Change Manager - Te Huringa Project

Wellington City Libraries; Wellington; Hybrid; NZD 110,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Wellington City Council is transforming its HR and Payroll systems through the Te Huringa Project. We seek an experienced Change Manager to guide people through the change, ensuring understanding, involvement and confidence across a large organisation.

You will lead change strategy, stakeholder engagement and adoption activities, working with senior leaders and project teams to deliver practical, people-focused outcomes. A relevant degree and PROSCI are highly desirable.

Qualifications

• Around 7 years' experience in change management, ideally within large-scale technology or business transformation.
• Experience developing and delivering change strategies, change impact assessments and readiness activities.
• Strong stakeholder engagement, communication and resistance management experience.
• Strong facilitation, influencing and relationship-building skills.
• The ability to work confidently with senior leaders, project teams and people from across an organisation.
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent; PROSCI certification desirable; payroll/HRIS/ERP/payroll systems experience would be valuable.

Responsibilities

• Lead the people side of change for Te Huringa, from understanding how the change will affect different parts of our organisation through to preparing people for go-live and supporting successful adoption.
• Develop and deliver the change strategy and approach; identify resistance and adoption risks early and propose practical solutions.
• Coach and support leaders so they can confidently lead their teams through the change.
• Shape learning and adoption approaches with the Training Lead; ensure readiness and adoption measures.
• Engage stakeholders across Council and work with HR, Payroll, Digital & Technology, vendors and project teams.
• Provide trusted change advice to the project team, leaders and governance throughout the programme.

Skills

Change management

Stakeholder engagement

Facilitation

Communication

Leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent

PROSCI certification desirable

Job description

Our People & Capability Group (Pūlmanawa Tangata) is transforming how we support our people through new systems, smarter ways of working, and a renewed focus on delivering great experiences for our leaders, teams, and kaimahi.

We are replacing our HR and Payroll systems through the Te Huringa Project, and we are looking for an experienced Change Manager to help our people navigate one of the most significant parts of that journey.

This is not just about implementing new technology. It is about helping people understand what's changing, why it matters, and making sure they feel prepared and supported as we move to new systems and new ways of working.

This is your opportunity to play a key role in one of Council's significant people and technology transformation programmes, and help shape how our leaders, teams and kaimahi experience HR and Payroll in the future.

You will lead the people side of change for Te Huringa, from understanding how the change will affect different parts of our organisation through to preparing people for go-live and supporting successful adoption.

Working alongside HR, Payroll, Digital & Technology, vendors and project specialists, you will:

• Lead the development and delivery of the change strategy and approach.
• Work with people across Council to understand change impacts and what support they will need.
• Lead stakeholder engagement, communications and organisational readiness activities.
• Coach and support leaders so they can confidently lead their teams through the change.
• Shape the learning and adoption approach, working closely with the Training Lead.
• Identify resistance and adoption risks early and work with teams to find practical ways through them.
• Develop meaningful measures of readiness and adoption so we understand where people are confident and where additional support is needed.
• Make sure our approach works for our diverse workforce, including kaimahi who aren't desk-based or don’t have easy access to a computer during their working day.
• Provide trusted change advice to the project team, leaders and governance throughout the programme.

This is a fixed term role through to 22 December 2027

Ko wai koe | About you

You will be someone who understands that successful change doesn't happen simply because a new system goes live. It happens when people understand the change, feel involved and have the confidence and support to work differently.

You will combine strong change experience with a practical, people-focused approach. You will be comfortable working with senior leaders one day and facilitating conversations with teams the next, and you will be able to turn complex information into something clear and meaningful.

You will bring:

• Around 7 years' experience in change management, ideally within large-scale technology or business transformation.
• Experience developing and delivering change strategies, change impact assessments and readiness activities.
• Strong stakeholder engagement, communication and resistance management experience.
• Strong facilitation, influencing and relationship-building skills.
• The ability to work confidently with senior leaders, project teams and people from across an organisation.
• A relevant bachelor's degree or equivalent experience. PROSCI certification is highly desirable. Experience with Payroll, HRIS, ERP or systems that affect people's pay, entitlements and ways of working would be valuable, and experience with Workday or a similar cloud HR platform would be an advantage.

You will also bring a commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi and to continuing to grow your knowledge of tikanga Māori and te reo Māori.

Applicants must have the legal right to work in New Zealand and be willing to undergo pre-employment Ministry of Justice checks.

Nʼnu te rourou | What's in it for you

Working for the Council offers you a range of benefits including 5 weeks annual leave, flexible working options, health and wellbeing support, Council staff discounts and a range of learning and development programmes and opportunities.

We want your application to enable you to portray the real you. Skills are gained across many areas of our life, not just formal employment. If you can demonstrate the skills listed in the advert through whānau life, community or mahi aroha (volunteering), we encourage you to apply and share your story with us in your cover letter.

We welcome applications from all people and like our workforce to reflect the diverse communities we serve.

Accessibility Support:

We want to make sure any accessibility requirements you may have are well supported so the selection process is equitable for everyone. Please let us know if there are any adjustments or support we can offer to make our process more accessible to you by emailing [e-mail].

Details

Location(s): Wellington CBD