Senior Organizational Change Manager - Cybersecurity OT Program

Overview of the Role

The Senior Organizational Change Manager will lead the people-change workstream for a large‑scale Cybersecurity Operational Technology (OT) transformation within a major chemical and energy company in South Africa. The role is responsible for ensuring that employees, leaders, and operational teams successfully adopt new cybersecurity processes, technologies, and behaviours required to protect critical OT environments. The position combines deep change‑management expertise with an understanding of industrial operations, cybersecurity impacts, and large enterprise transformation.

Key responsibilities

• Develop and implement a comprehensive change management strategy and plan for the Cybersecurity OT program.
• Conduct change impact assessments to understand how new cybersecurity controls, tools, and processes affect various stakeholder groups across operations, engineering, and support functions.
• Lead stakeholder engagement, including identification, analysis, and ongoing relationship management with site leadership, operational managers, and frontline teams.
• Design and execute communication plans to position the program, reinforce behavioural change, and build alignment across the organisation.
• Develop training and capability‑building strategies in collaboration with cybersecurity and OT subject matter experts.
• Support adoption of new OT cybersecurity policies, standards, and operating procedures.
• Monitor change readiness and adoption through assessments, feedback channels, and performance metrics.
• Identify change risks and develop mitigation strategies to ensure smooth transition and minimal disruption to operations.
• Facilitate workshops, briefings, and engagement sessions with various levels of the organisation.
• Provide coaching and guidance to project leads and business managers on effective change leadership.
• Ensure all change activities align with broader enterprise transformation frameworks and compliance requirements.

Requirements

Key Skills

• Strong expertise in leading organisational change in complex, multi‑site industrial environments.
• Strong communication, facilitation, and stakeholder‑management skills.
• Experience delivering change across large transformation programs with multiple workstreams.
• Ability to translate technical or cybersecurity content into clear, accessible messages for non‑technical audiences.
• Strong analytical, problem‑solving, and planning capabilities.
• Adaptability and resilience, particularly in operational or unionized environments.
• Experience working in energy, chemicals, mining, or other heavy‑industry sectors is a strong advantage.
• Understanding of OT environments, plant operations, or industrial control systems, and how cybersecurity changes impact those spaces.
• Knowledge of cybersecurity concepts related to risk, controls, governance, and incident response (deep technical expertise is not required but is beneficial).
• Ability to work with senior leadership and influence decisions without direct authority.
• Strong communication, facilitation, and stakeholder‑management skills.

Relevant Education/ Certifications

• Relevant Degree/ Diploma.
• Prosci Change Management Certification (highly recommended).
• CMI or ACMP change‑management credentials (optional but beneficial).
• Cybersecurity‑related awareness certifications such as CISSP or CISM are not required but a foundational cybersecurity certification or short course can be advantageous.