Consultant – Microsoft 365 Change Management and Engagement – Remote

Background:

Mercy Corps is a leading global organization powered by the belief that a better world is possible. In disaster, in hardship, in more than 40 countries around the world, we partner to put bold solutions into action — helping people triumph over adversity and build stronger communities from within.

Microsoft 365 Transition Project:

In early 2021 Mercy Corps began the transition of more than 5000 team members across 145 field sites in 40 countries off Google and into M365. The goal was to provide solutions that improve security, productivity, efficiency, and impact to our entire global operation.

The first phase, which was completed in September 2021, was the successful migration from Gmail and Google Calendar to Exchange/Outlook of over 5,800 global Mercy Corps team members

In our current phase we will plan, build, and launch foundational SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, and associated document management policies for Mercy Corps.

The overall goal is to ensure all team members are successfully working and collaborating with M365 tools and to improve productivity and work quality utilizing Teams, SharePoint, and workflows to simplify and streamline common work tasks.

Minimum Standards Reporting (MSR) Project:

In early 2021, Mercy Corps revised its Program Management Policy. The new Policy is made up of 64 Program Management or related minimum standards that all Mercy Corps Programs are required to meet as part of their programming.

Mercy Corps is currently working with a consultant who is designing and building an application within the Microsoft Ecosystem (through Teams, PowerApps and SharePoint) for reporting on the standards contained within the Program Management Policy, called the MSR System.

This MSR System will be used by all Mercy Corps programs (anywhere between 350 and 550 Programs active at any one time) and all Mercy Corps business entities to report on the program management standards. This project has three high-level goals:

All Program teams will use the MSR system to report on adherence to 64 Program Management Policy’s minimum standards. The system will allow each standard to be evidenced with relevant documentation through an integration to a SharePoint ‘Program File’ or ‘Tag’.

The system will not exclusively be extractive; it should also provide easy access to guidance, tools and resources relevant to the standards that the program is expected to meet at its current lifecycle stage.

Lastly, the system will include dashboards are automated ‘real time’ with visualizations to assist program, country, and regional teams in developing action plans based on reporting results.

Global Record Retention Policy Project (GRRP):

Mercy Corps has many department-specific retention policies and procedures, but no global data retention policy that guides future policies or harnesses the strengths of existing ones. In addition, several data privacy regulations and laws demand each organization have a global data retention policy in place, for compliance purposes. As a result, this project will create a new, global data retention policy that provides a meaningful reference and starting point for the entire agency.

Development of an effective data retention policy will include these activities

1. Identifying the data retention principles we will align with
2. Identifying the key data privacy, legal, or regulatory compliance standards we will uphold
3. Creating an accurate data inventory or Record of Processing Activities (ROPA) for all departments
4. Developing an actionable retention schedule for all departments
5. Investing in the operational capabilities needed to ensure policy compliance
6. Implementing and enforcing the policy from an operational perspective

Purpose / Project Description:

The M365, MSR and GRRP projects are mutually dependent, aligned and between them creating significant change globally for Mercy Corps. As we finalize the design and build stages of these 3 projects and move into piloting and rollout planning this consultancy is essential to ensure that we are managing this change and communicating across the agency to ensure benefits realization.

This position will initially work to establish the detailed change and communications strategy covering the 3 projects. They will develop, review and support the delivery of this change campaign through the end of build and into the piloting phase. It is envisioned that a further consultancy be developed for the roll out of the 3 systems pending budget approval FY23 (July onwards).

This position will report into the M365 Transition Project Team with a dotted line into the MSR Project Team.

The successful candidate must be a process oriented, customer focused, multi-tasking individual with a proven track record in delivering effective communications and engagement in support of organizational transformation and change. In addition, the successful candidate will combine creativity and a solution orientated mindset with highly effective communication and relationship building skills.

Consultant Activities:

• Apply change management processes and tools to create a strategy to support adoption of the changes required by the M365, MSR, and GRRP projects.
• Support the design, development, delivery, and management of communications to support the M365, MSR, GRRP teams
• Understand the business challenges and opportunities of the MSR project and translate into impactful communications solutions.
• Market and sell M365 and MSR tailored to end-users
• Develop, review, agree (with project team) and support delivery of change communications strategy, working in partnership with the MSR Project Manager and Project Team and M365 Transition team.
• Develop, and enable effective deployment of, comprehensive stakeholder engagement maps and plans
• Plan and deliver a creative, engaging communications campaign in line with agreed strategy tailored to stakeholders
• Support the delivery of transformation projects and programs across technology/digital, organizational, and cultural change
• Develop and deliver a diverse library of high-quality, innovative content for internal channels in support of the MSR project
• Analyze project risks and mitigations and use this to inform communications strategy
• Design and scale stakeholder assessments, change impact assessments, and communication plans to ensure business readiness and adoption

Timeframe/Schedule:

The consultancy will run for 60 days and must finish by 30^th June. It is envisioned that the Change and Communications Strategy will be completed within 30 days and executed over the second 30 days.

Deliverables:

• Develop detailed Change and Communications Strategy
• Develop, review and support delivery of communications campaign
• Define success metrics of communications campaign and measure performance against these
• Provide reporting and other updates to management

The Consultant will report to:

• Technical Project Manager

The Consultant will work closely with:

• Program Standards Director
• Program Management Analytics Advisor
• Program Data Product Owner
• Director – Global Data Protection and Privacy

Required experience and skills:

• 5-10 years experience in change management and communications
• Change Management certification(s) such as CCMP, PPROSCI, etc.
• Good understanding of change management principles, techniques & tools.
• Effective facilitation and influencing skills
• Strong stakeholder management skills
• Conflict resolution and negotiation skills
• Good listening and communications skills
• Project management and planning skills
• Analytical mindset and critical thinking
• Good problem-solving skills
• Team player & able to collaborate with others
• Experience working with a breadth of types of change (i.e., technology, process, cultural, product)

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Achieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together. Through our commitment to enriching our organization with people of different origins, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of thinking, we are better able to leverage the collective power of our teams and solve the world’s most complex challenges. We strive for a culture of trust and respect, where everyone contributes their perspectives and authentic selves, reaches their potential as individuals and teams, and collaborates to do the best work of their lives.

We recognize that diversity and inclusion is a journey, and we are committed to learning, listening and evolving to become more diverse, equitable and inclusive than we are today.

Equal Employment Opportunity We are committed to providing an environment of respect and psychological safety where equal employment opportunities are available to all. We do not engage in or tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability (including HIV/AIDS status), marital status, military veteran status or any other protected group in the locations where we work.

Safeguarding & Ethics Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our stakeholders and to international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects. Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and MC’s policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.