Job Description

Minimum Pay Rate: $152,672.00

Maximum Pay Rate: $202,217.60

Civil Service Status: Non-Civil Service

Posting Type: Open

This posting will remain open until a sufficient quantity of qualified applicants have been received and may close at any time after May 7th, 2026 Applicants are encouraged to apply early to ensure they are considered.

The intent of this posting is to fill one regular full-time, non-Civil Service (at-will) position.

We are seeking a dynamic and experienced leader to advance SMUD’s enterprise change management capacity, lead our business partner team and support overall organizational leadership development. This role will help lead enterprise resource planning efforts, provide strategic oversight of key initiatives, lead cross-functional efforts, and partner with leaders across the organization to embed inclusive and successful practices into our culture, systems, and processes. The successful candidate will bring strong leadership experience, excellent relationship-building skills, effective change management experience, and a demonstrated ability to listen, influence, inspire, and drive meaningful organizational change. This position reports directly to our Chief Diversity Officer and has direct interaction with the entire Executive team.

Purpose

To strategically direct enterprise-wide change management and organizational effectiveness functions. Manages multiple teams of internal consultants and ensures execution and alignment of change management and strategic talent initiatives to enterprise goals and priorities. This role serves as a trusted advisor to executives, driving adoption of enterprise transformation initiatives, ensuring enterprise resource planning support and adoption, and strengthening organizational capacity. This role requires the ability to foster collaboration and drive transformative solutions and is accountable for building change agility and organizational effectiveness capabilities across the enterprise, ensuring that leaders, managers and employees are equipped with the skills, mindset and resources needed to navigate change effectively and drive operational excellence.

Nature and Scope

Responsible for strategy, methodology and delivery of enterprise change management and organizational effectiveness services. Manages Senior Organizational Effectiveness Specialists responsible for organizational development and strategic HR business partner support to senior management and their team, and Business Transformation Specialists who provide change management support to complex, enterprise-wide transformational change initiatives. This role ensures consulting methods, tools and programs are aligned to enterprise priorities and meet industry needs. This role serves a center of excellence for change management and organizational effectiveness, developing frameworks, training, and resources to empower leaders and teams across the organization. The successful candidate will partner with executive leadership to facilitate key discussions with a customer-focused approach, diagnose organizational needs, co-create and ideate strategies, and evaluate the impact of said strategies on organizational goals and culture. They will be accountable for building organizational change capability and guiding leaders at all levels. The role is required to attend, present and/or lead at Board, executive, team, customer, community, and one-on-one meetings; in person, as needed.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Leadership & Team Management
  • Guide, coach and develop two teams — Change Management and Organizational Effectiveness/HR Business Partners — fostering a culture of collaboration, innovation and accountability.
  • Provide strategic direction, mentoring and support to senior-level specialists responsible for enterprise consulting, ensuring alignment with SMUD’s strategic priorities.
  • Manage resources, budgets and project portfolios to deliver services effectively and efficiently.
• Change Management
  • Direct SMUD's enterprise change management strategy, ensuring consistent methodology and scalable practices are embedded across SMUD.
  • Serve as a senior advisor to executives and project sponsors on the people side of change, providing strategies that drive adoption, minimize resistance, and accelerate results.
  • Oversee the portfolio of enterprise change initiatives, identifying interdependencies, risks and opportunities for alignment.
  • Build organizational change capability by developing tools, training and coaching for leaders and project teams.
  • Measure and monitor change effectiveness, adoption rates, and benefits realization to ensure enterprise value is achieved.
• Organizational Effectiveness & Strategic Human Resources Development
  • Provide executive-level consulting to senior management and their teams on organizational design, team effectiveness, leadership development, and culture alignment.
  • Guide enterprise workforce and talent strategies, including strategic workforce planning, succession planning, coaching, and employee engagement to build and sustain leadership pipelines aligned with future organizational needs and transformational initiatives.
  • Guide senior teams in clarifying vision, strategy, operating models, and processes to strengthen team and organizational performance.
  • Deliver organizational assessments, identify performance gaps, and design targeted interventions to drive results and build long-term organizational health.
  • Oversee employee engagement strategies and survey action planning, ensuring insights translate into meaningful organizational improvements.
  • Partner with Directors to strengthen overall leadership development and embed equity, inclusion, and employee wellbeing into change management and organizational effectiveness programs.
  • Leverage technology to ensure efficient and optimized results that support the people and the organizational priorities.
• Enterprise Strategy & Integration
  • Partner with executives and peers across human resources, enterprise strategy, technology, and operations to ensure people and change strategies are fully integrated into SMUD’s enterprise strategy.
  • Contribute to business unit and enterprise strategy development, representing organizational effectiveness and change management perspectives at senior forums.
  • Ensure services are data-driven, leveraging metrics and organizational insights to inform executive decision-making and refine programs.
  • Monitor industry trends and emerging practices to ensure SMUD’s change and organizational effectiveness practices remain innovative, competitive and compliant with regulatory requirements.
• Administration & Oversight
  • Develop and manage the unit’s annual budget, ensuring fiscal responsibility and alignment with strategic objectives.
  • Oversee internal and external projects, managing scope, resources, contracts, and quality assurance to deliver expected outcomes.
• Perform other related duties as needed; schedules, hours and locations may fluctuate based on business needs.

