Core Strategy & Process Improvement - Associate
Strategy & Process Improvement (S&PI) is a dedicated internal consulting group with a mandate to lead critical strategic transformation efforts focused on the Firm’s most urgent needs. Key objectives include helping front-office businesses (e.g., Banking teams) as well as internal functions (e.g., Operations, Finance, and Risk) make decisions that result in more efficient processes, greater client impact, and an improved bottom line. The group is approximately 100 consultants divided into central (Core S&PI), functionally-aligned (Global Technology S&PI, Corporate Location Strategy), and business-aligned (Asset Management S&PI, Consumer & Community Banking S&PI, and Commercial Banking S&PI) teams. Typical S&PI engagements (not exhaustive) include:
- Operations Strategy
- Strategic Planning
- Operating Models
- Organization Design & Governance
- Business/Function Transformation
- Capability Build-out
S&PI follows a hypothesis-driven, fact-based approach to problem-solving. The ability to solve critical business problems along with the diversity and backgrounds of individuals distinguish S&PI from other areas of the Firm. Typical project teams are comprised of 2 to 6 members, most of whom are former management consultants from top consulting firms (McKinsey, BCG, Strategy&, etc.). Projects are usually 4 to 16 weeks long, depending on complexity and scope.
Responsibilities:
Thought Leadership
- “Own” significant pieces of an entire workstream, identifying qualitative and quantitative analyses required and executing on them with little oversight
- Partner with project team members to develop frameworks and insights to address key process improvement, organizational change, and functional strategy development efforts
- Work with others to identify major issues and actionable opportunities, design solutions, and quantify potential bottom-line financial impact across portions of a workstream
- Synthesize impactful findings, develop recommendations, and help present recommendations to senior management
Client Leadership
- Lead select client interviews / working sessions to gather baseline information; independently requests needed information and follows up with clients
- Deliver client presentations, focusing on “so-whats” not just analyses; answer questions clearly
- Build trusted advisor relationships with key client stakeholders
Team Leadership
- Lead one or more workstreams, potentially including managing analysts; escalates issues and risks with proposed solutions
- Develop junior team members informally, including serving as a mentor
Qualifications
- 1-3 years consulting experience with a top-tier management consulting firm or an internal consulting / corporate strategy team
- Strong problem-solving skills as well as client management and executive-level communication skills
- Ability to take ownership of tasks and manage most elements of an entire workstream
- Financial services background is preferred, but not mandatory