Principal Strategic Specialist (Change Management Consultant)

About Ellucian

Ellucian is a global market leader in education technology. We power innovation for higher education, partnering with more than 2,900 customers across 50 countries and serving over 20 million students. Ellucian's AI-powered platform, trained on the richest dataset available in higher education, drives efficiency, personalized experiences, and strengthened engagement for all students, faculty and staff. Fueled by decades of experience with a singular focus on the unique needs of learning institutions, the Ellucian platform features best-in-class SaaS capabilities and delivers insights needed now and into the future. These solutions and services span the entire student lifecycle, from student recruitment, enrollment, and retention to workforce analytics, fundraising, and alumni engagement. Ellucian's innovative solutions, vast ecosystem of partners, and user community of more than 45,000 provide best practices leading to greater institutional success and achieving better student outcomes.

Values Rooted in Purpose

We embrace the power to lead, the courage to innovate, and the determination to grow. At our core, we believe in humanizing our approach, recognizing that our people are our greatest strength. With a shared vision of transformation, we endeavor to shape a brighter future for higher education.

About The Opportunity

Ellucian is seeking an experienced Principal Strategic Specialist (Change Management Consultant) to join our dynamic team dedicated to driving transformative technology initiatives within the higher education sector. In this role, you will play a key part in guiding and facilitating organizational change, ensuring a smooth transition to new technologies and processes. The ideal candidate will have a proven track record in change management, particularly in the context of technology implementation within higher education institutions.

Where you will make an impact

• Change Strategy Development: Collaborate with leadership to develop a comprehensive change management strategy tailored to the unique needs of higher education institutions undergoing technological transformations.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Identify and engage with key stakeholders, including faculty, staff, students, and administrative personnel, to understand their concerns and perspectives related to technology change. Develop and maintain strong relationships with stakeholders to foster a positive and collaborative change environment.
• Communication Planning: Create and execute communication plans that effectively convey the benefits, goals, and impact of technology changes to various stakeholders. Ensure timely and transparent communication to build trust and manage expectations throughout the change process.
• Training and Development: Design and implement training programs to equip end-users with the necessary skills and knowledge to adapt to new technologies. Work closely with subject matter experts to develop user-friendly training materials and resources.
• Change Impact Assessment: Conduct thorough assessments of the impact of technology changes on existing processes, workflows, and organizational culture. Develop mitigation strategies for potential challenges and resistance to change.
• Resistance Management: Proactively identify and address resistance to change by working closely with individuals and groups, providing support, and addressing concerns in a constructive manner.
• Metrics and Evaluation: Establish key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the success and effectiveness of change initiatives. Regularly evaluate and report on progress, making data-driven recommendations for adjustments to the change management plan.
  
  

What You Will Bring

• Certification in Change Management (e.g., Prosci) is highly desirable.
• Background in Organizational Development, Change Management, or a related field.
• Proven experience in change management, particularly in higher education technology transformations (knowledge of Banner and/or Colleague).
• Strong understanding of the higher education landscape and the challenges associated with technology adoption.
• Excellent communication, facilitation, and interpersonal skills.
• Familiarity with project management methodologies and tools.
• Familiarity with current industry trends and issues in higher education, organizational development, strategic planning, change management, leadership, technology, marketing, and communications.
• Understanding of higher education key performance indicators and scorecard techniques used to align the vision and mission of an organization with operational initiatives.
• Solid understanding of the role of IT in supporting the college/university educational mission and enhancing institutional effectiveness and operational efficiencies.
• Understanding of IT governance, standards, best practices, and outsourcing options relevant for the higher education setting.
• Knowledge and end-user experience with such technologies as student information systems, web technologies, mobile applications, online learning, Saas and Cloud etc.
• Extensive experience in consulting, including discovery, solutions definition, strategy, executive presentations, facilitation, documentation, report writing, change management, and complex problem solving.
• Experience facilitating executive meetings, focus groups, discovery sessions, and surveys, both onsite and remotely, on a wide variety of subjects for a wide spectrum of audiences.
• Must be able to evaluate audience requirements and adjust facilitation accordingly.
• Proven ability to collaborate with complex clients to discover cultural, technical, and functional conditions, assess the unique needs of the institution, and design solution sets that consider people, process and technology.
• Understanding of higher education key performance indicators and scorecard techniques used to align the vision and mission of an organization with operational initiatives.
• Positive, self-motivated, team-oriented individual with the ability and desire to innovate, create, and develop solutions that have the capability of transforming the effectiveness of higher education.
• Superior interpersonal, written and oral communications skills with an emphasis on relationship building, facilitating, public speaking and presentations.
• Demonstrated professionalism, both in appearance and conduct.
• Ability to work remotely and effectively lead virtual teams (both at the client level and within Ellucian).
• Willing to travel and consult on-site up to 50% of the month.
• Ability to coordinate and organize travel logistics, time and expense reporting, and other administrative tasks.
• BILINGUAL- Spanish/English would be a great to have skill! (Not required, but a Plus to have)
  
  

What makes #Ellucianlife

• Comprehensive health coverage: medical, dental, and vision
• Flexible time off
• Thrive Flex Lifestyle Account (LSA) that allows you to contribute towards your health, financial or learning interests
• 401k w/ match & BrightPlan - to help you save for the future
• Parental Leave
• 5 charitable days to support the community that supports us
• Telemedicine
• Wellness
• Headspace Care (mental health)
• Wellbeats (virtual fitness classes)
• RethinkCare & Wellthy- caregiver support
• Diversity and inclusion programs which provide access to internal employee resource groups
• Employee referral bonuses to encourage the addition of great new people to the team
• We Foster a learning culture with:
• Education Assistance Program
• Professional development opportunities