Required Education

Bachelor’s degree majoring in Organizational Development, Human Resource Management, Business Administration, Business Management, Organizational Communication, Public Administration, or related field from an accredited college or university, or equivalent experience. If no degree, at least nine (9+) years of relevant experience is required.

Required Experience Qualifications

Five (5+) or more years of progressively responsible experience leading large-scale, complex change management and organizational effectiveness initiatives, including five (5+) or more years of supervisory experience of professional teams.

Knowledge Of

• Management fundamentals and techniques
• Business and political acumen
• Budget development and administration
• Project management
• Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) and organizational culture change
• Comprehension of applicable employment laws and practices.
• S pecific to Manager Enterprise Change & Organizational Effectiveness
  • Advanced fundamentals, practices and methodologies of change management and organizational effectiveness
  • Talent management strategies including workforce planning, succession planning, employee engagement, and leadership development
  • Organizational design, team effectiveness, and cultural transformation approaches
  • Project and portfolio management methodologies, both agile and traditional
  • Supervisory fundamental, including selection, development, performance management, and employee relations.
  • Relevant employment laws, human resources practices, and public utility business operations.
  • Stakeholder engagement strategies, including labor relations, employee communications, and advocacy-building.
  • Methods for assessing organizational readiness, risk and impact in large-scale change initiatives.
  • Industry trends and benchmarks in organizational effectiveness and change management, especially for the utility sector.
  • Data analytics, evaluation, and reporting related to organizational effectiveness and change outcomes.

Skills To

• Oversee, influence, persuade, and motivate
• Establish policies, set goals, and manage the implementation of strategic and operational plans for area(s) of responsibility
• Manage activities of staff
• Partner with peers to drive change across cross-functional teams
• Demonstrate commitment to valuing diversity and contributing to an inclusive working and learning environment
• Interface effectively with executives, senior and peer management, SMUD staff, external entities, and the community
• Specific to Manager Enterprise Change & Organizational Effectiveness
  • Guide, motivate and develop high-performing consulting teams.
  • Provide executive-level consulting and influence senior management to align people strategies with business goals.
  • Design and deliver complex change management strategies and organizational interventions.
  • Build trust and maintain effective relationships across all levels of the organization.
  • Assess organizational obstacles using data-driven methods and translate insights into actionable strategies.
  • Manage multiple, concurrent projects and clashing priorities with resilience and adaptability.
  • Demonstrate strong judgment, discretion and professionalism in sensitive matters.
  • Facilitate strategic planning, visioning, and organizational assessments with cross-functional teams.
  • Lead stakeholder engagement and employee communications during organizational change.
  • Develop and deliver training and capability-building programs for leaders and managers.
  • Coach leaders at all levels to build change agility and foster cultural transformation.
  • Leverage data analytics and metrics to measure effectiveness and inform continuous improvement

