Senior Consultant - Workplace Change Management

CBRE UK; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

CBRE UK is seeking a Workplace Change Manager to champion cultural shifts and embed new working practices for a confidential financial services client in London. You will operate with the Workplace Change Management team, delivering programs and facilitating adoption across People, Physical Space and Digital components.

The role involves close collaboration with HR, CRE, IT and COMMS, with 2–3 days onsite in London and regular engagement with senior stakeholders.

Qualifications

• Exceptional communication, both written and verbal, with ability to tailor messages for diverse audiences.
• Ability to influence and motivate individuals and teams through transitions.
• Strong stakeholder management across multiple levels, across functions.

Responsibilities

• Lead and deliver workplace change management activities for client programmes.
• Collaborate with HR, CRE, IT and COMMS to align people, space and digital change.
• Design engagement plans, town halls, workshops and communications to drive adoption.

Skills

Communication

Influencing

Stakeholder management

Facilitation

Problem solving

Emotional intelligence

Adaptability

Commercial acumen

Change management

Job description

• Commercial acumen.

Joining the Workplace Change Management team

Within the UK Consulting arm of CBRE sits our Workplace Change Management practice, an industry-leading team of 150+ professionals worldwide, united by a shared passion for workplace transformation.

What makes us unique is our diversity: many of us have joined from a wide range of industries, including Change Management, Communications, HR (Employee engagement/ Learning and development/Organisational development), Event Management, Marketing, and Psychology.

We're proud of our multicultural backgrounds, technical breadth, and inclusive culture. Together, we help clients navigate change, prepare their people for new ways of working, and inspire the adoption of new behaviours.

Our team is growing, and we welcome candidates from all backgrounds who share our enthusiasm for shaping the future of work. We believe that diverse experiences and perspectives are our greatest strength. Even if you haven't been a 'typical' Change Manager before, your passion for people, problem-solving abilities, and experience in guiding others through new initiatives could be exactly what we're looking for…

About the role

The Workplace Change Manager will champion and support deep cultural shifts within a client organisation, delivering programs and frameworks that facilitate the adoption of new working practices in the office. They will ensure these practices are seamlessly embedded into people's day-to-day work and aligned with the organisation's values & strategic goals.

This is primarily a 'change manager' role focused on the people side of change and guiding the implementation of new ways of working. Very often working in partnership with the client's HR, CRE, IT and COMMS functions, they will be responsible for empowering the organisation to successfully deliver their workplace transformation, bringing the People, Physical Space and Digital component of the change together. The Workplace Change Manager will ultimately support our clients to create a Workplace offer which attracts and retains the best talents whilst allowing people to be at their most effective wherever they are working from.

The Workplace Change Manager will join a team of 30 Workplace Change Managers at CBRE, all based in London. They will report into a Senior Workplace Change Manager who will offer guidance and development.

The role will be primarily aligned to supporting a Workplace programme within a confidential financial professional services organisation based in London - near London Bridge, with an expectation to be onsite 2-3 days per week. As part of a four-person Workplace experience team, the Workplace Change Manager will be expected to work on site two to three days per week to support close collaboration with client stakeholders.

What you will be doing:

The Workplace Change Manager will work as part of a team responsible for the full workplace change management cycle for clients, ensuring the successful adoption of new working practices and cultural shifts. This includes:

Strategic Planning and Design

• Collaborate with clients to assess their needs.
• Conduct thorough change impact analyses, change readiness assessments, stakeholder mapping, and interviews to inform strategy development.
• Gather and analyse data to develop robust change strategies and engagement plans that cater to diverse audience needs.
• Design new frameworks and processes to effectively implement new ways of working.

Program Leadership: Build and nurture key relationships with stakeholders across all organisational levels, gaining their buy-in to the change and leveraging their support as necessary and appropriate.

• Advise on best practices.
• Develop and execute internal communication strategies and detailed engagement plans.
• Lead and deliver engaging change programs and associated activities tailored to the specific type and level of change required.

