Strategy & Operations Consultant
The S&O Consultant
collaborates with senior executives leading either a client account team, practice area, or industry vertical (collectively referred to as spaces). In this role, you will be a critical contributor to the space you support. You will work with leaders to prioritize and drive key space initiatives and create the structure and processes that enable the space to achieve its vision, strategy, and key milestones.
S&O professionals are key connectors with broad visibility across the space, building collaborative relationships within the space and across ZS to enhance efficiency. This involves providing strategic and operational support across 8 dimensions: 1) Space Management & Operations, 2) Strategic Planning & Enablement, 3) Investment Budget Planning & Optimization, 4) ZS-Client Working Model Strategy and Management, 5) External Engagement & Thought Leadership, 6) People Development & Engagement, 7) Business Development/ Pipeline Strategy & Management, 8) Capability Building & Dissemination
As an S&O Consultant you will have the unique opportunity to work at the intersection of strategy, leadership, and innovation, collaborating with senior executives and cross-functional teams to drive significant impact. You will help shape the future of the space you support, identifying and implementing solutions that streamline operations, foster growth, and maximize client success.
Through your work, you will foster a culture of collaboration, accountability, and continuous improvement, ensuring that each space operates at its highest potential while delivering measurable results to both clients and ZS.
What You Will Do
- Leverage problem solving
Skills
and frameworks to develop solutions to business problems - Optimize space operations to minimize leaderships time spent on operational tasks
- Ensure timely and accurate responses to firm requests
- Contribute to strategic planning processes (annual and ongoing)
- Contribute to impact measurement and communication strategies
- Manage and provide insights on budgets and total annual spend
- Foster relationships with client procurement stakeholders and help ensure compliance with client requirements
- Develop reports on BD win rates and pipeline opportunities
- Create and synthesize space materials; prepare leadership level presentations
- Support space-level people strategy by keeping a pulse of team and provide ongoing insight to leadership
- Plan and run effective workshops, events, summits, client visits, etc. (virtual and in-person)
- Develop new processes to be leveraged across teams
What You Will Bring
- BA required, MBA or other advanced degree preferred
- 5-8 years experience in professional services firm, consulting or strategy/operations experience preferred
- Strong consultative and problem-solving skills
- Effective oral and written communication
Skills
that can influence senior-level decision makers - Experience successfully managing multiple projects at once, including those with intersecting workstreams
- Experience and comfort working with multiple and senior stakeholders
- Understanding of consulting business models
- Understanding of systems and processes
- Empathy, adaptability and high personal impact
- Strong productivity and collaboration tools, including MS Office (PowerPoint, Outlook, Excel, Teams)
- High motivation, good work ethic, maturity and personal initiative