Organisational Development Associate

Job Description

Organisational Development Associate | Canonical

The Tone:
This is an early career role at Canonical, available remotely across EMEA and the Americas. Canonical is a leading provider of open source software and operating systems, building the Ubuntu platform which is widely used in areas like public cloud, data science, AI, and IoT. This role is crucial for developing and implementing high standards of management and leadership across the company, enabling early-career individuals to drive impactful organizational change from day one. It is a path for driven individuals to grow rapidly in organisational development, not a support or generalist HR position.

The TL;DR
• Role: Early Career
• Type: Full-time
• Location: Remote EMEA and the Americas

• Team: Talent Development team (focused on leaders and managers)
• Mission: To define and implement excellent management standards across Canonical through direct team engagement and systemic improvements.

What You’ll Actually Do
• Team Integration: Embed within a real team to observe daily operations and identify areas for improvement.
• Performance Diagnostics: Conduct diagnostic assessments of team health and management effectiveness, interpreting evidence into clear reads.
• Improvement Ownership: Design, drive, and implement concrete changes to team functionality from end to end, with senior practitioner guidance.
• Feedback Support: Assist managers in delivering effective 360 performance feedback and ensuring individuals commit to and follow through on actions.
• System Building: Contribute to developing the function’s playbook, including standards, tools, and shared language for organizational use.

The Must-Haves
• Background: Bachelor’s Degree from a strong academic track record, with a deliberate pull towards developing people and organisations, grounded in organisational or industrial psychology, behavioural science, or a comparable basis. Career level: Early-career.
• Experience: Up to two years of experience since graduating, demonstrating a track record of leading, organising, and driving change in various settings.
• Skills: Business level written and spoken English; highly organised, accurate, confident, authentic, results-oriented, and enthusiastic; possesses the presence to confidently discuss change with experienced individuals.
• Bonus: Exposure to people, organisational, coaching, or consulting work (through study, internship, or first job); genuine interest in the craft of management and organisations; comfort working with data.