Senior Managing Director, Joint Ventures & Partnerships

Ankura•Washington, DC

About The Position

Ankura’s Joint Ventures & Partnerships (JVP) practice advises companies on using collaboration to achieve business outcomes. It helps clients structure, launch, govern, improve, restructure, and exit joint ventures, strategic alliances, consortia, ecosystems, and other partnerships. The practice serves boards, CEOs, corporate development leaders, business executives, and JV management teams, drawing on specialist experience, proprietary data and benchmarks, and Ankura’s broader capabilities. JVP sits within Ankura’s Performance Improvement team and works alongside M&A advisory, value creation, and related services. The Senior Managing Director is an executive-level leader responsible for originating, leading, and delivering advisory engagements involving business collaborations. The successful candidate will help drive the next phase of JVP’s growth, either by building and leading an offering in an adjacent partnership area or by expanding the practice’s transaction advisory capabilities. The role provides access to an established specialist team, client relationships, credentials, data, benchmarks, and thought leadership. The role includes developing a sustainable pipeline and delivering $2.5 million–$5 million in revenue within 12 months, with at least half related to joint ventures, partnerships, consortia, alliances, or other forms of collaboration. The remainder may come from M&A or other adjacent Performance Improvement work. The Senior Managing Director will advise clients across partnership strategy, partner selection, transaction structuring and negotiation, launch, governance, operating models, portfolio management, performance improvement, restructuring, and exit. They will also build and develop the team, collaborate across Ankura practices, strengthen market visibility, and help shape JVP’s strategy, capabilities, talent, and market position. Travel may be required, including internationally.

Requirements

At least 15 years of relevant consulting, advisory, corporate development, alliance management, transaction, or operating experience.
Substantial experience advising on or leading joint ventures, strategic alliances, partnerships, consortia, or related collaboration models for middle-market through Fortune 500 companies.
Demonstrated ability to personally originate, sell, and expand significant advisory engagements with senior executives.
A portable network of executive-level client relationships and credible near-term revenue opportunities.
A substantial share of recent engagements focused on JVs, alliances, or other partnerships.
Deep understanding of partnership structuring, governance, operating models, and/or the practical execution of partnership arrangements.
Track record of building or scaling a team, capability, offering, or market position.
Collaborative and entrepreneurial leadership style suited to both a close-knit specialist team and a broader multidisciplinary advisory platform.
Excellent written and oral communication skills to drive top-line growth through an established referral network, and ability to coordinate and deliver Ankura services to new and existing clients.
Ability to travel as needed, including internationally.
Must be legally authorized to work in the United States without employer sponsorship now or at any time in the future.

Nice To Haves

Senior role at a strategy consulting firm, Big 4 or advisory firm, or specialist JV/alliance advisory firm.
Experience serving clients in partnership-intensive sectors such as energy and natural resources, power, healthcare and life sciences, technology, aerospace and defense, automotive, industrials, infrastructure, real estate, or financial services.
Published thought leadership or a visible profile in partnership circles, such as the Association of Strategic Alliance Professionals.
Experience expanding an offering into new sectors, buyer groups, or geographic markets.
Demonstrated ability to collaborate across practices and convert adjacent client relationships into multidisciplinary engagements.

Responsibilities

Originate and close advisory engagements with senior executives at corporations, joint ventures, private capital firms, and other partnership-reliant organizations.
Develop and manage a sustainable pipeline of revenue opportunities using personal relationships and JVP’s and Ankura’s existing clients and market presence.
Deliver $2.5 million–$5 million within 12 months, with at least 50% of revenue related to JVs, partnerships, consortia, alliances, or other forms of collaboration.
Build and lead a differentiated offering within JVP, or deepen and lead JVP’s transaction advisory capabilities, including service design, intellectual capital, market positioning, and go-to-market strategy.
Advise clients on partnership strategy, partner selection, deal structuring and negotiation, Day 1 launch, governance, operating models, alliance and portfolio management, performance improvement, restructuring, and exit.
Staff and develop JVP team members on originated engagements and mentor the team in business development to increase sales pull-through.
Collaborate with M&A advisory, value creation, and other Ankura teams on cross-practice opportunities.
Strengthen JVP’s market visibility through thought leadership, executive roundtables, and industry relationships.
Help shape the strategy, capabilities, talent, and market position of the JVP practice as a senior member of its leadership team.
Travel as needed, including internationally.