ERP Change Management and Training Specialist

Location: Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

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Time Type

Full time

Employee Group

Staff

Job Category

Operations

Employment Type

Temporary

Department

Information Systems and Technology - Finance

Hiring Range

$80,248.28 - $100,310.35

Posting Information

• This posting is for an existing vacancy.
• Term - Two years
• Internal posting expires Thursday October 29th at 11:59 PM

Job Description

Primary Purpose

University of Waterloo is a leading global innovation hub that drives economic and social prosperity for Canada and the world. With more than 41,000 students, we are home to the world's largest co-op education talent pipeline, game-changing research and technology, and to an unmatched entrepreneurial culture. Together, these create partnerships and solutions to tackle today’s and tomorrow’s challenges.

The ERP Change Management, Communications and Training Specialist is a two-year contract position reporting to the Director, Financial Systems and Controls. The incumbent serves as the University's dedicated change, communications, engagement, and readiness resource supporting the implementation of Workday Financial Management as part of a major institutional finance transformation initiative.

Working within the project's organizational change management framework, the incumbent partners closely with the Senior External Project Manager, Internal Project Manager & Change Management Lead, Faculty Engagement Lead, University Relations communications representative, Deloitte implementation team, and project stakeholders to support and deliver change management, communications, training, stakeholder engagement, and organizational readiness activities across faculties and administrative units.

The ERP Change Management and Training Specialist supports organizational readiness and adoption of Workday Financial Management as part of the major institutional finance transformation initiative.

Key Accountabilities

Change Management and Stakeholder Engagement

• Supports execution of approved organizational change management plans and activities that promote stakeholder awareness, engagement, readiness, and adoption of changes for the Workday Finance implementation.
• Assists with identifying and documenting stakeholder impacts arising from changes to business processes, roles, systems, controls, and reporting.
• Facilitates workshops, consultations, town halls, and other stakeholder engagement activities, adapting approaches to the needs and interests of the different stakeholder groups.
• Builds and maintains effective working relationships with project stakeholders across faculties and administrative units to understand concerns, identify adoption risks, and support change management.
• Serves as a key point of coordination with the Senior External Project Manager, Internal Project Manager & Change Management Lead, Faculty Engagement Lead, University Relations, implementation partners and project stakeholders to align information and perspectives to support consistent change communications, engagement, training and readiness.
• Supports the Faculty Engagement Lead in coordinating Faculty Advisory Group meetings, consultations, engagement activities, and follow-up actions arising from faculty feedback.
• Synthesizes stakeholder and faculty feedback, concerns, impacts, and adoption risks, resolving routine and moderately complex issues, escalating significant issues to the Internal Project Manager & Change Management Lead.
• Supports administration of the Change Champion Network, including meeting coordination, communications, participation tracking, and feedback collection.

Project Communications

• Supports execution of project communications plans and activities aligned with approved project messaging and communication strategies.
• Develops and delivers communications and engagement materials for diverse stakeholder groups with varying operational, academic, and reporting requirements, including newsletters, presentations, briefings, FAQs, announcements, web content, and other stakeholder communications.
• Partners with University Relations and project leadership to ensure communications are accurate, timely, consistent, and aligned with institutional standards.
• Coordinates communication schedules, publication activities, stakeholder distributions, and milestone-related communications throughout design, testing, training, deployment, and stabilization phases.
• Evaluates stakeholder feedback to recommend adjustments to improve communications, engagement, training, and readiness activities.

Training, Readiness and User Adoption

• Leads and delivers training and learning approaches that support user understanding and adoption of new financial processes, systems, and responsibilities in partnership with project leaders, subject matter experts, faculty representatives, and implementation partners.
• Supports training planning activities and coordinates review, distribution, and maintenance of training materials and user support resources, adapting content to meet the needs of diverse stakeholder groups and audiences.
• Coordinates the delivery of training and related activities, including registration, attendance tracking, scheduling, learner communications, and post-go-live adoption support activities.
• Delivers and facilitates a range of training and learning activities, including instructor-led training sessions, demonstrations, workshops, and information sessions for end users and stakeholder groups and supports train-the-trainer activities as appropriate.
• Supports User Readiness Reviews, faculty readiness activities, demonstrations, testing sessions, and adoption initiatives while compiling key metrics for project reporting.

