relates to the G/L Program scope, the role is also a coordination point for DFS-wide changes that impact Finance and BT during the G/L Program timeline.

Responsibilities:

Plans, drafts and executes change communications amongst all stakeholder groups to support the program’s objectives and charter. Prepares targeted high level messaging for the program and refine on a rolling schedule. Prepares presentations (including creating and facilitating content gathering from others for (1) Program Governance, including: Audit Committee, Executive Steering Committee, DMS, Steering Committee, Senior Program Leadership Team meetings, Program Team Lead meetings; (2) Phase entrance kickoffs and exit sessions; (3) Awareness sessions; (4) Onboarding sessions.

Creates a Vision for the Future starting with Change Impacts. Leads the team to create a unified ERP mindset within DFS to bring together business, technology, finance, and process together. Identify additional cultural shifts by working alongside MAPS Leadership, Stakeholders, and the Design Team. Create a Today… Tomorrow… view for changes for each of the work streams that clearly articulates from Vision and Design Phases.

Responsibilities (continued):

Leads the team and program team to create a unified mindset within DFS to bring together business, technology, finance, and process together. Identify additional cultural shifts by working alongside Program Leadership, Stakeholders, and the Design Team. Creates a Today… Tomorrow… view for changes for each of the work streams that clearly articulates from Vision and Design Phases What is changing? How is it changing? by creating simple communication, training, and knowledge sharing materials. Iterate the Today… Tomorrow view throughout the program.

Understand the future state Target Operating Model for Finance and Business Technology to understand skill sets needed to support the future state. Identifies the preliminary culture shifts anticipated. Conducts preliminary upfront role mapping from current state to future state and maintain throughout the program. Works alongside Human Resources to develop the Learning Journey strategy, approach and plan while also addressing workforce transition challenges that might arise.

Develops and maintains an overall high-level integrated change plan to ensure a programmatic approach to change initiatives with the PMO Director. Defines and monitors the metrics which align to the change measurement approach and criteria to measure engagement, satisfaction, knowledge retention, message acceptance, and the application of changes.

Builds executive leadership and commitment. Identify key stakeholders within the stakeholder groups [both by level and type ((early adopter, neutral, and resister)], and define their goals and expectations including levels of commitment and ability to influence the change process. Create, utilize, and enable structures for ensuring engagement, involvement and ownership of the change and the results to relevant stakeholder groups. Understands interconnections and direction of various DFS-wide strategic initiatives to ensure all activities/decisions are in-line with such DFS initiatives. Serves as a subject matter specialist for organizational change management. Conducts stakeholder assessments that identify change structure roles and responsibilities, define the change structure and governance approach to build ownership and commitment, and improve the effectiveness of the function.

Develops upfront strategy, approach, and plan to address changes across each of the stakeholder groups. Defines the appropriate change initiatives (change work streams) to manage the impacts of the change and the change risk mitigation options. Develops and updates the change plan and “success criteria”/ acceptance strategy while considering the stakeholder analysis and change impact assessment (by level and type, and Program Governance). Coordinates the umbrella vision across G/L Program and through our DFS business with content development using mediums that resonate with our culture and people throughout our entire organization (650+ Finance users, DFS Business, and BT). Coordinates with other DFS Programs on timeline, roll-out, etc. Establishes the Change Champion network, Genius Squad, for representation as ambassadors.

Minimum Qualifications:

At a minimum, here’s what we need from you:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Business 10+ years of experience in Change Management experience in a finance and/or technology environment with experience implementing and integrating large scale technology solutions in Fortune 500 companies 
• 10+ years of experience in Ability to lead, coach, and advise team members while managing multiple change work streams with tight timelines while keeping MAPS Program leadership, key senior executive stakeholders, DFS organization, and Program Team members appropriately updated 
• 10+ years of experience in Demonstrated proven experience in: Senior Executive strategic alignment and sponsorship, organizational transformation and people management, business readiness, capability and skills assessment, role and job design, business process redesign/optimization, managing conflict and adversity to change. 
• 10+ years of experience in Demonstrated experience of business, strategic, financial and technology acumen to understand Discover’s business strategy, learn processes, and identify enhancement opportunities 
• 10+ years of experience in Proven ability to create a Change Management program plan and manage to the plan, working alongside the PMO Director and Delivery Leads (Finance, Technology, and SI Partner)

Preferred Qualifications:

If we had our say, we’d also look for:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology, Communications, Education, Human Resources, Marketing, Social Sciences or related field 
• 6+ years of experience in Management Consulting 
• 6+ years of experience in Understanding of the Record-to-Report process, Financial Regulatory and Consolidations reporting, Management Reporting and Planning, Budgeting, and Forecasting 
• 6+ years of experience in Discover Culture and Experience 
• 6+ years of experience in Understanding of financial services industry and institutions or related field 
• Six Sigma/Lean Certification