Desirable Qualifications

• Proven experience leading change management for large-scale, complex enterprise transformations (such as ERP, digital, or organizational restructuring), ideally within a utility or public sector environment.
• Certification in Change Management certification methodologies (e.g., CCMP, Prosci) or organizational development practices.
• Experience managing and developing high-performing teams of internal consultants.
• Proven experience designing and implementing enterprise-wide organizational effectiveness initiatives—such as employee engagement, succession planning, leadership development, and coaching programs—ideally within a utility or public sector environment.
• HR Certification (e.g., SHRM-SCP, SPHR).
• Strong track record in building organizational change capability through training, coaching, or establishing centers of excellence.
• Organizational Development/Coaching certification (e.g., ATD, ICF, or equivalent).
• Advanced degree in Organizational Development, Industrial/Organizational Psychology, Human Resources, Business Administration, or related field.
• Experience utilizing data analytics and change metrics to measure adoption, readiness, and project outcomes.
• Experience integrating diversity, equity, inclusion, and wellbeing fundamentals into transformational and change initiatives

Physical Requirements

Applicants must be able to perform the essential job functions with or without a reasonable accommodation.

Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) - Who We Are

As the nation's sixth-largest community-owned electric service provider, we're proud of our reputation as one of the best places to work in Sacramento. Our employees tell us in our engagement surveys they're "Happy, satisfied and engaged" which helps create a workplace that best serves our customers. Sacramento was named as the 2nd happiest place to work in America by Forbes Magazine. Lake Tahoe, San Francisco and the world-renowned Napa Valley are within easy driving distance of our locations.

Our Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion

SMUD celebrates diversity, and inspires an inclusive culture based on trust and respect to create belonging and connection among our employees, customers, and communities. By working together, we are powering positive, equitable opportunities for all. We aspire to be a workplace where you can be yourself, achieve your best, and thrive together.

An example of our commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging is when SMUD signed the California Equal Pay Pledge in 2020. This requires equal pay for employees who perform “substantially similar work,” when viewed as a composite of skill, effort, and responsibility at the time those employees started within that classification. As such, initial hiring salary range is not subject to negotiation and salaries will vary over time based on performance.

SMUD is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate in employment decisions on the basis of race, color, religion, gender (including pregnancy), national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, veteran status, or any other applicable legally protected characteristic. All employment decisions are made on the basis of individual qualifications, merit, and business needs and interests.

Why Sacramento, California?

The capitol of California, Sacramento is the state's sixth-largest city, and the 35th largest in the U.S. Local universities include California State University, University of the Pacific's McGeorge School of Law, and the University of California, Davis and several competitive community colleges. The UC Davis Medical Center, a world-renowned research hospital, is one of more than a dozen hospitals and shared services centers in the Sacramento region. Part of the agriculturally-rich Central Valley, Sacramento is at the forefront of the farm-to-fork food movement. Northern California is home to some of the country's top technology companies, including Google and LinkedIn, and a multitude of startups in many industries. Sacramento is home to the NBA Kings, the River Cats (AAA baseball), the Republic FC (soccer) and the San Francisco Giants, NBA Warriors and NFL 49er's aren't far away. Sacramento offers an affluent liberal arts community with Broadway, Mondavi Center, Crocker Museum and summer musical theater to name a few.

Hybrid Work

This position may be eligible for SMUD's remote work employee benefit, the schedule of which will be determined by the successful candidate and the Hiring Manager. SMUD takes pride in powering the Sacramento region community where we live and work. We value the strong working relationships we develop with our colleagues. Our approach to remote work will continue to evolve. Please be aware that should SMUD’s business needs change, emergencies occur, or various other reasons arise, you may be required to report onsite on a part-time or full-time basis.

CalPERS

SMUD is a CalPERS agency. As a member of the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), SMUD offers eligible employees access to a defined benefit pension plan along with other valuable retirement and health benefits. This program helps provide financial security both during your career and after retirement. To learn more about CalPERS and the benefits it offers, please visit www.calpers.ca.gov