Grainger · 12 hours ago
Manager, Field Communications & Change Management
Lake Forest, IL
Full-time
Hybrid
Mid, Senior Level
$95K/yr - $158K/yr
5+ years expW.W. Grainger, Inc. is a leading broad line distributor serving over 4.5 million customers worldwide. The Manager, Field Communications & Change Management ensures frontline team members understand and adopt operational changes, leading communication and readiness planning for major initiatives while collaborating with various teams to enhance clarity and alignment across the organization.
HospitalityIndustrialManufacturingOffice SuppliesSupply Chain Management
Responsibilities
Partner early with project teams to identify impacts, shape communication strategies, and sequence communications and training for effective adoption
Lead communication and readiness planning for operational changes, ensuring field teams clearly understand the “why,” “what,” and “how.”
Act as the steward of field mindshare by sequencing communications, prioritizing messages, and protecting field capacity from overload or conflicting information
Use field capacity insights to plan with cross-functional partners when initiatives must be sequenced or spaced to avoid saturation
Monitor change saturation and recommend timing adjustments to protect field capacity
Develop and manage field-facing communication plans and calendars that reduce noise and support operational priorities
Translate complex information into simple, plain-language narratives and align training materials to the core change story
Provide message maps, impact insights, and recommendations that strengthen training and leader enablement
Set operational communication standards, templates, and rhythms that drive consistency and accessibility for frontline audiences
Oversee channel governance, in partnership with Corporate Communications, across email, SharePoint, video, and digital signage, using engagement data to optimize reach and comprehension
Define and track communication KPIs; use engagement data and field feedback to strengthen targeting, sequencing, and clarity
Introduce innovative formats to improve clarity and retention
Partner with Org Effectiveness to champion enterprise frameworks, tools, and resources to ensure consistent change management methodology aligned to enterprise standards
Partner with IT, HR, and platform owners to improve content workflows and findability
Partner with Corp Comms and serve as a direct liaison between the teams to ensure alignment with leader messaging
Partners with Corporate Brand teams to ensure all Fulfillment Network communications and materials consistently reflect enterprise brand standards, visual identity, and tone, reinforcing a unified and professional presence across channels
Guide development of clear, accurate, actionable field content; oversee work from the Communications Specialists and visual multimedia designer
Create concise summaries and cascades that distill complex initiatives for field consumption
Build strong cross-functional partnerships to ensure coordinated messaging and a consistent understanding of changes
Coach and develop direct report(s), promoting a field-first mindset and high standards of clarity and accuracy
Qualification
Required
Bachelor's degree in Communications, Organizational Communication, or related field, or equivalent experience
5+ years of experience in internal communications, change communications, or field communications
Leadership or mentoring experience required
Exceptional written and verbal communication skills with the ability to simplify complex topics
Strong change communication capability and skilled at identifying impacts and shaping narratives that support adoption
Ability to influence content through messaging alignment and simplification
Channel strategy proficiency, including evaluation of reach, engagement, and effectiveness considering various wired, non-wired and hourly audience types
Strong project management and sequencing skills
Ability to interpret engagement data and apply insights to improve messaging
Effective relationship builder with the ability to influence cross-functional partners
Able to maintain calm focus and solution-oriented thinking in dynamic or ambiguous situations
Able to build and sustain productive relationships across functional boundaries, managing diverse personalities and communication styles
Ability to lead and develop others
Preferred
Experience supporting change initiatives or working with project/PMO teams strongly preferred
Experience partnering with operational or distributed field organizations preferred
Benefits
Medical, dental, vision, and life insurance plans with coverage starting on day one of employment and 6 free sessions each year with a licensed therapist to support your emotional wellbeing.
18 paid time off (PTO) days annually for full-time employees (accrual prorated based on employment start date) and 6 company holidays per year.
6% company contribution to a 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan each pay period, no employee contribution required.
Employee discounts, tuition reimbursement, student loan refinancing and free access to financial counseling, education, and tools.
Maternity support programs, nursing benefits, and up to 14 weeks paid leave for birth parents and up to 4 weeks paid leave for non-birth parents.
Company
Grainger
As a leading business-to-business organization, more than 4.5 million customers worldwide rely on Grainger for products in categories such as safety, material handling and metalworking, along with services like inventory management and technical support.
10001+ employees
H1B Sponsorship
Grainger has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not
guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your
reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship
Represents job field similar to this job
Trends of Total Sponsorships
2025 (38)
2024 (26)
2023 (15)
2022 (28)
2021 (14)
2020 (20)
Funding
Current Stage
Public CompanyTotal Funding
unknown1978-01-13IPO
Leadership Team
D. G. Macpherson
Chief Executive Officer
Nancy Berardinelli-Krantz
Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Officer
Recent News
2026-01-20
Benzinga.com
2025-12-30
2025-11-08
Company data provided by crunchbase