Expert
Head of Change
Head of Change
Your manager: Transformation Director
Team: Marketing
Location: Chiswick, London
We operate a hybrid working approach, which allows you to manage your time between home and office.
Be part of something big Pernod Ricard’s Gold Brand Unit is the Group’s Aged Spirits & Champagne division, bringing together the prestigious portfolios of Irish Distillers, Chivas Brothers, Martell Mumm Perrier- Jouët and North American Distillers. With a global team operating across 40 sites and brands spanning Irish, Scotch and American Whisk(e)y, Cognac, Champagne and wine, the division unites exceptional craftsmanship and deep expertise across iconic terroirs in Ireland, Scotland, France and North America. Its portfolio, rooted in heritage and provenance, embodies Pernod Ricard’s commitment to excellence from Premium to Ultra-Prestige, delivering some of the world’s most celebrated and enduring spirits and champagnes.
Pernod Ricard’s Crystal Brand Unit manages the Group’s clear spirits and ready-to-drink (RTD) portfolio of premium vodka, tequila, mezcal, rum, liqueurs, gin, aperitifs and RTDs. The global portfolio brings together a collection of vibrant, mixable, premium and ultra-premium brands. These include Absolut Vodka, the world’s number one premium vodka; Beefeater, the world’s most awarded gin; Malibu, the leading flavoured rum; Kahlúa, the world’s top coffee liqueur; and Lillet, the internationally renowned aperitif. The portfolio also features agave spirits, such as the award-winning Altos tequila and highly acclaimed craft gins like Monkey 47. We aim to shape modern drinks culture with bold, creative brands that reflect Pernod Ricard’s commitment to excellence, offering some of the world’s most celebrated and enduring spirits, liqueurs and aperitifs.
Your unique contribution
Join Pernod Ricard on its ambitious transformation journey as Head of Change for the Gold and Crystal Brand Units. This is a dual-mandate role sitting at the heart of Gold and Crystal BU Transformation, combining hands-on SAP readiness leadership with strategic change management across both Brand Units.
The role has two core pillars:
1. ERP Readiness (Gold BU)
Lead change readiness activities for the LEAP SAP S/4HANA implementation in the Gold Brand Unit, ensuring people, processes, and the organisation are prepared for go-live and beyond.
2. BU Change Strategy (Gold & Crystal)
Define and deliver a holistic change management strategy across both Brand Units, leveraging Pernod Ricard’s global change frameworks, tools, and methodologies.
About LEAP
LEAP is Pernod Ricard’s flagship global transformation programme, bringing together business leaders and functional experts to reshape the way we operate. Through the implementation of SAP S/4HANA and a harmonised global data model, LEAP will establish a common business language and standardised processes - enabling greater transparency, collaboration, and data-driven decision-making across the organisation.
As Head of Change, you will play a pivotal role in the Gold BU’s journey towards LEAP go-live, while simultaneously shaping the broader change agenda that will sustain transformation momentum across both Brand Units.
The key responsibilities within this role will be:
Leap Readiness: Gold Brand Unit
-
Change Readiness Planning: Own and drive the end-to-end change readiness workstream for the Gold BU LEAP implementation, working in close partnership with the HQ Deployment team, programme leadership, and affiliate stakeholders
-
Impact Assessment: Conduct thorough change impact assessments across Gold BU affiliates, identifying people, process, and organisational risks and developing mitigation plans
-
Cutover and Adoption Readiness: Lead readiness tracking and reporting through to go-live, including cutover preparation, hypercare planning, and post-go-live adoption monitoring
-
Stakeholder and Sponsor Engagement: Build and maintain strong relationships with Gold BU ExCom sponsors, affiliate leads, and functional owners to drive active sponsorship and visible leadership of the change
-
Training and Enablement: Partner with the global training workstream to ensure training programmes are locally relevant and user groups in the Gold BU are equipped and confident in new processes and systems.
BU Change Strategy: Gold & Crystal Brand Units
-
Change Strategy Definition: Develop and own an integrated change strategy across both Brand Units, aligned to global Change frameworks and the broader Pernod Ricard transformation agenda.
