Job Description
Department Overview
As Senior Manager, Change Management, you’ll play a defining role in ensuring enterprise transformation delivers real, lasting impact - not just activity. Acting as the market authority for change, you’ll connect enterprise ambition to real-world adoption, ensuring change is paced, prioritised and delivered in a way that’s grounded in operational reality.
You’ll own the UK & Ireland market change plan and transformation narrative, working closely with senior leaders, programme teams and our restaurants to cut through complexity, reduce change noise and enable leaders to lead change well.
Duties
- Owning the market transformation narrative, translating strategy into clear, compelling messaging that resonates across leaders, teams, franchisees and restaurants.
- Leading the end-to-end market change plan, sequencing and prioritising change to balance ambition with capacity and readiness.
- Defining and applying a tiered change approach, ensuring the right level of change and training support is applied where it matters most.
- Partnering with Internal Communications and Learning teams to deliver joined-up change, communication and training plans.
- Advising and coaching programme and functional teams on change strategy, execution and measurement.
- Monitoring adoption, readiness and risk, providing clear insights and recommendations to senior governance forums.
- Leading and developing a small team, creating a positive, inclusive and high-performance environment.
- Leaving behind a stronger, more confident organisation in how leaders and teams deliver and experience change.
Qualifications
What you’ll bring
We’re looking for a confident, pragmatic change leader who can operate comfortably in complexity, influence at senior levels and keep change grounded in what really works for our business.
- Significant experience (typically 8+ years) leading large-scale change and transformation in complex, matrixed organisations.
- Strong grounding in change management methodologies (e.g. Prosci / ADKAR or equivalent) and the ability to adapt enterprise approaches to local market context.
- Experience shaping and delivering change strategies, plans and adoption outcomes, balancing pace with organisational capacity.
- Proven ability to influence senior stakeholders and work effectively through indirect teams and partnerships.
- Excellent communication skills, with the ability to make complex change simple, clear and compelling for diverse audiences.
- A data-informed mindset, using readiness, maturity and adoption insight to guide decisions.
- People leadership experience, with a focus on coaching, development and inclusive team environments.
- A pragmatic, outcomes-focused approach, comfortable working through ambiguity and competing priorities.
- Strong alignment to McDonald’s values: Serve, Inclusion, Integrity, Community and Family.
We know no candidate meets every requirement. If you bring strong change leadership experience and a passion for making transformation land well, we’d love to hear from you.
What you’ll get
- A high-impact leadership role shaping enterprise transformation across a well-known, purpose-led brand.
- Competitive salary plus a comprehensive benefits package including bonus, cash allowance, free parking, lunch and gym access.
- Hybrid working, offering flexibility between office and home.
- Access to industry-leading learning and development opportunities.
- A collaborative, inclusive culture where your expertise is valued and your voice is heard.
- The opportunity to leave a lasting legacy in how change is delivered across McDonald’s UK & Ireland.
