Change Management Lead

CLA is a top 10 national professional services firm where our purpose is to create opportunities every day, for our clients, our people, and our communities through industry-focused wealth advisory, digital, audit, tax, consulting, and outsourcing services. Even with more than 8,500 people, 130 U.S. locations, and a global reach, we promise to know you and help you.

CLA is dedicated to building a culture that invites different beliefs and perspectives to the table, so we can truly know and help our clients, communities, and each other.

We are seeking a dynamic and forward-thinking Change Management Lead, The change management director leads change management strategy and execution for CLA transformation initiatives. This role is responsible for helping the firm prepare for, adopt, and sustain change by aligning change strategy, stakeholder engagement, communications, readiness, training, adoption, and sustainment activities to business outcomes.

The director partners with business navigation, transformation, implementation, drive through performance, service line leaders, functional leaders, project teams, and business stakeholders to ensure change impacts are understood early and managed throughout the transformation lifecycle.

This role requires strong leadership, business acumen, change management expertise, stakeholder influence, and the ability to guide teams through complex, cross-functional change.

How you’ll create opportunities in this Change Management Lead role:

• Lead change management strategy for transformation initiatives, including stakeholder impact, readiness, communications, adoption, training, resistance, and sustainment planning.

• Partner with business navigation and transformation leaders to identify change impacts, risks, stakeholder needs, and readiness considerations early in the process.

• Guide project teams and business leaders in understanding the people-side impact of change and what is needed to support adoption.

• Develop and oversee change plans, communication strategies, readiness plans, stakeholder engagement approaches, and adoption support.

• Lead and coach change seniors and change associate's in building change capability and delivering high-quality change work.

• Provide direction, feedback, and action plans to support team member development and performance.

• ·Partner with service line and functional leaders to align change activities to business priorities, timing, capacity, and readiness.

• Identify change saturation, competing priorities, resistance themes, adoption risks, and stakeholder concerns that may impact success.

• Prepare leadership-ready updates, recommendations, and decision-support materials related to change readiness, adoption, risks, and business impact.

• Support governance, roadmap, and transformation discussions by bringing a change management lens to planning and decision-making.

• Monitor change effectiveness and recommend adjustments to improve readiness, adoption, sustainment, and value realization.

• Strengthen change management processes, tools, templates, and ways of working across the team.

Skills and Knowledge

• Strong knowledge of change management principles, methodologies, tools, and best practices.

• Strong business acumen and ability to connect change strategy to firm priorities and transformation outcomes.

• Ability to lead through ambiguity and guide teams through complex, cross-functional change.

• Strong stakeholder management, influence, facilitation, and executive communication skills.

• Ability to assess change impacts, readiness needs, resistance risks, adoption barriers, and sustainment needs.

• Ability to develop change strategies that are practical, business-focused, and aligned to project and transformation goals.

• Strong leadership, coaching, feedback, and team development skills.

• Ability to prepare clear, leadership-ready updates, recommendations, and decision-support materials.

• Ability to manage multiple initiatives, priorities, stakeholders, and timelines.

• Strong judgment, accountability, follow-through, and ability to operate at both strategic and execution levels.

What you will need:

• 7 years' experience in project management and/or change management

• Bachelor's degree is required. Combination of relevant experience, education, and training may be accepted in lieu of degree.

• Bachelor’s degree in business, communications, organizational development, change management, human resources, project management, strategy, or related field preferred.

• 8+ years of experience in change management, transformation, organizational development, business readiness, strategy, or related work preferred

• Experience leading change management for complex, cross-functional transformation initiatives preferred

• Experience developing change strategies, stakeholder impact assessments, communication plans, readiness plans, training support plans, adoption plans, and sustainment approaches preferred

• Experience coaching or leading change professionals, project teams, or cross-functional stakeholders preferred

• Experience partnering with senior leaders and business stakeholders to influence decisions, manage risks, and support adoption preferred

• Experience working in a professional service, matrixed, or enterprise transformation environment preferred.