Project Leader

The Decision Lab; Montreal; Hybrid; CAD 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Join a forward-thinking applied research firm that bridges the gap between behavioral science and practical solutions. As a Project Leader, you'll guide teams in delivering innovative insights to clients, leveraging your expertise in management consulting and behavioral science. You'll enjoy a creative environment that values intellectual ownership and collaboration, while working on diverse projects that challenge conventional thinking. This role offers a hybrid work model, competitive benefits, and the opportunity to make a meaningful impact in a socially-conscious organization.

Benefits

4 weeks paid vacation

Medical/Dental benefits

Flexible work schedule

Access to kayak & bike paths

Best coffee in the city

Qualifications

• 3+ years of consulting experience, including team lead roles.
• Strong grasp of behavioral science concepts and analytical methods.

Responsibilities

• Lead client projects, ensuring needs are met and expectations aligned.
• Develop actionable recommendations based on research and analysis.

Skills

Management Consulting

Behavioral Science

Project Management

Client Engagement

Analytic Rigor

Design Thinking

Communication Skills

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Psychology or related field

Master's Degree in Behavioral Science or related field

Job description

Description

Everything we do at TDL is guided by SPICE: Socially conscious, Pragmatic, Inventive, Catalytic, and Evidence-based. You can read more about us and our core values here.

We started The Decision Lab because we saw a fundamental gap between behavioral science theory and application. Our consultants are at the front line of bridging this gap. We are looking for experienced consultants to join our team at the Project Leader level. Qualified individuals will play a critical role in bringing forward-thinking solutions to our clients. Ideal candidates will have previous management consulting or project management experience and demonstrated leadership in growing client relationships, as well as in people and knowledge development.

We look for bright, capable and curious candidates with a good grasp of behavioral science concepts (from points of view that may include behavioral economics, psychology, neuroscience, sociology, etc.) who have a thirst for translating evidence into practical and valuable solutions.

The Decision Lab is a place where you can learn to use evidence-based approaches to solve diverse & complex challenges. You will work alongside intelligent & free-thinking colleagues who lead with optimism, pragmatism and empathy. Rather than reusing the same behavior change frameworks, TDL develops custom solutions – this means that in addition to being evidence-based, your role will be fundamentally creative and you will have the opportunity to evolve and express your thinking in the work you do. Our team members help and empower each other and we have a rich set of tools and frameworks that you will be exposed to, but you will ultimately be responsible for your work – past hires tell us they are surprised to what extent they are able to take intellectual ownership of the projects they work on.

What you'll be working on

Responsibilities

Project Leaders play a key role on client engagements – ensuring client needs are clearly defined, supervising activities throughout to ensure these needs are met, and maintaining alignment of expectations. Responsibilities typically include:

• Leading the day-to-day execution of a client project while guiding and developing individual team members (Associates and/or Consultants)
• Managing the client relationship and teamwork progress
• Taking ownership of the overall project and its end outputs/deliverables
• Overseeing the formulation of hypotheses for research and investigation
• Uncovering and challenging client assumptions, intuitions and prior knowledge
• Structuring research/experimentation plans and advanced analysis of data (though the actual analysis may be performed/supported by our data scientists)
• Applying knowledge of behavioral / decision science and business principles
• Developing realistic and actionable recommendations
• Preparing and delivering client presentations/reports that highlight key insights in user-friendly ways
• Providing status reports to senior TDL leadership, and overseeing project budget
• Playing a key role in the development and maintenance of high-level client relationships
• As needed, performing some of the tasks typically assigned to Associates / Consultants (e.g. analyzing and synthesizing qualitative and quantitative findings; conducting stakeholder interviews; etc.)
• Participating in project pitches
• Doing all of the above in varied project contexts that may include topics ranging from relatively isolated research questions to cultural diagnostics, pricing optimization, or behavioral product development
• Possibility of collaborating with the content team to support publication efforts

What we are looking for

We Are Looking For a Candidate With Professional Experience In Management Consulting, Behavioral Science Or Psychology, Including Demonstrated Ability Leading a Project Or Team. Key Attributes Of The Ideal Candidate Include

• Experience: 3+ years of consulting experience (incl. 1+ years as a team lead) in a top management consulting firm or in a boutique firm at the intersection between strategy, psychology & consulting with demonstrated repeated successes in connecting these worlds; familiarity with behavioral science concepts is a plus
• Client Engagement: You have proven ability to manage client engagements & relationships and are often seen as a thought leader; you own responsibility for the quality of engagements; and your strong management and communication skills give you the ability to bring together stakeholders and persuade action
• Analytic Rigor: You have a high capacity for conceptual thinking and an ability to develop leading-edge frameworks for analysis that incorporate a variety of disciplines, but are also able to communicate complex ideas effectively; good grasp of qualitative and quantitative methods, experimental design and statistics is a plus
• Design Thinking Mindset: You are able to move your ego aside and understand that the most successful solutions are not based on ideology but on a combination of empathy, pragmatism and evidence-based iteration
• Business Sense: You are a holistic, strategic thinker who constantly connects the dots between ideas, problems, organizations, and how ethical & sustained impact can be achieved; strong verbal & written skills are a must
• Culture: You are an independent thinker comfortable working in an often ambiguous and dynamic environment; you are eager to take initiative and to break new ground

About The Role

• Type: Full Time Employment
• Hybrid: 3 days remote, 2 days in office
• Work general takes place on-site at our sunny Saint-Henri office – we’re located 5 minutes from downtown, overlooking a canal, have the best coffee in the city and access to kayak & bike paths;
• Vacation: 4 week paid vacation
• Benefits: Medical/Dental
• Seniority level, compensation & responsibility for this role scales based on candidate experience, on a case-by-case basis. Candidates applying might be considered for Senior Associate, Consultant, or potentially Associate Project Leader

The Decision Lab is a socially-conscious applied research firm. We provide consulting services to some of the largest organizations in the world, carry out research in priority areas and run one of the largest publications in applied behavioral science. In the past, we have helped organizations such as the Gates Foundation, Capital One and the World Bank solve some of their thorniest problems using scientific thinking.