If you’re passionate about building a better future for individuals, communities, and our country—and you’re committed to working hard to play your part in building that future—consider WGU as the next step in your career.
Driven by a mission to expand access to higher education through online, competency-based degree programs, WGU is also committed to being a great place to work for a diverse workforce of student-focused professionals. The university has pioneered a new way to learn in the 21st century, one that has received praise from academic, industry, government, and media leaders. Whatever your role, working for WGU gives you a part to play in helping students graduate, creating a better tomorrow for themselves and their families.
The salary range for this position takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including but not limited to skill sets; experience and training; licensure and certifications; and other business and organizational needs.
At WGU, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the range for their position, and compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case. A reasonable estimate of the current range is:
Job Description
The Change Manager will play a key role in ensuring projects (change initiatives) meet objectives on time and on budget by increasing employee adoption and usage. This person will focus on the people side of change – including changes to business processes, systems and technology, job roles and organization structures. The primary responsibility will be creating and implementing change management strategies and plans that maximize employee adoption and usage and minimize resistance. The Change Manager will work to drive faster adoption, higher ultimate utilization and greater proficiency of the changes that impact WGU employees and WGU students at the college or university level to increase benefit realization, value creation, speed of adaption, and improve the achievement of student outcomes. While the Change Manager does not have supervisory responsibility, this person will have to work through many others in the university to succeed. The Change Manager will act as a coach for senior leaders and executives in helping them fulfill the role of change sponsor. The Change Manager may also provide direct support and coaching to frontline managers and supervisors as they help their direct reports through transitions. The Change Manager will also support project teams in integrating change management activities into their project plans.- Lead change management activities using a structured methodology aligned with the Prosci ADKAR framework.
- Assess organizational impacts of projects and transformation initiatives and develop targeted change strategies and action plans.
- Partner with project managers and executive sponsors to integrate change management activities into project plans and implementation efforts.
- Develop and execute key change management deliverables, including communication, training, coaching, sponsor engagement, and resistance management plans.
- Identify, analyze, and mitigate change-related risks while proactively managing stakeholder expectations and resistance.
- Support senior leaders and stakeholders through coaching, engagement, and change readiness activities to ensure successful adoption.
- Define success metrics, monitor change progress, evaluate user readiness, and report outcomes throughout the project lifecycle.
- Bachelor's Degree from an accredited institution.
- Professional experience in roles requiring extensive change management skills within a large, distributed organization of 5,000+ employees.
- Excellent understanding of change management theory, techniques, and the demonstrated ability to implement them within project plans.
- Ability to become Prosci Change Manager certified within 3 to 6 months of employment.
- Ability to execute Prosci ADKAR Change Management activities across one or more projects simultaneously.
- Excellent understanding and skills in organizational change management processes.
- Professional experience in strategic planning and risk management.
- Proficiency in project management methodologies and software tools.
- Strong understanding of how people experience change and organizational transitions.
- Exceptional written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills.
- Ability to influence stakeholders, build strong relationships, and work effectively across all levels of an organization.
- Demonstrated problem-solving, planning, and organizational skills with the ability to navigate ambiguity and competing priorities.
- Prosci Change Management Certification or other change management certification.
- Project Management Professional (PMP) certification.
- Master's Degree from an accredited institution.
- Introductory call
- Hiring manager interview
- Sr. Leader interview
Position & Application Details
Full-Time Regular Positions (classified as regular and working 40 standard weekly hours): This is a full-time, regular position (classified for 40 standard weekly hours) that is eligible for bonuses; medical, dental, vision, telehealth and mental healthcare; health savings account and flexible spending account; basic and voluntary life insurance; disability coverage; accident, critical illness and hospital indemnity supplemental coverages; legal and identity theft coverage; retirement savings plan; wellbeing program; discounted WGU tuition; and flexible paid time off for rest and relaxation with no need for accrual, flexible paid sick time with no need for accrual, 11 paid holidays, and other paid leaves, including up to 12 weeks of parental leave.How to Apply: If interested, an application will need to be submitted online. Internal WGU employees will need to apply through the internal job board in Workday.
Additional Information
Disclaimer: The job posting highlights the most critical responsibilities and requirements of the job. It’s not all-inclusive.
Accommodations: Applicants with disabilities who require assistance or accommodation during the application or interview process should contact our Talent Acquisition team at [email protected].
Equal Employment Opportunity: All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to any protected characteristic as required by law.
Skills Required
- Bachelor's Degree from an accredited institution.
- Professional experience in roles requiring extensive change management within a large, distributed organization (5,000+ employees).
- Excellent understanding of change management theory, techniques, and demonstrated ability to implement them within project plans.
- Ability to become Prosci Change Manager certified within 3 to 6 months of employment.
- Ability to execute Prosci ADKAR Change Management activities across one or more projects simultaneously.
- Professional experience in strategic planning and risk management.
- Proficiency in project management methodologies and software tools.
- Exceptional written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills.
- Ability to influence stakeholders, build strong relationships, and work effectively across all levels of an organization.
- Demonstrated problem-solving, planning, and organizational skills with the ability to navigate ambiguity and competing priorities.
- Prosci Change Management Certification or other change management certification.
- Project Management Professional (PMP) certification.
- Master's Degree from an accredited institution.
- Equivalent combinations of education and directly related experience may be considered.
What We Do
Western Governors University is a private, nonprofit online university that provides accessible, competency-based education designed for working professionals.
