Change Management Specialist

Boardroom Appointments; Johannesburg; On-site; ZAR 700,000 - 1,100,000; Full time

Job summary

Boardroom Appointments is seeking a senior Change Management Specialist to lead the people side of a major digital transformation. This hands-on role focuses on adoption, stakeholder engagement and communications to ensure employees embrace new systems and ways of working.

The ideal candidate has end-to-end Change Management experience, a strong portfolio of transformation initiatives, and can operate effectively with senior leaders and operational teams.

Qualifications

• Proven professional experience in Change Management, Organisational Change Management or Business Transformation.
• Experience supporting large-scale digital, technology or enterprise system transformation programmes.
• Demonstrated Change Impact Assessments experience.
• Strong stakeholder engagement and relationship management.
• Experience delivering Change Management communications.
• Experience with organisational readiness and user adoption.
• Experience coordinating or delivering user training and onboarding.
• Experience identifying and managing resistance to change.
• Involvement in system Go-Live and Hypercare activities.
• Strong facilitation, presentation and communication skills.
• Ability to engage with senior leadership and operational staff.
• Ability to work independently and own the change management process.
• Proven track record with references and portfolio.

Responsibilities

• Lead local Change Management activities for a major digital transformation programme.
• Conduct Change Impact Assessments across affected areas.
• Identify impacted employees, processes, roles and ways of working.
• Develop and execute stakeholder engagement plans.
• Build relationships with executives, management, HR, IT and end users.
• Translate initiatives into clear business messages.
• Develop change communications, presentations and awareness campaigns.
• Facilitate workshops and stakeholder sessions.
• Coordinate user onboarding and training activities.
• Support employees and managers in understanding new systems.
• Assess readiness ahead of implementation.
• Identify resistance and develop interventions.
• Establish Change Champions, Ambassadors and Super Users.
• Gather employee feedback and monitor adoption.
• Work with central and local project teams throughout implementation.
• Provide hands-on support during deployment and Go-Live.
• Maintain on-site presence during critical periods.
• Support users during Hypercare.
• Monitor risks and adoption concerns.
• Ensure changes translate into sustainable behaviours.

Skills

Change Management

Stakeholder engagement

Communication

Training & onboarding

Facilitation

Go-Live & Hypercare

Independent ownership

Portfolio delivery

Education

Bachelor’s Degree in Human Resources

Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial/Organisational Psychology

Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management

Bachelor’s Degree in Change Management

Bachelor’s Degree in Communications

Bachelor’s Degree in Information Systems

Bachelor’s Degree in Project Management

Job description

Change Management Specialist

Digital Transformation | Temporary Contract – 9 Months

Are you an experienced Change Management professional who knows how to turn major transformation programmes into real, sustainable change across a business?

We are looking for a senior Change Management Specialist to support a major digital transformation programme. This is a hands‑on role requiring someone who can confidently lead the people side of change, engage stakeholders at all levels, prepare employees for new systems and ways of working, and drive successful user adoption through implementation, Go‑Live and Hypercare.

This is not a junior opportunity or a traditional IT technical role. The successful candidate must have strong end‑to‑end Change Management experience and be able to demonstrate a solid portfolio of successfully delivered transformation initiatives.

About the Role

You will act as the local Change Management focal point, working between the central transformation team, local leadership, operational teams and end users.

Your responsibility will be to understand upcoming changes, determine how they affect employees and business processes, prepare impacted stakeholders, coordinate communication and training initiatives, identify resistance and ensure that employees successfully transition to and adopt new systems and ways of working.

The initial contract is expected to run for approximately 9 months, with the possibility of extension. Experienced independent Change Management consultants who are open to being onboarded on a temporary contract are also encouraged to apply.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead local Change Management activities for a major digital transformation programme.
• Conduct Change Impact Assessments across affected business areas.
• Identify impacted employees, processes, roles and ways of working.
• Develop and execute stakeholder engagement plans.
• Build strong relationships with executives, management, operational teams, HR, IT and end users.
• Translate transformation initiatives into clear and practical business messages.
• Develop and adapt change communications, presentations and awareness campaigns.
• Facilitate workshops, stakeholder sessions and employee engagements.
• Coordinate user onboarding and training activities.
• Support employees and managers in understanding new systems and processes.
• Assess organisational and user readiness ahead of implementation.
• Identify resistance to change and develop appropriate interventions.
• Establish and coordinate Change Champions, Ambassadors and Super Users.
• Gather employee feedback through surveys and other feedback mechanisms.
• Monitor adoption and identify areas requiring additional support.
• Work closely with central and local project teams throughout implementation.
• Provide hands‑on support during deployment and Go‑Live.
• Maintain a strong on‑site presence during critical implementation periods.
• Support users and management throughout Hypercare.
• Monitor change risks and escape adoption or readiness concerns.
• Ensure transformation initiatives translate into sustainable changes in behaviour and ways of working.

Minimum Requirements

• Proven professional experience in Change Management, Organisational Change Management or Business Transformation.
• Strong experience supporting large‑scale digital, technology or enterprise system transformation programmes.
• Demonstrated experience conducting Change Impact Assessments.
• Strong stakeholder engagement and relationship management experience.
• Experience developing and delivering Change Management communications.
• Practical experience with organisational readiness and user adoption.
• Experience coordinating or delivering user training and onboarding.
• Experience identifying and managing resistance to change.
• Previous involvement in system Go‑Live and Hypercare activities.
• Strong facilitation, presentation and communication skills.
• Ability to engage effectively with both senior leadership and operational employees.
• Ability to work independently and take ownership of the complete Change Management process.
• Demonstrable track record, references and portfolio of successfully delivered Change Management initiatives.

Highly Advantageous Experience

Candidates with experience in any of the following will be particularly relevant:

• Digital transformation
• ERP implementations
• Transport Management System (TMS) implementations
• Enterprise system implementations
• System migrations and deployments
• User adoption programmes
• Logistics and freight
• Transport
• Supply chain
• Warehousing and distribution
• Multi‑country or global transformation programmes
• Working with central and country‑based transformation teams
• French language capability

Relevant Qualifications

A relevant Bachelor's Degree in one of the following areas would be advantageous:

• Human Resources
• Industrial or Organisational Psychology
• Business Management
• Change Management
• Communications
• Information Systems
• Project Management

Change Management certifications such as Prosci/ADKAR, APMG Change Management or similar will be advantageous but are not mandatory.

We Are Looking For Someone Who Is

• Senior and confident in their Change Management capability
• Hands‑on and comfortable working directly with employees
• An excellent stakeholder manager
• Able to influence across different levels of an organisation
• Comfortable operating within complex transformation environments
• An effective facilitator and communicator
• Skilled at identifying and addressing resistance
• Commercially and operationally aware
• Highly organised and accountable
• Comfortable working across multicultural teams
• Focused on measurable adoption rather than simply completing Change Management activities

The Ideal Candidate

You are an experienced Change Manager, Change Lead, OCM Specialist or Change Consultant who has successfully supported a substantial enterprise technology transformation.

You understand that implementing a new system is only one part of successful transformation. Your focus is on ensuring that people understand the change, are prepared for it, know how to operate in the new environment and ultimately adopt the new systems and behaviours.

You can confidently take a transformation from change impact and stakeholder engagement through communication, training, readiness, Go‑Live, Hypercare and sustained user adoption.

Employment Type

Temporary Contract – approximately 9 months, with the possibility of extension.