Change Management Lead

We are currently recruiting for an experienced Change Management Lead in Frederick MD (Hybrid in-office 2-3 days 2 days remote). This is a contract role for approx. 9+ months. The Change Manager will lead critical adoption and engagement efforts for a large-scale, in-flight, enterprise system transformation within Operations. $55 - $65 Hourly Rate

Responsibilities:

Change Strategy & Adoption

• Assess current state of adoption and develop a targeted, measurable change and adoption recovery plan
• Drive adoption of Project by closing knowledge gaps and accelerating learning curves
• Ensure alignment between intended system design and day-to-day operational execution

Employee-Centered Communication

• Design and deliver clear, transparent, and empathetic communications from the employee perspective
• Manage expectation setting across all stakeholder groups
• Clearly articulate: What has changed in processes , What has been automated, offshored, or eliminated, What efficiencies and improvements have been achieved and What is in it for the end-user
• Prepare and coach leadership in communicating lessons learned and areas of improvement with authenticity and humility

Training & Enablement

• Evaluate existing training materials and identify gaps
• Develop and implement enhanced training and reinforcement plans
• Introduce ongoing reinforcement mechanisms to sustain adoption and proficiency
• Through demonstration, upskill the organization in change management good practice

Stakeholder Alignment & Facilitation

• Facilitate complex and often challenging conversations between Operations, IT, and external vendors
• Improve collaboration frameworks (e.g., optimize meeting structures, reduce friction between technical and end-user audiences)
• Support rebuilding and strengthening critical vendor relationships

Leadership Coaching

• Provide 1:1 coaching to Operations leaders on leading through change
• Enable leaders to better support their teams, reduce burnout, and improve engagement
• Guide leaders on behaviors and communication strategies required for successful adoption

Feedback & Continuous Improvement

• Gather and synthesize frontline feedback to identify systemic issues
• Provide actionable, reality-based insights to IT and program teams
• Help bridge gaps between delivered functionality and operational needs Qualifications

Requirements:

• 5+ years of experience in Change Management, with large-scale system implementations
• Demonstrated success improving adoption in challenged or distressed transformation environments
• Experience supporting Operations functions (e.g., financial services or similar environments preferred)
• Strong facilitation skills, particularly in high-tension or high-stakes environments
• Proven ability to influence senior leaders and coach managers
• Exceptional communication skills (clear, transparent, and audience-specific)
• High emotional intelligence and ability to build trust quickly
• Pragmatic, execution-oriented mindset (not just frameworks)
• Strong stakeholder management and conflict resolution capabilities
• Analytical ability to translate employee feedback into actionable improvements

Preferred:

• Experience working with offshore/vendor models
• Familiarity with enterprise platforms and operational workflows
• Background in organizations undergoing significant transformation
• Experience with program recovery efforts
• Change Management certification (Prosci, CCMP, CMS, APMG, etc.)