Associate Director, Strategic Initiatives & Planning

Sodexo; Mumbai; On-site; INR 4,000,000 - 7,000,000; Full time

Job summary

Sodexo is seeking an Associate Director, Strategic Initiatives & Planning in Mumbai. You will partner with the Managing Director across a high-visibility, multi-market Southeast Asia and Asia Pacific portfolio, overseeing strategy execution and PMO activities while providing executive support for complex meetings and stakeholder engagement.

The role combines strategic ownership of initiatives with structured support for the MD's office, requiring strong analytical skills, concise communication,

Qualifications

• MBA with 7+ years in strategy consulting or corporate strategy.
• Proven ability to structure ambiguous problems and drive resolution.
• Strong written and verbal communication for board/C-suite audiences.

Responsibilities

• Own biweekly initiative reviews across the region.
• Drive 2–3 initiatives end-to-end with defined outcomes.
• Prepare board, group, and client materials and analyses.
• Coordinate multi-country meetings and inputs with senior leaders.
• Manage calendar, travel, and MD office logistics.

Skills

Strategy

PMO

Stakeholders

Analytics

Communication

Education

MBA

Tools

Excel

PowerPoint

Job description

Job title: Associate Director, Strategic Initiatives & Planning

Domain: Office of the Managing Director, Southeast Asia & Strategic Accounts APMEA — Sodexo

Reporting Manager: Managing Director, Southeast Asia & Strategic Accounts APMEA

Travel: Occasional international travel, a few trips per year across the region

Role composition: Approx. 70% Strategy & Initiative Tracking (PMO), 30% Executive & Business Support / Office Management — reviewed and rebalanced at 12 months

About the Role

This is a newly created role supporting the MD across a dual mandate spanning full P&L ownership of an eight-market Southeast Asia business and a €600M+ strategic account portfolio across Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa. The role sits close to the MD and combines real ownership of a defined set of strategic initiatives with disciplined support of the MD's office.

This is a strategy-focused role, not a traditional Executive Assistant role. The successful candidate will spend most of their time supporting strategic initiatives, tracking execution, and driving priorities. We are seeking a high-potential individual with strong analytical skills who sees this position as a stepping stone toward broader strategy or leadership responsibilities.

Role Scope: The initiative review described below operates under the direct mandate of the MD. Country Managing Directors and strategic account leaders are expected to engage with it as they would with the MD's own request. The MD attends the review regularly, and this role convenes it on the MD's behalf — setting the agenda, coordinating inputs, and following up on agreed actions.

This role does not carry decision rights over country operations, and does not substitute for the accountability of country or account leadership. Its remit is to convene, to require visibility of progress, and to elevate where needed.

Key Responsibilities

Strategy & Initiative Tracking / PMO (~70%)

• Own and run a fixed biweekly review of the region's 5–8 active strategic initiatives, in a consistent, pre-agreed format
• Take direct ownership of two to three initiatives end-to-end — not just status reporting, but driving them to defined outcomes
• Prepare board-, group-, and client-facing materials, including strategic reviews and business performance packs
• Conduct market, competitor, and client analysis to support account growth and new-market entry decisions
• Support the MD in working with global and senior leaders, including preparing for key client and board meetings

Executive & Business Support / Office Management (~30%)

• Manage the MD's calendar, travel, and meeting preparation across an eight-market, multi-time-zone region
• Act as the single point of intake for all meeting requests to the MD — internal and external — assessing, scheduling and sequencing them against the MD's priorities, and referring back to the MD where a judgement call is needed
• Coordinate country MD and strategic account leadership meetings — agendas, pre-reads, follow-ups
• Manage expenses, approvals, and general office administration for the MD's office
• Act as the single point of intake for all team international travel requests, checking each against budget before routing to the travel desk — no request goes to the travel desk except through this desk
• Track international travel spend against budget on an ongoing basis, and give the MD a clear recommendation and rationale on any request worth a second look, so the MD retains the final call on approvals
• Act as a trusted point of contact for the MD's direct reports and key stakeholders
• Provide travel and calendar support to the MD for day-to-day diary management and scheduling, plus booking, itineraries and related coordination for approximately one to two trips per month

To keep the strategic majority of this role protected, the following sit explicitly outside its scope: line management of any team; country-level operational or delivery responsibility; ownership of functional budgets other than the travel budget described above; and client-facing commercial accountability. Where support work expands beyond the stated proportion, this is raised with the MD rather than absorbed silently.

Support to the MD is limited to travel and calendar management as described above. Meeting preparation, expenses, inbox triage, finance-cycle coordination, board pack collation and general administrative support for the MD or any other executive sit outside this role. The role reports solely to the MD, who sets its priorities and resolves any competing demands on its time.

This role has full access to the MD's calendar but not to the MD's email. Managing emails is not part of the role. The MD shares any scheduling-related emails directly, and the role works closely with the MD to stay aligned on priorities and context.

What Success Looks Like in the First 12 Months

• The initiative review is held on schedule, with no missed reviews, and each initiative has an up-to-date status confirmed by its owner
• The two to three directly owned initiatives have reached their agreed milestones, with variances documented and escalated in time to be acted on
• Regional international travel spend has been tracked continuously against budget, with a monthly variance position provided to the MD
• All board, group and client materials have been delivered ahead of their required dates, at a standard requiring no substantive rework by the MD
• The MD's calendar and travel, and the SEA and GSA CFO's diary and travel, have been managed without material administrative load returning to either executive

Candidate Profile

• 7+ years of relevant experience, or 3–5 years post-MBA, in strategy consulting, Big 4 advisory, or a corporate strategy / founder's-office / chief-of-staff-adjacent role
• MBA preferred, or equivalent postgraduate qualification, from a strong Indian or international business school
• Demonstrated ability to structure ambiguous problems and drive them to resolution without formal authority
• Strong written and verbal communication; comfortable preparing materials for board and C-suite audiences
• Proven discretion handling confidential commercial, board and people information
• Based in or willing to relocate to Mumbai, and able to work office-based
• Exposure to multi-country or matrixed organisations, particularly across Asia Pacific
• Experience in contract-based B2B services, facilities management, or food and hospitality services

Confidentiality

This role has routine access to board papers for Sodexo's Japanese, Korean and Indonesian entities, to commercially sensitive client and pricing information, to merger and acquisition activity, and to compensation and organisational data. Absolute discretion is a condition of the role, and the appointment is subject to Sodexo's confidentiality and conflict-of-interest undertakings.

Compensation & Progression

Compensation is competitive and benchmarked to the strategy and programme management band for this experience level, reflecting the strategic weight of the role. A formal compensation and scope review takes place during the annual salary review cycle.

The intended progression from this role is into a country, regional or group strategy team, or into a business-facing commercial role. Candidates should note that a country or segment P&L appointment is not a direct next step from this position — those roles require prior experience running a business — but this role is designed to build the exposure and credibility that makes such a path realistic over time.

Diversity and Inclusion

Sodexo is an equal opportunity employer. We welcome applications from all qualified candidates regardless of gender, age, religion, caste, disability, sexual orientation or background, and we are committed to building an inclusive workplace. Sodexo India is certified to the European and International Standard for Gender Equality and Diversity.