Project Coordination and Reporting

• Communicates change management, communications, stakeholder engagement, training, and readiness activities in project meetings within established project plans, timelines, and governance structures.
• Maintains appropriate project documentation and records related to communications, stakeholder engagement activities, training, readiness, and project change management artifacts.
• Provides project leadership with updates, analysis, updates, and supporting information for reporting while monitoring assigned activities and following up on outstanding actions, risks, and stakeholder issues.
• Performs other duties and assists with special projects as assigned.

Required Qualifications

Education

• Undergraduate degree in Communications, Business Administration, Organizational Development, Human Resources, Education, Public Relations, Change Management, or a related discipline.
• Change Management certification (e.g., Prosci, CCMP, or equivalent) is considered a strong asset.
• Project Management, Adult Education, Instructional Design, Organizational Development, or Communications certification is considered an asset.

Experience

• Minimum 4 years of progressive experience supporting organizational change management, communications, stakeholder engagement, training, organizational readiness or a related area.
• Experience supporting large-scale organizational enterprise technology, business process, or digital transformation initiatives.
• Experience supporting communications, stakeholder engagement, training coordination, organizational readiness, and end-user adoption activities within large-scale ERP, technology, or business transformation initiatives.
• Experience working within formal project management and governance structures.
• Experience designing, facilitating, and delivering workshops, presentations, training sessions, or consultations for diverse audiences.
• Experience supporting Workday, SAP, Oracle, PeopleSoft, Unit4, or comparable ERP implementations is considered a significant asset.
• Experience working within a university or other complex, decentralized organization is an asset.

Knowledge/Skills/Abilities

• Strong understanding of organizational change management principles, methodologies, and best practices, and their application within complex organizational environments.
• Knowledge of adult learning and training principles, including the ability to adapt approaches to diverse audiences.
• Strong stakeholder engagement, relationship management, and consultation skills, including the ability to influence and build effective working relationships without formal authority.
• Strong written, verbal, presentation, facilitation, and interpersonal communication skills, including the ability to communicate complex concepts clearly to diverse audiences.
• Ability to assess and monitor stakeholder impacts, readiness, concerns, and adoption risks and develop appropriate recommendations.
• Ability to interpret complex business process, system, and organizational changes and translate them into clear communications, training materials, and stakeholder engagement activities.
• Strong analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities, deadlines, and changing project requirements.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently and collaboratively within cross-functional teams.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, and SharePoint.
• Experience using communication, collaboration, survey, and project management tools is an asset.

Equity Statement

The University of Waterloo acknowledges that much of our work takes place on the traditional territory of the Neutral, Anishinaabeg, and Haudenosaunee peoples. Our main campus is situated on the Haldimand Tract, the land granted to the Six Nations that includes six miles on each side of the Grand River. Our active work toward reconciliation takes place across our campuses through research, learning, teaching, and community building, and is coordinated within the Office of Indigenous Relations.

The University values the diverse and intersectional identities of its students, faculty, and staff. The University regards equity and diversity as an integral part of academic excellence and is committed to accessibility for all employees. The University of Waterloo seeks applicants who embrace our values of equity, anti-racism and inclusion. As such, we encourage applications from candidates who have been historically disadvantaged and marginalized, including applicants who identify as First Nations, Métis and/or Inuk (Inuit), Black, racialized, a person with a disability, women and/or 2SLGBTQ+.

Positions are open to qualified candidates who are legally entitled to work in Canada.

The University of Waterloo is committed to accessibility for persons with disabilities. If you have any application, interview, or workplace accommodation requests, please contact Human Resources at [email protected] or 519-888-4567, ext. 45935.