Senior Analyst Corporate Strategy

Job description / Role

This position within the Strategy Function (at the Corporate Group level) will be integral to the team’s efforts to enable
- 3-year strategy formulation and planning,
- Annual strategy execution and management,
- Ongoing corporate development activity – organic and inorganic related to achieving profitable and sustainable growth and
- One-off projects for stakeholder engagement at the Government level.

Core member of multi-disciplinary teams, the role is expected to support the Strategy Management and Functional Heads in development and implementation of strategic initiatives (market/ segment/ service development, sales and operational process enhancements etc.) and in the delivery of company-wide performance. Take ownership of assigned components of strategic analyses, validation of BU feasibility studies/business cases, and seek to generate IP for the organization (Analytics and Research).

CORPORATE Portfolio Development
- Generate high quality economic and sector specific analysis and content inputs to enable C-Level decision making and build internal IP: including but not limited to external best practices, global markets in the context of any implications to MICE sector in the region, economic value generated by MICE Sector on Dubai and the UAE etc.
- Develop insights on trends in the competitive landscape – across key market segments within the portfolio, understand key growth drivers by market, USP and positioning of the service/product across the multiple business lines – share of market, influence points, penetration and value chain structure etc.
- Build components of qualitative and quantitative frameworks to evaluate current state of business, financial, service and operations vs. ideal end-state; develop a strong understanding of global best practices to enable identification of opportunities for enhancement; support development of recommendations with ROI criteria
- Assist in creating prioritization parameters to assess focus areas within the portfolio that allow for alternative expansion strategies, provide inputs to build cases for capital investment in line with overall corporate objectives
- Developing components for input models for business plans and feasibility studies for new ventures – new markets (geographies), product/service expansion and/or spin-offs and acquisitions with proposed implementation plans
- Working with Strategy Management to stress-test the final proposition and draft recommendations to the CEO and Board

CORPORATE Performance Sustainability
- Support development of the 3-year growth agenda for the Group: Provide inputs and assist in the design and development of the Corporate plan quantitative models (financial and statistical) for the portfolio with anticipated cash flows and growth projections for the business
- Facilitate establishment of annual corporate strategic goals: Liaise with teams in Finance and BU in annual planning & budgeting sessions, support Strategy Mgmt in performance target setting and metrics for assessment for the year
- Assist Corporate Strategy Heads in delivering in-house strategy related services for business units by:
- Supporting work-streams and projects between and across portfolio on all aspects of the organization's development priorities from Growth agenda and Operational streamlining to Risk exposure and Mitigation
- Assisting in facilitating brainstorming workshops for problem solving and/or generating and testing hypothesis on key areas for growth or process efficiency, overall corporate alignment etc.
- Working as part of cross-functional teams where required create new business strategies, rationalize processes, identify, qualify and present issues, qualitative insights and findings to executive management
- Support the corporate performance management process by taking end-to-end ownership of specific functional areas/departments objectives’ monitoring, assessing the risks and mitigation plans, reporting on BU performance and enabling consolidation at the corporate level on a semi-annual basis to the Executive Mgmt

CROSS-FUNCTIONAL Management
- Build rapport and maintain collaborative relationships with senior teams and working level members across front line and corporate support service units – showcasing an ability to work effectively, gain credibility and respect of others, manage expectations and positively influence outcomes from the team.
- Liaise with external consultants (when needed) supporting with internal workshops; with Strategy Leadership across corporate operations (IT, Finance, HR, Legal, Procurement) and commercial units to aid in the roll out of operating plans to their senior teams and support the programme management of multiple projects - including budgets, strategic direction, deliverables tracking and reporting on milestones and risks etc.

DEPARTMENT Operations Management
- Support the assigned projects and work streams effectively delivering the mandate within the stipulated budget with detailed structure of the project programme and resourcing, ensure timely escalation to Strategy Mgmt of any operational and/or personnel matters across the working groups etc.
- Proactively monitor and report on project deliverables including weekly KPI dashboard and formal monthly reporting into the consolidated Strategy dashboard
- Ensure compliance with all Corporate Office governance requirements and adherence to policies and procedures as well as assist in the closure on any open/outstanding audit issues across all functions within the division.

Requirements

- Must be a UAE National
- Bachelors’ Degree in Business Administration (minimum); Additional Masters Degrees in Analytical Disciplines, Economics or Statistics are an advantage
- Minimum 3 years’ relevant experience in C-level advisory roles or divisional leadership within corporate or strategic management consulting including experience in managing and fostering with alignment cross-functional executive management teams/ or departments within a large organisation.
- Profiles with prior work-experience in Global Management Consulting firms; Corporate Centre/HQ Strategy Units in MNCs; Private Equity firms/ Turn Around management firms
- Superior problem solving and analytical skills - ability to structure decision trees and develop a high-level assessment of situation-issues-solutions prior to in-depth data gathering and testing to validate the hypotheses
- Ability to handle ambiguity: Has a high level of comfort and can adapt to evolving dynamics; Is capable of challenging assumptions, drive productive discussion and effective decisions
- Strong interpersonal skills : Relationship-builder/team player with ability to interface and manage expectations with executive level and working group members seamlessly
- Creativity & resourcefulness : Adept in obtaining data and insights, Innovative in resolving issues while maintaining sensitivity to relationships
- Strong sense of ownership for department delivery : Highly dependable, Acute attention to detail, Pragmatic while maintaining a wider lens to deliver big-picture messages
- Tenacious and Enthusiastic : Can maintain the momentum and deliver consistent level of output on projects, manage retain engagement and morale through difficult programmes till the end
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills (formal and informal presentations) tailored to large audiences and smaller one-to-one discussions - English Language proficiency (bi-lingual business Arabic skills are an advantage though not a requirement)
- Role models COMPANY values – commitment to deliver to the highest standards, acts with integrity and practices complete transparency in actions and communications
- Proficient in use of MS Office and Statistics programmes - Project Management tools, SPSS, PowerPoint, Excel etc.

We apologize that we cannot reply to everybody however we do guarantee that we look at every single application. If you haven’t had a response from us within 7 days, you can assume you haven’t been successful on this occasion. (DB)

About the Company

Inspire Selection is an award winning recruitment agency, headquartered in Dubai which recruits across the Middle East region. We employ highly knowledgeable, professional consultants who are experts in connecting the right people with the right opportunities. Our reputation has been built upon our honesty, integrity and our ability to source candidates of the highest calibre right across our specialist sectors. As a result, we are recruitment partners to a wide spectrum of organisations - from leading blue chip companies to smaller, local businesses. Sectors we cover include HR, Administration, Finance & Accounting, Legal, Sales & Marketing including Digital Marketing, IT, Oil/Gas/Energy, Engineering, Procurement, Manufacturing, Higher Education.