I intentionally broadend the range of roles for today to highlight a key distinction in types of org change positions. Even when organizations are getting better at understanding people, data, and change, they’re still not consistently getting better at making change actually happen. Take a look at this 24 April issue versus the roles found in the 23 April issue. You will note how the Infectious Change rating system is helping to identify roles that not only fit the listening/change skills you have, but also enable you to make the role impactful for the organization. I am not suggesting that you avoide less impactful roles, but that you should be aware that you may need to develop the role and the organization so they are ready for what you can really do for them.
Thanks for networking and growing our field. – Paul
Featured Roles
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- 1. Senior Manager, People Business Partner — ezCater
Rating: ⚠️ Partial — Strong HRBP, Limited Behavior-Change Design
Apply: https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/ezcaterinc/jobs/5097925007
This is a strong HRBP role—strategic, data-informed, and closely tied to business leaders.
It includes:
Employee listening (stay interviews, sentiment tracking)
Coaching leaders on performance and engagement
Translating data into action
But here’s the gap:
The role assumes that good insight + strong leadership = change.
What’s missing is a defined mechanism for:
How behavior actually shifts
How that shift spreads across teams
👉 Takeaway:
You’re influencing decisions… but not yet designing how change happens.
2. Senior People Business Partner (Engineering) — GitLab
Rating: ⚠️ Partial — Strong Strategic Influence, Weak Behavior Mechanism
Apply: https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/gitlab/jobs/8428928002
This is a step up in complexity—global scope, VP-level partnership, and organizational design work.
It emphasizes:
Structure (job architecture, leveling)
Alignment across distributed teams
Making transformation “clear and manageable”
But again:
Clarity is not the same as change.
👉 Takeaway:
This role is a translator of strategy, not a designer of behavior change.
3. Organizational Development Lead — Global Professional Services Firm
Rating: ⚠️ Partial — Mature OD Capability, Traditional Execution Model
Apply: https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/4404455869/
This organization has done something important: They’ve elevated OD into a strategic, data-driven capability.
It includes:
Measuring behavior change and business impact
Integrating analytics and AI
Aligning development with business strategy
But the execution model remains familiar:
Programs
Facilitation
Leadership development
👉 Takeaway:
They’ve upgraded the thinking and measurement…
but not the engine that produces change.
4. Consultant, Advisory Services — IQVIA
Rating: ❌ Not Yet Ready — Insight-Dominant Role
Apply: https://jobs.iqvia.com/jobs/R1536931-0
This is pure strategy consulting:
Analysis
Recommendations
Executive influence
And then… it ends.
👉 Takeaway:
This role defines what should change—
but is not accountable for whether it does.
5. Sr. OCM Consultant — Black & Veatch
Rating: ⚠️ Partial — Advanced Change Practice, Still Program-Centric
Apply: https://careers.bv.com/job/Denver-Sr_-OCM-Consultant-%28LOE-Leadership-and-Organization-Effectiveness%29-CO-80002/1372105733/
Now we’re getting closer.
This role includes:
End-to-end change ownership
Stakeholder networks
Behavioral science
Adoption focus
But the toolkit still leans on:
Communication
Training
Workshops
👉 Takeaway:
They are trying to drive change—
but still using the traditional toolkit to do it.
6. Change Management Lead (Legal) — Takeda Pharmaceutical Company
Rating: ⚠️ Partial — Enterprise Scope, Communication-Heavy Execution
Apply: https://jobs.biospace.com/job/3043659/
This is enterprise-level change:
Adoption metrics
Integrated change roadmap
Executive alignment
Multi-initiative coordination
And yet…
Execution is still dominated by:
Messaging
Training
Stakeholder management
👉 Takeaway:
They own adoption…
but rely on coordination and communication to achieve it.
Insights
What These Roles Are Telling Us
Across all six roles, a pattern is emerging:
1. The Field Has Evolved
Organizations now expect:
– Data-driven insights
– Business alignment
– Measurable outcomes
– Adoption and sustainment
That’s real progress.
2. But the Mechanism Is Still Missing
Very few roles clearly define:
– How behavior actually changes
– How change spreads across peers
– How leaders activate others—not just align them
Instead, most rely on:
– Communication
– Training
– Programs
– Alignment
3. The Core Gap: Insight → Influence → Spread
Many roles are strong at:
– Insight (data, diagnostics)
– Influence (advising leaders)
But stop short of:
– Designing how change spreads behaviorally
Why This Matters for Your Career
If you’re in one of these roles, you might recognize this:
– You generate insights
– You influence decisions
– You support change initiatives
But you may not yet be:
Designing how people actually change their behavior
Creating conditions where change spreads naturally across teams
That’s not a personal gap. It’s a role design gap across the market.
The Next Evolution of These Roles
The next step isn’t more data, better dashboards, or more polished programs.
It’s this: Understanding—and designing—how behavior change actually happens and spreads inside organizations.
That’s where roles become more powerful, differentiated, and impactful.
If you’re reading these roles and thinking:
– “I’m close to this… but something is missing”
– “I can influence, but I don’t control outcomes”
– “I want to take this to the next level”
Then you’re seeing the gap. And once you see it, you can’t unsee it.
More on the Rating Logic
🔥 Ready for Infectious Change
A role must clearly combine:
1. Employee Listening
- Owns or shapes how feedback is gathered (surveys, pulse, lifecycle, qualitative)
- Interprets data into insight (not just reporting)
2. Organizational Change
- Owns or drives execution of change
- Influences how leaders and teams actually operate differently
3. Signals of Real Behavior Change Design
(doesn’t need all, but should show several)
- Cross-functional influence without authority
- Focus on adoption, not just communication
- Iteration, measurement, and adjustment over time
- Leader behavior, team norms, or system changes
- Evidence of how change spreads, not just how it’s announced
👉 If all three are present → Ready
🟡 Not Yet Ready for Infectious Change
These roles have part of the equation, but not the full system:
- Strong listening but weak on execution
- Strong change management but disconnected from feedback
- Heavy on programs (L&D, engagement, HRBP) without ownership of behavior change
- Influence is indirect or optional, not required
👉 These are often good roles—but incomplete systems
⚠️ Proceed with Caution
Risk of being a cog, not a driver
Vague scope or staffing-driven roles
Transactional work (assessments, reporting, admin)
Little visibility into real influence or outcomes
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