Principal, Competitive Strat & Insights

eBay•Toronto, ON

2d•CA$142,000 - CA$189,600

About The Position

The Global Competitive Strategy & Insights team serves as the strategic intelligence hub for eBay's executive leadership. We deliver high-impact, forward-looking insights that guide eBay’s senior leaders through an evolving global commerce landscape. Partnering closely with global category verticals, horizontal product initiatives, finance, and corporate strategy teams, we connect macro market data, competitive intelligence, customer/seller behavior, and deep financial modeling into clear, actionable perspectives. Our work directly informs enterprise-level strategic choices, capital allocation, and long-term growth trajectories. Principal, Competitive Strategy & Insights is a senior strategic leadership role responsible for shaping eBay’s perspective on the global competitive landscape and directly influencing the company’s highest-priority growth, investment, and operating decisions. Operating with high autonomy, you will define the competitive intelligence agenda and market strategy across key strategic categories and enterprise priorities. You will architect high-visibility engagements, establish analytical and storytelling benchmarks, and serve as a trusted thought partner to Vice Presidents, General Managers, and executive leadership. This is a player-coach position designed for an exceptional strategist who blends high-level executive presence and strategic vision with hands-on analytical rigor.

Requirements

12+ years of progressive experience in management consulting, corporate strategy, competitive intelligence, or strategic insights within a global technology, e-commerce, or retail environment.
Demonstrated Track Record: Proven experience leading enterprise-level strategy initiatives and directly advising/influencing VP+ executive teams.
Analytical Mastery: Advanced financial modeling, market sizing, and quantitative analysis skills with experience evaluating business performance, unit economics, and strategic choices.
Executive Presence: Exceptional written, verbal, and visual communication skills, with a demonstrated ability to simplify complex topics for C-suite audiences (Advanced Excel & PowerPoint mastery required).
Strategic Autonomy: Proven ability to structure, execute, and deliver results on highly ambiguous, open-ended business problems with minimal direction.

Nice To Haves

Top-tier management consulting experience (e.g., MBB or Tier-1 strategy firms) strongly preferred.
MBA or advanced degree in Business, Economics, Finance, or a related quantitative field.
Hands-on experience leveraging Generative AI workflows for insights synthesis, competitive monitoring, and productivity.
SQL experience is a plus, or a strong willingness to learn basic data querying skills, alongside familiarity with data visualization tools (e.g., Tableau, PowerBI).
Deep familiarity with two-sided marketplace dynamics, global e-commerce, digital advertising, or logistics ecosystems.

Responsibilities

Define the Strategic Agenda: Establish and lead the competitive strategy roadmap for eBay’s highest-priority verticals, initiatives, and corporate-level strategic choices.
Proactive Threat & Opportunity Framing: Identify emerging competitive disruptions, market moves, and white-space opportunities well before they surface in traditional business metrics.
C-Suite & Executive Influence: Serve as a recognized authority and strategic thought partner to Vice Presidents, GMs, and executive stakeholders, translating ambiguous market signals into clear strategic choices.
Executive Storytelling: Architect compelling, fact-based narratives that synthesize complex quantitative and qualitative data into actionable, executive-ready recommendations.
In-Depth Market & Financial Analysis: Oversee and execute complex market sizing, competitive benchmarking, financial modeling, and scenario planning to evaluate strategic investments and risks.
Scalable Monitoring Systems: Build, refine, and maintain enterprise frameworks to track competitor moves, platform economics, and emerging commerce trends.
Special Strategic Initiatives: Lead confidential, high-visibility special projects on behalf of senior leadership to guide major investment, M&A, or operating decisions.
Matrix Leadership: Navigate organizational complexity to create alignment across Finance, Product, Product Marketing, Vertical, and Regional teams.
Connect Strategic Dots: Synthesize insights across disparate business units to eliminate redundant efforts, identify portfolio-wide implications, and accelerate enterprise decision-making.
Influence Without Authority: Build deep, trust-based relationships across global teams, driving consensus and accountability at all levels of the organization.
Player-Coach Leadership: Directly lead and execute priority workstreams while coaching, mentoring, and setting quality standards for junior/agile team members.
AI & Workflow Automation: Drive the integration of Generative AI tools, advanced data workflows, and automated intelligence gathering to modernize competitive intelligence processes.
Vendor & Agency Governance: Oversee external research vendors and data providers, managing budgets, capabilities roadmaps, and delivery quality to maximize ROI.