Manager - Strategy at Railinc Corp. in Cary, North Carolina

Job Description:

Working together with the Railinc Executive Leadership Team, Product Management, and the Sales team, the Manager, Strategy is responsible for obtaining and evaluating information about freight industry and market trends, competitive threats and possible business opportunities that could create new growth opportunities for Railinc. The successful candidate will have experience in market analysis as well as defining and executing business unit and companywide strategies. The nature of this role enables the successful candidate to explore all facets of Railinc’s business, and through design thinking, provides the freedom to pursue new ideas, bring them to life and test them in the market. In partnership with Railinc executives, the Manager, Strategy will be a leading driver of where and how Railinc grows next.

Primary Functions:

• Develop insights about what is happening in the North American freight rail market and the broader freight ecosystems. Understand how customer needs are changing, who are the key competitors and their strengths and weaknesses, and what new technologies are becoming available that might open up new opportunities for Railinc.


• Develop long-term growth plans and profitability goals and understand where and how Railinc should compete to grow and increase market share.


• Advocate on behalf of customers and have a customer-centric approach.


• Analyze internal and external data (e.g. sales data, market data, etc.) and translate this data into actionable business insights.


• Collaborate across the business units (with Product Managers, Sales, and Development teams) and across the company.

Supporting functions:

• Identify potential product extensions/innovations.


• Assist product teams with financial analysis and market studies.


• Conduct customer research (interviews, surveys, etc.).


• Help support marketing and awareness initiatives.

Values:

Results: We deliver on our promises to create value for the freight rail industry through talented people, good ideas, business leadership, and great technology.

Collaboration: We collaborate with our teams and our customers to get the job done, respecting individual ideas and contributions and moving forward in pursuit of shared goals.

Service: We serve the changing needs of our customers and our industry to enhance the value they bring to our community, the environment and our economy. 

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

• Experience conducting broad and detailed market studies (customer, technology, competitor, etc.).


• Familiar with various strategy frameworks and tools.


• Ability to analyze data and develop business cases.


• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; including presentation skills.


• Strong team player who can build effective working relationships at all levels of organizations.


• Self-starter with a high sense of urgency, self-confidence, and strong interpersonal skills. 

Education & Experience:

• MBA, or related discipline a strong plus (recent graduates are welcome to apply).


• Experience in logistics, supply chain management and/or rail operations a plus.


• Management consulting experience a plus.


• Experience in corporate strategy, market research, or product management a plus.


• Familiarity with Design Thinking tools and methods a plus.

Physical Requirements:

Sedentary work: assignment involves sitting at workstation (desk) most of the time (up to 8 hours) with only occasional walking and/or standing.

Keyboarding: Primarily using fingers for typing.

Talking: Expressing or communicating verbally through use of spoken words (accurately conveying detailed or important spoken instructions to others).

Hearing: Ability to receive detailed information through oral communication and to make discriminations in sound.

Visual: Through close visual acuity, required to perform activities such as:  preparing and analyzing data and figures; transcribing; viewing computer terminal; extensive reading (with or without correction).

Environment:  work is performed within an office setting and therefore no substantial exposure to adverse environmental conditions (i.e. extreme heat, cold, noise, etc.).

Disclaimer – The preceding job description has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work to be performed. It is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications required of employees assigned to this job.  The company reserves the right to change, modify, and/or delete aspects of this position as needed at any time.

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities

The contractor will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor’s legal duty to furnish information. 41 CFR 60-1.35(c)

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