Manager Corporate Strategy

Ulta Beauty, Inc.•Bolingbrook, IL

2d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Corporate Strategy team is responsible for developing the enterprise strategy and long-term vision for Ulta and identifying, evaluating and executing new growth opportunities and strategic initiatives. The Manager, Corporate Strategy will be responsible for working with the team to lead targeted strategic efforts with enterprise and functional leaders. These efforts will include driving the long-term and annual strategic planning processes, supporting problem solving and opportunity evaluation, performing strategic and financial analysis, visioning and creating business cases and executing efforts to develop high potential strategic opportunities with excellence. Because the work involves close partnership with cross-functional leaders, this individual will also support facilitation and alignment to key strategic decisions and serve as a thought partner to leadership at a senior level, including the C-suite. Further, the individual in this role should have strong ability to structure problems and be comfortable developing approaches to frame ambiguous business issues. This individual will also drive the beauty market assessment and / or competitive intelligence for the enterprise, including supporting structuring and execution of the comprehensive monitoring and codification of the competitive landscape, tracking and forecasting the beauty market, and assessing dynamics and shifts in competitors’ strategies, connecting it back to our enterprise strategy. This individual will blend strong analytical capabilities with a strategic mindset and the drive to deliver impact with excellence. Position is located at corporate offices in Bolingbrook, IL (Hybrid work schedule – approx. 6 days in office per month)

Requirements

6+ years of professional experience in Strategy, Finance or Marketing
At least 2 years of consulting experience at a top-tier management consulting firm strongly preferred
BA/BS required
Experience in retail or consumer goods preferred
Strategic mindset with the capability to think broadly, support and facilitate the development and implementation of winning strategies at the enterprise level
Demonstrated ability to structure and solve ambiguous, complex business problems, developing clear hypotheses, frameworks, and recommendations with limited direction
Strong financial and business acumen, including experience developing business cases, evaluating growth opportunities, and assessing strategic and financial trade-offs
Experience developing executive- and Board-level materials, with the ability to synthesize complex analyses into concise, compelling narratives and recommendations
Demonstrated ability to manage multiple high priority workstreams, balancing strategic thinking with attention to detail and high-quality execution
Strong external orientation and intellectual curiosity, with the ability to identify relevant consumer, competitive, technological, and industry shifts and translate them into implications for the enterprise
Experience conducting market sizing, competitive analysis, and/or scenario development to inform strategic decisions
Strong written and verbal communication skills, with strong executive presence and the ability to synthesize and communicate complex information into clear, compelling narratives and recommendations for senior leadership
Highly collaborative and team-oriented with a coachable, positive attitude with the ability to build trusted relationships and contribute effectively across teams and levels of the organization
Innate inquisitiveness and ability to challenge the status-quo – driving the enterprise to think differently, bringing fresh perspectives and encouraging the enterprise to think differently about opportunities, challenges, and potential solutions
Strong results orientation and sense of ownership, with a desire to translate strategic thinking and organizational effort into measurable business impact and bottom-line results

Nice To Haves

MBA from top-tier program preferred

Responsibilities

Support the long-term and annual strategic planning processes with the Corporate Strategy team, including building the enterprise long-term strategy and new growth opportunities
Collaborate with Corporate Strategy, Finance, and Investor Relations to translate our long-term strategy and build our investor narrative for Investor Day
Structure problems and develop frameworks and approaches to address complex, cross-functional and ambiguous business issues
Work with cross-functional teams including Retail Ops, Digital, Merchandising Strategy and others, on initiatives to assess strategic opportunities, leveraging strategic, analytical, and financial frameworks
Support market and competitive intelligence for both the enterprise and specific functional areas – bring an analytical mindset to strengthen our understanding of the market and competitive landscape through data-driven and forward-looking insights
Develop Board and executive level presentations articulating Ulta Beauty’s strategy and growth opportunities and facilitate Executive Team workshops on strategic topics
Define and bring forward creative, out-of-the-box thinking to identify white space opportunities for new growth – assess and articulate the strategic rationale, grounded in data-driven insights, in support of enterprise-wide strategic plan
Work and expand network and reach cross-functionally to identify strategic priorities throughout the organization
Excel in all areas of strategy development at the Manager level, including problem structuring and solving, business analysis, project management, and verbal and written communication
Facilitate and support discussions with Ulta’s senior leadership, demonstrating subject matter expertise and ability to move work forward effectively
Connect the dots across the organization to ensure effectiveness of work throughout the enterprise, and understand when to seek guidance
Understand Ulta Beauty’s business and possess a deep understanding of the market in which we operate, as well as key competitors