Director of Strategic Planning, ELDS NAM

ABB • Mebane, NC

3d • Remote

About The Position

The Director of Strategic Planning supports the NAM DS Business Line Strategy Leader in executing the division's strategic planning and inorganic growth agenda. This role is a key analytical and research contributor, responsible for gathering market intelligence, building competitive analyses, preparing presentation materials, and assisting on active M&A projects as directed. The Manager works closely with market and product managers, corporate development colleagues, and cross-functional teams, translating data into clear, actionable insights that feed directly into executive-level strategy work. Approximately 75% of the role is focused on strategic research and planning support, with the remaining 25% devoted to M&A project assistance and special initiatives. This role is open to applicants within the US who will work remotely (preference for those within the Eastern and Central time zones).

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Economics, Business Administration, Engineering, or equivalent.
• 10+ years of combined professional experience in corporate strategy, strategic planning, management consulting, investment banking, or related analytical role.
• Demonstrated ability to conduct structured market and competitive research, including market sizing, Marimekko / waterfall chart construction, and industry benchmarking.
• Strong financial acumen with experience building and interpreting financial models and business case analyses.
• Proficient in PowerPoint; ability to build clean, well-structured, data-driven slides suitable for senior management audiences.
• Proficient in AI research tools
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to synthesize complex information into concise summaries.
• Self-starter who can manage workloads and deadlines with minimal supervision while operating effectively in a team environment.
• Candidates must already possess authorization to work for ABB in the US.

Nice To Haves

• Some exposure to M&A research, due diligence, or corporate development activities preferred.
• MBA or Master's degree in Finance, Strategy, or related discipline.
• Management consulting experience at a leading firm.
• Investment banking or corporate development analyst/associate experience.
• Familiarity with electrical products and / or adjacent industrial technology markets.
• Experience with data and analytics tools such as Capital IQ, PitchBook, Tableau, Power BI, or similar research platforms.

Responsibilities

• Lead in conducting external market research on prioritized end markets and segments—including macrotrend identification, market sizing, industry structure analysis, profitability mapping, and channel assessment—to inform divisional strategy.
• Build Marimekko charts, market-sizing models, competitive benchmarks, and other analytical frameworks under the direction of the Business Line Strategy Manager.
• Support the competitive intelligence program by gathering, organizing, and summarizing competitor data (pricing, product positioning, share shifts, strategic announcements) for distribution to relevant stakeholders.
• Assist in the development of strategy presentation materials for executive management, including slide preparation, data visualization, and supporting analysis required for strategy reviews and leadership offsites.
• Conduct desktop research on industry trends, adjacent markets, and emerging technologies to provide the Strategy Planning Manager with timely, well-synthesized inputs.
• Identify, evaluate, maintain, and own research tools, data subscriptions, and market intelligence platforms used by the Strategy & M&A function.
• Support the strategic planning process by tracking action items, updating planning templates, and consolidating inputs from cross-functional stakeholders.
• Conduct research on prospective acquisition targets as directed, compiling target profiles that include business descriptions, strategic fit rationale, competitive positioning, and preliminary financial summaries.
• Coordinate with Business Area team on active M&A processes, including supporting due diligence data gathering, coordinating information flow, and preparing materials for non-binding and binding offer stages.
• Help maintain and update the M&A pipeline tracker, relationship-management tool, and target coverage database.
• Support synergy analysis and integration planning workstreams by gathering data, building supporting models, and tracking progress against milestones as directed.
• Assist with special projects that increase the capability of the Strategy & M&A team, such as implementing new research workflows, tool rollouts, or process improvements.

Benefits

• Health, Life & Disability
• Choice between two medical plan options: A PPO plan called the Copay Plan OR a High Deductible Health Plan (with a Health Savings Account) called the High Deductible Plan.
• Choice between two dental plan options: Core and Core Plus
• Vision benefit
• Company paid life insurance (2X base pay)
• Company paid AD&D (1X base pay)
• Voluntary life and AD&D – 100% employee paid up to maximums
• Short Term Disability – up to 26 weeks – Company paid
• Long Term Disability – 60% of pay – Company paid. Ability to “buy-up” to 66 2/3% of pay.
• Supplemental benefits – 100% employee paid (Accident insurance, hospital indemnity, critical illness, pet insurance
• Paid Parental Leave
• Employee Assistance Program
• Health Advocate support resources for mental/behavioral health, general health navigation and virtual health, and infertility/adoption
• Employee discount program
• 401k Savings Plan with Company Contributions
• Employee Stock Acquisition Plan (ESAP)
• 11 paid holidays.
• Vacation under a permissive time away policy.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior