US Director, UK Senior Manager, Business Change

About us

National Grid is hiring a Director of Kraken Change Management & Communications for our Transformation team. This position can be located in New York or Massachussetts. We are also hiring a STREAMS Director which operates along the same lines within Change and Comms.

Every day we deliver safe and secure energy to homes, communities, and businesses. We are there when people need us the most. We connect people to the energy they need for the lives they live. 

The pace of change in society and our industry is accelerating and our expertise and track record puts us in an unparalleled position to shape the sustainable future of our industry. To be successful we must anticipate the needs of our customers, reducing the cost of energy delivery today and pioneering the flexible energy systems of tomorrow. This requires us to deliver on our promises and always look for new opportunities to grow, both ourselves and our business.

Job Purpose

Delivering for our customers is one of National Grid’s strategic priorities.  However, with our current systems and processes we face constraints that hinder our customer service and ability to effectively manage customer Moments That Matter.  As a result, National Grid US has decided to partner with Kraken to adopt their Customer platform.

Implementing Kraken’s SaaS solution and related operating model is expected to start in September 2025 and take 3-3.5 years.  We are in the midst of building out a program team to focus on this critical transformation.

The Kraken Business Readiness and Change Director is responsible for developing, leading and managing the change management strategy, execution, and stakeholder readiness for the Kraken Transformation Program. This role ensures that all stakeholders, including employees, leadership and business units, are fully prepared to adopt the new CIS platform and operational processes, with support from our unions and regulators.

This role requires deep expertise in change management, stakeholder engagement, training, and workforce adoption to drive successful transformation and business continuity. The Kraken Business Readiness and Change Director will work closely with program leadership, the NY and NE business units, and functions such as Regulatory and Corporate Affairs to align change initiatives with business goals and minimize resistance.

Key Accountabilities

• Lead, manage, and develop the Change and Comms team of approximately 5-7 FTEs, including change specialists, and communications partners, ensuring effective execution of change initiatives.
• Develop and implement a comprehensive change strategy, ensuring stakeholder readiness, engagement, and adoption of new processes and systems.
• Conduct change impact assessments, identifying key areas where employees and business units will be affected.
• Facilitate leadership alignment sessions, ensuring executive sponsorship and engagement throughout the transformation.
• Monitor change adoption metrics, providing insights and adjustments as needed to increase success rates.
• Ensure effective communications plans are developed and delivered that that the team designs effective messaging strategies that resonate with all stakeholder levels.  Align messaging and approach, particularly for external comms, with National Grid Communications/Corporate Affairs personnel
• Engage with business units and People (HR) teams to provide coaching and support for leaders managing change within their teams.
• Identify resistance to change and develop mitigation plans, leveraging best practices in change leadership.
• Communicate change progress, risks, and outcomes to key stakeholders, ensuring transparency and alignment with program goals.
• Align plans with the Kraken Transformation program PMO office.  Collaborate with the PMO office regarding communication within the program team.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of work experience including 5+ years of experience in change management, preferably within the utility industry.
• 5 years of direct people leadership experience is required.
• Experience working within a highly regulated environment and aligning change strategies with compliance requirements.
• Proven experience of managing change in a highly unionized field-based workforce is preferred.
• Knowledge of Electric operations a advantage.
• Proven track record of managing change initiatives for large-scale CIS transformations.
• Deep understanding of organizational change methodologies.
• Experience designing and implementing stakeholder engagement, training, and communication plans.
• Strong leadership and communication skills, with the ability to engage at all organizational levels.
• Demonstrated ability to lead stakeholder communication at all levels, including C-suite executives, IT, Operations, and Regulatory Agencies.
• Experience working within a highly regulated environment and aligning change strategies with compliance requirements.
• A valid driver’s license with a safe driving history that meets National Grid’s Safe Driver policy is required.

More Information

Salary Range: $192,000 - $226,000

National Grid is an equal opportunity employer that values a broad diversity of talent, knowledge, experience and expertise.  We foster a culture of inclusion that drives employee engagement to deliver superior performance to the communities we serve. National Grid is proud to be an affirmative action employer. We encourage minorities, women, individuals with disabilities and protected veterans to join the National Grid team.