Director, Performance Improvement

Ankura•Chicago, IL

21h•$85,000 - $200,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Ankura is a team of excellence founded on innovation and growth. Practice Overview Our Performance Improvement practice leads the market in providing extensive industry expertise combined with data-driven, objective, and innovative approaches to the most complex business challenges. We help the world’s most sought-after clients solve problems our competitors can’t. Our significant experience working with companies at critical inflection points in their lifecycles has informed our approach and instilled a sense of urgency in solving problems. Our collaborative, high intensity team works with clients around the globe to build value across the life cycle and accelerate business performance through strategy setting and execution, business and operating model design, acquisition and merger support, market-entry strategy, and channel and product strategy. We connect the sky to the ground by driving strategy into execution. We generate higher performance for clients across every industry sector and functional area working from the shop floor to the C-Suite. If you’re ready to learn and grow your career at an accelerated pace you’ve found the right place, and we’d love to meet you! Role Overview The ideal candidate for this role will be based in Chicago or New York. When not traveling for clients, this role would be working in a dynamic office environment 3-4 days per week (hybrid).

Requirements

The ideal candidate will bring a minimum of 5 years of relevant consulting and line management experience focused in one or more of the following areas:
Merchandising & Category Management
Sales & Marketing effectiveness, processes, incentives
Distribution & Logistics, Network Modeling
Manufacturing and Contract Manufacturing
Direct & Indirect Procurement
SG&A cost reduction
M&A: Divestitures/Carve-Outs and Integration
An undergraduate degree from a top academic institution with a strong GPA
Advanced degree(s) and applicable professional certification(s) are preferred
Intense curiosity and a relentless hunger toward lifetime learning
Ability and willingness to travel is required
Willingness to work at times, long hours during the week and on weekends due to client demands may be necessary
Experience with analytical tools and financial analyses that show a proper understanding of competing needs (timing, flexibility, detail, risk) with limited direction
Experience with Excel modeling
Identifies and articulates opportunities for more advanced analytic approaches outside of basic Excel
Demonstrates ability to contribute to identification of key issues
Able to understand concepts of data patterns and trends
Exhibits critical thinking and problem-solving capability
Demonstrates ability to synthesize analysis and draw conclusions

Responsibilities

Rapidly understand client data and operations
Work directly with Client to obtain relevant data
Lead executive interviews to understand complex company operations concepts
Understands various operating concepts informed by prior experience (i.e. pattern match to what you’ve seen before) and able to clearly articulate those early views to others
Lead teams through often complex analyses:
Independently develop understanding of analytic tools including and outside of Excel to bring an experienced/informed view on how to structure required analyses
Bring your top insights to independently identify patterns in complex data and drive hypotheses
Independently disaggregate complex problems into simpler parts
Critique and provide guidance on complex analyses developed by your delivery teams
Demonstrates clear understanding of different workstreams
Helps to set priorities across multiple work streams
Independently identify patterns in complex data and drive hypotheses
Develop executable recommendations into high quality deliverables and present to client:
Actively challenges assumptions and hypotheses
Analyzes risks to existing or proposed operations
Understands key elements of advisory consulting
Coordinates with team on schedules to meet agreed upon deadlines
Identifies key milestones and manages accordingly
Directly manages work of Associates and Senior Associates
Lays out an effective approach to a presentation with guidance from more senior teammates
Prepares full decks and presents sections of a report both internally and to clients
Presents effectively to C Suite level clients and other professionals related to basic and moderately complex analyses/issues
Handles client interactions at multiple levels
Provides guidance and feedback to early career professionals
Maintains constant communications with senior professionals to ensure coordination of activities and manage expectations