The pathway
How you actually get there, here
How you become one varies far more by country than what one does. This is the UK route. Most people take one of these ways in; the right one depends on where you're starting from.
- 1
Change Analyst
1-2 yearsSkills to master
- Mastering data collection, basic communications drafting, stakeholder list management, and supporting workshops. Essentially, executing tasks under close supervision.
You're ready to move on when
- Consistently delivering high-quality outputs on time.
- Proactively identifying minor issues and suggesting solutions.
- Building good working relationships with immediate team members.
- Showing a keen interest in understanding the 'why' behind change activities.
- 2
Project Coordinator / Project Support Officer
2-3 yearsSkills to master
- Strong organisational skills, managing project schedules, coordinating resources, and communicating project updates. You'd need to shift your focus to the 'people' side of projects.
You're ready to move on when
- Demonstrating strong ownership of project tasks.
- Showing initiative in identifying and resolving project roadblocks.
- Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills within a project context.
- A desire to move beyond purely logistical project tasks to human-centric challenges.
- 3
Business Analyst (with a 'people' focus)
2-4 yearsSkills to master
- Process mapping, requirements gathering, and understanding system functionality. You'd need to develop stronger skills in communications, stakeholder engagement, and resistance management.
You're ready to move on when
- Excellent analytical and problem-solving abilities.
- A natural ability to translate technical details into business impact.
- Strong desire to work with people and help them adopt new processes/systems.
- Experience in facilitating workshops to gather requirements or design solutions.