-
Framework and Methodology Deployment: Embed global change management frameworks and tools within the BU teams, building a consistent and scalable approach to change across both BUs
-
Change Network and Capability Building: Establish and lead a network of change champions and local change relays across both Brand Units, developing internal capability and embedding a culture of change readiness
-
Communications and Engagement: Design and execute targeted communication plans that keep BU leadership, affiliates, and functional teams informed, engaged, and motivated throughout the transformation journey
-
Measurement and Continuous Improvement: Define success metrics for change management effectiveness; monitor, evaluate, and adapt approaches based on data, feedback, and lessons learned across the BU portfolio
-
Transformation Steering Support: Contribute to BU Transformation Steering Committees with structured change progress updates, risk escalations, and recommendations for senior leadership
Your blend of talent
This position could be right for you if you have:
Experience
-
Minimum 8 years’ experience in change management, with a significant portion in large-scale global ERP or digital transformation programmes
-
Proven track record of leading change readiness for SAP implementations (S/4HANA experience strongly preferred)
-
Experience working within a complex, matrixed global organisation; FMCG or spirits/consumer goods sector experience is an advantage
-
Familiarity with global change management frameworks (e.g. Prosci/ADKAR, Kotter, or equivalent) and the ability to adapt and apply them pragmatically
-
Experience working with and influencing senior stakeholders up to ExCom level
Skills & Capabilities
-
Strong strategic thinking: able to define a change vision and translate it into a practical, deliverable roadmap
-
Excellent stakeholder engagement and communication skills — credible, clear, and compelling at all levels
-
Highly collaborative; able to partner effectively across BU, affiliate, and global HQ teams
-
Structured and organised, with the ability to manage multiple workstreams and competing priorities simultaneously
-
Confident in data and reporting: able to develop clear dashboards, progress trackers, and executive-level communications
-
Proficiency in MS Office Suite, including high-quality PowerPoint presentation development
-
Fluency in English; French language skills are advantageous
Our mix of benefits
For your health, we offer private medical insurance, critical illness cover and an optional healthcare cash plan and dental insurance. Our lifestyle benefits options include 28 days’ annual holiday, your employee pension, share incentive plan, family care, season ticket loans, free mortgage advice, payroll giving and more!
You can access lots of gifts & discounts, including an allowance each year to spend on our brands in our staff shop and employee discounts from a range of high street retailers. We have regular events in our very own office bar, employee-run networks, a culture of flexibility and trust and a variety of tools and resources to help you focus on your wellbeing and mental fitness.
Conviviality: the Pernod Ricard Way
We have our own way of doing things. We call it conviviality! It’s our way of being, and something unique you feel and experience when working for Pernod Ricard.
We’re committed to conviviality, and with this, you’ll be Proud to Belong to our Pernod Ricard family. You’ll be Empowered to Perform, supported to succeed, and acknowledged for the value you bring.
We combine all this with our Commitment to Care: we are unlocking the magic of human connection to transform our industry and make a positive impact on the world though our strong focus on sustainability and responsibility.
We’re committed to diversity and inclusion
People are at the heart of everything we do at Pernod Ricard and are the foundation of our collective spirit as ‘Créateurs de Convivialité’. We promote diversity and inclusion throughout our business and supply chain. In our teams, we proactively foster a diverse work force and an inclusive culture – an environment where we can truly be ourselves.
We will assess your application for this role based on your skills, experiences and achievements, not your gender, age, ethnic or educational background or any other such factors. Please feel free to leave these off your CV and application form if you so wish. Similarly, if you would like to discuss opportunities for flexible working or require accommodations or support to complete our application process, please let us know.
Responsible drinking
As ‘Créateurs de convivialité’, we want to turn social interactions into genuine and friendly experiences of sharing and wellbeing.
In our culture, we want to create diverse teams in which our differences contribute to our success. Therefore, all are welcome at Pernod Ricard, regardless of your religious beliefs or personal choices on the consumption of alcohol.
In our business, we work together with industry members, civil society, governments, local authorities and UN bodies to promote responsible drinking.
Job Posting End Date:
2026-09-04
Target Hire Date:
2026-10-01
Target End Date:
Sign up to apply and find out right away if you're a fit.
Is this role right for you?
Your agent will tell you — in seconds.
Sign up and I'll tell you right away how well Pernod Ricard matches you — what you already have, and what's missing. Then I stay on it: I search for you and only write when I find something worth your time.