Managing Director

Inspire11•Chicago, IL

3h•$185,000 - $250,000

About The Position

A Managing Director is a business leader first. You are accountable for building and running a meaningful slice of the firm, usually a Service Line, portfolio of accounts, or a major capability area. You own growth, margin, delivery quality, and leadership culture. This role sits at the intersection of market, client, and talent. You set direction, create commercial momentum, ensure delivery excellence, and develop leaders who can scale the business beyond you. Success in this role requires strong judgment, high standards, and the ability to operate across three time horizons at once: this quarter’s results, next year’s pipeline, and the multi-year build of capability and leadership depth.

Requirements

12–15+ years in consulting, professional services, or equivalent leadership roles
Demonstrated ownership of revenue growth, margin, and forecasting
Track record of winning and expanding executive relationships
Experience leading senior leaders and scaling teams
Strong understanding of delivery economics: pricing, staffing mix, utilization, margin levers
High-confidence executive communication and presence
Ability to make clear calls with imperfect information

Responsibilities

Own a revenue and margin target and deliver against it with disciplined forecasting
Build and maintain a healthy pipeline across existing clients and new logo pursuits
Lead complex pursuits-- qualification, deal strategy, pricing, staffing model, and close
Develop account expansion strategies that move relationships from project-based to partnership-based
Translate market signals into clear offerings, packaging, and positioning
Partner with Sales on territory strategy, win themes, and consistent pipeline hygiene
Drive a culture where business development is a normal leadership behavior, not a separate department
Serve as executive sponsor for priority accounts, ensuring senior access and long-term health
Build C-suite relationships rooted in outcomes, not activity
Hold a high bar on delivery quality, clarity of scope, and measurable impact
Identify and correct risk early: scope creep, misaligned expectations, delivery drift, or team breakdown
Step in when needed to reset a client relationship, renegotiate scope, or re-staff for success
Ensure the firm consistently brings points of view, not just delivery capacity
Establish delivery standards and enforce them consistently across engagements
Ensure engagements have clear goals, a sound plan, disciplined governance, and visible outcomes
Build repeatable models for staffing, estimation, and quality control
Drive strong engagement leadership habits: stakeholder management, transparency, and escalation
Oversee the health of the portfolio, not just individual engagements
Ensure delivery performance ties back to margin and client satisfaction, not just “getting it done”
Lead and develop senior leaders (Directors, Principals, Engagement Leads, Capability Leads)
Set expectations for leadership behaviors, coaching discipline, and performance management rigor
Own succession planning for key roles and critical accounts
Partner with HR and Recruiting on workforce planning tied to pipeline and capability strategy
Make decisive calls on performance, promotion readiness, and role fit
Ensure the talent system is fair, consistent, and tied to measurable impact
Build a culture of direct feedback, high standards, and follow-through
Define strategic priorities for the Service Line or portfolio: where to play and how to win
Evolve offerings based on client demand, delivery learnings, and competitor movement
Build reusable assets: playbooks, accelerators, training paths, and delivery patterns
Invest in capability depth: expertise, thought leadership, and delivery quality at scale
Drive cross-Service Line collaboration to sell and deliver integrated work
Maintain a clear point of view on the market and communicate it internally and externally
Own forecasting accuracy, staffing health, utilization balance, and margin management
Ensure strong operating cadence: pipeline reviews, account reviews, portfolio health checks
Identify constraints early: skill gaps, staffing shortages, capacity risk, underperforming accounts
Ensure compliance with internal policies and client requirements
Partner with Finance on pricing guardrails, margin targets, and performance reporting
Make tradeoffs explicitly and communicate them clearly to leadership

Benefits

Full-time employees are eligible for the following contributory benefits, where premiums are partially paid by the Company and partially by the employee: Medical insurance plans, Dental insurance plans, and Vision insurance plans.
Full-time employees are eligible for the following benefits provided wholly by the Company: Short-term disability, providing for a benefit of 60% of an employee’s salary up to a maximum of $2,000 per week for up to 11 weeks after a 7-day waiting period; Long-term disability, providing for 60% of an employee’s salary up to a maximum of $10,000 per month for the time period from the 91st day after a qualifying event through the earlier of the end of the disability or age 67; Life insurance, providing for a benefit of two times the employee’s annual salary, up to a maximum payout of $400,000; A connectivity stipend of $325 annually; Employee Assistance Program, providing for confidential counseling sessions, 24-hour crisis support, online peer support groups, skills training, behavioral health coaching, initial free legal consultations (and discounted rates on referred lawyers), online legal forms, assistance with eldercare and parenting services, among other things.
Full-time employees are also eligible to participate in the Company’s 401(k) plan, which allows employees to contribute to a standard or Roth IRA. According to a vesting schedule, the Company matches 100% of employee contributions up to 3% of an employee’s salary.
Depending on eligibility and their elections, full-time employees may also have access to certain tax-advantaged savings accounts set up through the Company, into which employees contribute withheld funds: Flexible savings accounts Limited-purpose flexible savings accounts Healthcare savings accounts Dependent care savings accounts Commuter benefit accounts
Inspire11 grants all eligible employees any statutory leave required by federal, Illinois, or other applicable law, such as FMLA, bereavement, sick leave, emergency leave, jury duty or witness leave, and VESSA leave.
In addition, Inspire11 has a self-managed paid time off policy (PTO) that does not set predetermined upper limits on the amount of PTO an employee may take. All PTO must be requested in advance and approved by the appropriate supervisor to ensure client work can continue. All full-time employees are expected to take a minimum of one week of PTO each year.
Inspire11 offers paid parental leave to full-time employees who have been with the company for at least one year. Birthing parents are eligible for up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave, while non-birthing parents are eligible for up to 6 weeks. Short-term disability (STD) benefits are also provided following childbirth. When combined with PTO and STD, birthing parents may receive a total of 18–20 weeks of paid leave. Lastly, Inspire11 has eight paid holidays.
Impact to 11: a charitable giving matching program where, after being employed by Inspire11 for a year, employees may request that a qualifying charity receive up to $500 in matching donations each year.
Professional development benefits for qualifying employees: a program allowing for reimbursement of certain course materials and costs on a discretionary basis for employees who have been at Inspire11 for at least 6 months, with supervisor’s approval.
Regular gifts of Inspire11 clothes, office items, and swag.