Organizational Change Management Business Specialist

NYCERS is seeking an experienced professional to serve as an Organizational Change Management (OCM) Business Readiness Specialist supporting the successful implementation and sustained adoption of the Legacy Replacement Program (LRP).

Significant changes will be introduced to NYCERS business processes, technology, workflows, and how employees perform their daily responsibilities. This position will focus on ensuring the organization and its employees are prepared for the changes LRP will deliver, understand how those changes will impact their work, and have the necessary support to successfully transition to the future state.

The OCM Business Specialist will serve as a critical connection between the LRP program and NYCERS business operations. The individual will proactively engage business leaders and employees to understand the impact of upcoming changes, anticipate challenges, identify readiness gaps, and help address concerns and operational issues that may arise throughout the transition.

A key responsibility of this role is not only to communicate what is changing, but to understand the employee experience, anticipate challenges, and work with the business to identify practical solutions that support successful adoption. Working in close partnership with the LRP Program Director and OCM Lead, the Business Specialist will ensure organizational readiness, business impacts, and employee adoption are considered throughout program planning, implementation, and decision-making. The position will also collaborate closely with the LRP Business Relationship Manager (BRM)/Product Owner (PO) to align business needs, solution decisions, and change management activities.

This position also complements the OCM Project Manager, who is responsible for managing the OCM workplan, schedule, dependencies, and delivery activities. The Business Readiness Specialist will focus on the business-facing aspects of change, ensuring impacted divisions and employees are prepared, their concerns are understood and addressed, and business units are positioned to operate successfully in the LRP future state.

Key Responsibilities

• Assess Business Impacts and Ensure Organizational Readiness
• Translate LRP solution, technology, and business process changes into clear, actionable impacts for NYCERS.
• Assess how future-state processes, workflows, responsibilities, and system functionality will affect existing business operations.
• Work directly with key stakeholders to evaluate organizational readiness and identify gaps before implementation.
• Identify business dependencies, operational risks, and potential challenges that may impact a successful transition.
• Partner with appropriate stakeholders to develop practical approaches to address readiness gaps and prepare business units for change.
• Understand and Address the Employee Change Experience
• Establish trusted relationships with business leaders, managers, and employees across impacted NYCERS divisions.
• Engage employees to understand their concerns, expectations, and challenges associated with upcoming changes.
• Anticipate issues employees may experience as they transition to new processes, systems, and ways of working.
• Work collaboratively with business stakeholders and program teams to identify solutions, address concerns, and remove barriers to adoption.
• Ensure employee feedback and operational concerns are appropriately documented, communicated, and escalated when necessary.
• Promote two-way communication so employees have opportunities to raise questions and understand how their concerns are being addressed.
• Prepare Business Units for Future-State Operations
• Help business units understand what is changing, why the change is occurring, and what will be expected of them.
• Translate future-state solution capabilities into practical business scenarios and employee responsibilities.
• Identify where additional engagement, communication, training, or operational support may be needed.
• Facilitate business discussions, demonstrations, and feedback sessions to strengthen understanding and readiness.
• Partner with business leadership to prepare employees for new processes, workflows, and responsibilities.
• Identify business areas requiring additional support based on the complexity or magnitude of change.
• Partner with LRP Program Leadership and OCM Lead
• Work closely with the LRP Program Director and OCM Lead to align business readiness priorities with program objectives, milestones, and implementation plans.
• Provide insights into organizational impacts, employee concerns, and adoption risks that may affect successful implementation.
• Partner with the BRM/PO to understand business priorities, solution decisions, and future-state expectations.
• Ensure business feedback and readiness considerations are incorporated into appropriate program discussions and decisions.
• Coordinate with the OCM Project Manager to align business readiness needs with the overall OCM workplan and delivery.
• Support consistent messaging and coordinated engagement across the program and impacted business units.
• Identify and Drive Resolution of Business Readiness and Adoption Issues
• Proactively identify business concerns, readiness gaps, and operational challenges associated with LRP changes.
• Work with business leaders, SMEs, the BRM/PO, and appropriate teams to identify solutions and mitigation approaches.
• Coordinate follow-up on identified concerns and ensure issues are directed to the appropriate owners for resolution.
• Monitor unresolved business readiness and adoption issues and escalate those that may affect implementation or operations.
• Maintain visibility into recurring concerns and identify opportunities for additional communication, training, or process clarification.
• Ensure business stakeholders receive appropriate follow-up and understand how their concerns are being addressed.
• Coordinate Stakeholder Engagement, Communications, and Training Readiness
• Identify impacted stakeholder groups and assess their unique communication, engagement, and readiness needs.
• Partner with the OCM Lead, communications, and stakeholders to ensure employees receive relevant/timely information.
• Identify training and support needs based on future-state business processes and employee responsibilities.
• Gather feedback to assess whether communication and engagement activities are improving understanding and readiness.
• Work with business leaders to encourage employee participation in implementation activities, testing, and training.
• Ensure readiness concerns identified through stakeholder engagement are incorporated into OCM planning and follow-up.
• Support Implementation, Stabilization, and Sustained Adoption
• Help business units prepare for the transition from current-state operations to the LRP future state.
• Identify potential operational disruptions or employee challenges that may arise during implementation.
• Partner with business/teams to coordinate resolution of adoption-related concerns during implementation and stabilization.
• Monitor how employees are adapting to new processes, systems, and responsibilities.
• Identify recurring challenges, process gaps, and opportunities to improve the employee experience.
• Support business leadership in reinforcing new ways of working and sustaining adoption beyond initial implementation.
• Promote Enterprise-Wide Business Readiness
• Support a consistent approach to identifying, assessing, and addressing business impacts across NYCERS divisions.
• Identify cross-divisional dependencies and challenges that may require coordinated solutions.
• Ensure impacted business areas are appropriately engaged and their readiness needs are understood.
• Provide program leadership with visibility into organizational readiness, employee concerns, and adoption risks.
• Help ensure the organization is positioned to successfully operate in the LRP future state.

Role Accountability and Alignment

The OCM Business Specialist is responsible for driving business readiness and supporting successful employee adoption of LRP changes.

The role will identify, coordinate, and drive follow-up on business readiness and adoption issues, working with appropriate business and program owners to support resolution.

The position does not replace the responsibilities of the Program Director, BRM/PO, OCM Lead, or OCM Project Manager, nor does it assume ownership of technical solution design, defect resolution, or overall program delivery.

Its primary focus is ensuring that the business is ready for what LRP will deliver, employees understand and can successfully navigate the changes, and concerns or barriers to adoption are proactively addressed.

IT PROJECT SPECIALIST - 95710

• A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college in computer science, engineering, human computer interaction, interactive media, digital and graphics design, data visualization, communication or a related field, and four years of satisfactory full-time experience related to the area(s) required by the particular position and a specialization in a relevant technology, process, methodology and/or domain; or
• An associate degree from an accredited college in computer science, engineering, human computer interaction, interactive media, digital and graphics design, data visualization, communication or a related field, and six years of satisfactory full-time experience related to the area(s) required by the particular position and a specialization in a relevant technology, process, methodology and/or domain; or
• A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college, and eight years of satisfactory full-time experience related to the area(s) required by the particular position and a specialization in a relevant technology, process, methodology and/or domain; or
• Education and/or experience which is equivalent to "1", "2", or "3" above.

The City of New York is an inclusive equal opportunity employer committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce and providing a work environment that is free from discrimination and harassment based upon any legally protected status or protected characteristic, including but not limited to an individual's sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, veteran status, gender identity, or pregnancy.