Engagement and Communication

• Recruit, lead, and inspire a network of Change Champions from across the client organisation.
• Engage with senior leadership to shift mindsets, coaching leaders and managers to champion the change effectively.
• Design and deliver a high level of engagement activities, including town hall presentations, briefings, workshops (face-to-face and virtual), focus groups, drop-in sessions, site visits, training, targeted events, exhibition spaces, and other innovative interventions.
• Draft internal communications, create digital signage, videos and collateral to generate buy-in and excitement.

Monitoring, Evaluation, and Adaptation

• Continually measure the impact and effectiveness of change engagement and communication activities.
• Gather quantitative and qualitative feedback throughout the program to inform adjustments.
• Adapt and refine the program delivery as necessary based on feedback and measured impact.
• Conduct end-of-project analyses, delivering detailed reports with recommendations for sustained change.

What you will need:

The Workplace Change Manager will be required to liaise with clients, stakeholders, change champions, managers & sometimes senior leaders. They need to be comfortable operating at all levels of the organisation. The ability to confidently and sensitively influence others to deliver a common goal will be paramount.

Essential Skills

Exceptional Communication Skills: excellent verbal and written communication, active listening, and the ability to tailor messages to diverse audiences.

• Influencing & Motivational Skills: able to inspire, guide, motivate, and coach individuals and teams through transitions, fostering a sense of shared purpose.
• Collaborative Stakeholder Management: able to engage effectively with various stakeholders, gaining their trust and buy-in, managing expectations, and addressing potential resistance to change. Ability to partner with multiple stakeholders and quickly build relationships is crucial.
• Solution-Oriented Problem-Solving & Analytical Skills: able to identify issues, anticipate risks, develop creative solutions, and make informed decisions to overcome barriers.
• High Emotional Intelligence & Empathy: understanding and managing emotions, recognising the human side of change, ability to handle difficult conversations and deal with resistance around change whilst fostering a positive change environment.
• Adaptability & Resilience: the capacity to navigate uncertainty and ambiguity, making adjustments as needed, and maintaining a positive outlook during times of transition.
• Commercial acumen.

Essential Experience

• Guiding People Through Change: direct experience leading or significantly contributing to people-related change initiatives (e.g., adoption of new ways of working, cultural shifts,…).
• Facilitation & Presentation Skills: delivering training, workshops, focus groups, or facilitating/presenting in front of large groups.
• Cross-functional Collaboration: working with and coordinating diverse teams across different departments and levels.
• Developing & Implementing Engagement Strategies: creating and executing communication, engagement, or training programs to support new initiatives.
• Data Analysis & Reporting: defining and measuring success metrics, monitoring progress, and reporting on the effectiveness of initiatives.

Nice to have

The below list is indicative, and we don't expect you'd have direct experience in everything:

• Practical hands-on experience of workplace change management.
• Understanding of Change Management Methodologies (e.g., ADKAR, Prosci, Lewin's Change Model) and the ability to apply them.
• Any Change management certifications (e.g., Prosci, ACMP's Certified Change Management Professional)
• Coaching skills.
• Experience in managing projects, including planning, managing scope and timeline during execution would be valuable.
• Experience in scoping, pricing, pitching, wining work for a consultancy would be a plus.
• Any business development experience would be a plus.

Why CBRE

When you join CBRE, you become part of the global leader in commercial real estate services and investment that helps businesses and people thrive. We are dynamic problem solvers and forward-thinking professionals who create significant impact. Our collaborative culture is built on our shared values - respect, integrity, service and excellence - and we value the diverse perspectives, backgrounds and skillsets of our people. At CBRE, you have the opportunity to chart your own course and realize your potential. We welcome all applicants.

Applicant AI Use Disclosure

We value human interaction to understand each candidate's unique experience, skills and aspirations. We do not use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to make hiring decisions, and we ask that candidates disclose any use of AI in the application and interview process.