SME&C Change & Adoption Lead

Avanade is growing rapidly in Microsoft’s Mid-market and Corporate space (the upper end of what Microsoft calls its SME&C segment) and has embarked in a journey to transform the IT Services market in that space.  

Avanade is already serving hundreds of SME&C clients across AI Business Solutions, Cloud & AI Platforms, and Security. Our focus now is structure and repeatability — packaging 25 years of enterprise experience into scalable, predictable motions designed specifically for SME&C. To enable this- we have launched a dedicated SME&C Business Unit which will have Solution specific ‘Catalyst Squads’ which will be virtual teams taking an opportunity for prepackaged and repeatable ‘Catalyst Solutions’ from qualified lead through to delivery completion. 

The AI Transformation Change & Adoption Lead will drive adoption of Avanade’s Agentic Platform, agent-based solutions and AI-enabled ways of working across SME&C client delivery and operations. The role sits within the APAC squad and works closely with the AI Specialist & GTM Lead, AI Architect and Catalyst Squad Lead to ensure AI transformation engagements deliver measurable adoption, responsible usage and operational value. 

Unlike other cross-Squad roles, this role has a deeper AI transformation remit. It focuses on user adoption of agents, workflow redesign, agent lifecycle adoption, responsible AI governance behaviours and the shift from traditional delivery to AI-augmented delivery and operations. The role ensures clients and Avanade teams do not simply deploy AI and agents, but embed them into day-to-day work, governance, measurement and continuous improvement. 

Key Accountabilities  

• Lead the change and adoption approach for AI Transformation engagements, including Agentic Platform, Copilot, agent-based solutions and AI-enabled operating models 

• Translate AI transformation strategies into practical adoption plans that support leadership alignment, user readiness, behaviour change and measurable business outcomes 

• Partner operationally with the AI Specialist & GTM Lead to align adoption activities with AI propositions, GTM priorities, Microsoft plays and client value hypotheses 

• Work with AI Architects and delivery teams to ensure agent design, deployment and lifecycle management are matched with clear human adoption, governance and operating model changes 

• Define stakeholder groups, personas, use cases and adoption journeys for AI and agent-based solutions 

• Develop enablement assets for AI adoption, including executive briefings, champion materials, responsible AI guidance, agent usage playbooks, training content and reinforcement plans 

• Support responsible AI governance by helping clients and Avanade teams understand roles, decision rights, controls, escalation paths and appropriate human oversight 

• Embed adoption and change activities into agent lifecycle management, including onboarding, usage measurement, feedback loops, improvement cycles and retirement / scaling decisions 

• Identify adoption risks, trust barriers, workflow disruption, capability gaps and governance concerns related to AI and agent deployment 

• Define and track AI adoption metrics such as usage, confidence, productivity signals, use case activation, responsible AI compliance behaviours and value realisation 

• Capture lessons from AI engagements and convert them into repeatable adoption assets, AI transformation playbooks and reusable IP for the APAC squad 

• Support internal adoption of agentic ways of working across delivery and operations where needed, helping teams use Avanade’s AI and agent capabilities consistently 

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities 

• Strong change and adoption experience in technology-enabled transformation, with specific exposure to AI, Copilot, automation or digital workplace adoption preferred 

• Understanding of AI adoption challenges, including trust, governance, skills, responsible use, human oversight and workflow redesign 

• Ability to translate technical AI and agent concepts into practical behavioural, operational and business change 

• Advanced Knowledge of change management frameworks and methods, including assessing readiness 

• Advanced knowledge and experience of quantitative and qualitative data analyses to inform decision-making 

• Effective interpersonal skills 

• Ability to identify and communicate information/strategy to multiple stakeholders 

• Results-driven and detail-oriented 

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills 

• Extensive experience with organizational design-Extensive project management experience 

• Previous experience successfully leading/managing professionals 

Education, Certifications and Experience 

• Bachelor's degree or have equivalent combination of education and experience. However, a Master's degree or equivalent is preferred. 

• 7-15 years of professional experience and at least 7-10 years of experience in Change Enablement.