Manager - Strategy at American Institute of Certified Public Accountants in Durham, North Carolina

Job Description:

About The Association

Combining the strengths of the American Institute of CPAs and the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, we empower the world’s most highly-skilled accountants – CPAs and CGMA designation holders – with the knowledge, insight and foresight to meet today’s demands and tomorrow’s challenges. We drive a dynamic accounting profession that works every day to build trust, create opportunity and grow prosperity worldwide.

ABOUT THE STRATEGY TEAM

While the term “strategy” can be applied to various functional roles in an organization (e.g., product strategy, marketing strategy), our corporate strategy team focuses on broad, global business objectives, such as new market entry, the future of our profession, and long-term growth and sustainability.  They act as internal consultants, partnering with various teams within the organization to drive forward these long-term strategic plans.

If you are passionate about growing your corporate strategy experience in a dynamic, global organization we look forward to receiving your application!

ABOUT THE ROLE

We are seeking applicants who have a strong background in Corporate Strategy and/or Management Consulting, working with leaders and stakeholders on broad business challenges.

You will be working alongside a small team of strategy & corporate development professionals, executives, and business leaders representing various business units from around the world to help solve some of the most critical and complex challenges in the organization.  You will also be leading the direction of the organization by developing and measuring progress on the Association's strategic plan.  You will typically be supporting one core engagement at a time, while contributing to ad hoc requests and ongoing efforts to improve our strategy & corporate development capabilities.  All-the-while, you will be expanding your personal knowledge base, broadening your exposure to business challenges, and becoming a trusted resource for the organization. 

The challenges you will be tackling will change roughly every 3-6 months as you engage on new projects.  Considering the global nature of our business coupled with the critical nature of the projects you will be working on, it will be necessary to have a highly flexible schedule and/or work extended hours from time to time.  We aim to keep the hours within an 8:00 am to 6:00 pm range, but that will vary day-to-day based on the requirements of each engagement. 

ABOUT YOU

We have found team members who are most successful in this role share a few key characteristics:

• Willing to challenge the status quo


• Naturally curious and open to new ideas


• Confident


• Adaptable and comfortable with ambiguity

WHAT YOU'LL DO (ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES)

• Work with your team leadership to shape strategic direction for the organization, working on some of the highest impact and most visible projects in the organization targeted at helping the organization achieve its aim


• Support various work streams within projects, while working on internal consulting teams, including collaborating with other internal teams to identify key strategic opportunities, act upon competitive and market forces, and seize new business opportunities to drive growth and eminence. 


• Engage with key internal leaders, members of the Association, and third parties to understand the market risks and opportunities, develop strategic conclusions, identify key initiatives, and drive alignment to the overall strategy


• Work on recurring strategic planning & reporting related activities about 25-35% of the time and internal strategy consulting engagements about 65-75% of the time.


• Build and maintain relationships with business unit leaders and their teams to help develop the strategies

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES

You must possess a strong set of core skills to quickly engage and add value to the business.  You don't have to be expertly skilled in every area; however, you should be strong in most of them. 

Make sense of the complex

• Proven ability to structure ambiguous business problems through sound logic, critical thinking, and the use of strategy and consulting frameworks


• Proven ability to dissect problems into manageable pieces and develop framing questions for how to solve them.


• Proven ability to develop and test hypotheses using qualitative and quantitative research and analysis


• Proven ability to perform primary and secondary research, identify relevant information, and distill insights from large sets of unstructured data


• Ability to develop and analyze financial and risk models


• Ability to translate logic and insights into actionable recommendations

Communicate Effectively

• Strong oral and written communication skills, including the ability to effectively present to stakeholders and leaders across various cultures within a global environment.


• Ability and desire to develop and maintain collaborative relationships with colleagues, teams, members, and staff at all levels of the organization.

Technology Skills

• Advanced level skills in MS PowerPoint


• Advanced level skills in MS Excel, including vlookup, pivot tables, and charting (data visualization skills preferred)


• Strong skills in MS Outlook to manage schedules and email communications


• Strong skills in MS Teams, video-conferencing and other virtual collaboration tools

EXPERIENCE / EDUCATION REQUIRED

• Bachelor's degree in business or related field


• At least 5 years of progressive business experience in corporate strategy or management consulting ​​​​​​​

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EXPERIENCE / EDUCATION PREFERRED

• Master's degree in business administration (MBA)


• 5+ years of experience in corporate strategy and/or top tier consulting firm


• Understanding of membership organizations, business-to-business (B2B) environments, and professional services

TRAVEL

Less than 10%

.Why Work for Us?

At The Association, you are part of a global, diverse and talented group of colleagues. You have opportunities to innovate and collaborate in a leading organization that impacts individuals and businesses. You’ll have opportunities to progress while enjoying an exciting work environment that supports and celebrates individual achievement, development and professional satisfaction.

Together, we will lead the most influential body of professional accountants and create the future of the global accounting profession.

We offer competitive benefits, 401k matching, PTO and holidays, one-week year end company-wide office closure, flexible working principles, Summer Fridays and overall a supportive, collaborative team environment