Advisor, Strategy & Business Development

Cencora, Inc.; Pennsylvania; Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Inclusive culture

Comprehensive benefits

Family support program

Training & mentorship programs

Job summary

Cencora, Inc. is seeking a strategic thinker to support executive communications, leadership preparations, and cross‑functional alignment across Finance, Commercial, and Operations.

You will craft talking points, briefs, and decision memos, while guiding initiatives with clear milestones and risk management. This role partners closely with senior leaders to drive informed, data‑driven decisions in a complex healthcare distribution environment.

Qualifications

• 4–8 years in strategy, management consulting, corporate development, business operations, or chief‑of‑staff‑type roles.
• Experience leading cross‑functional initiatives through influence.
• Experience working directly with senior or executive leaders.
• Healthcare, pharma, or distribution industry experience preferred or required.

Responsibilities

• Executive communications and narrative for leadership meetings, town halls, and enterprise forums.
• Draft internal briefs, Q&A documents, and issue memos framing options and recommendations.
• Lead strategic initiatives across Finance, Commercial, Operations and other functions; define scope and milestones.
• Support strategic analysis, planning, and synthesis of financial, commercial, and operational data.
• Take on urgent or undefined problems; support transformation, integrations, and leadership partnerships.

Skills

Cross-functional leadership

Executive communication

Strategic thinking

Stakeholder management

Education

Bachelor’s degree

MBA preferred

Job description

Our team members are at the heart of everything we do. At Cencora, we are united in our responsibility to create healthier futures, and every person here is essential to us being able to deliver on that purpose. If you want to make a difference at the center of health, come join our innovative company and help us improve the lives of people and animals everywhere.

Job Details Primary Duties and Responsibilities:

• 1. Executive communications and narrative Write and maintain talking points for leadership meetings, town halls, customer or partner conversations, and enterprise forums Keep messaging consistent across leaders, audiences, and channels, and keep a living library of approved positions and key facts Draft internal communications on strategic priorities, organizational changes, and milestones
• 2. Briefs and leadership preparation Prepare pre-read briefs for leader meetings, including background, stakeholders, objectives, risks, anticipated questions, and recommended positions Produce one-page issue briefs and decision memos that frame options, tradeoffs, and a recommendation Prepare leaders for senior-level engagements with context on attendees, history, open items, and potential landmines Build Q&A documents ahead of major moments, including difficult questions and suggested responses
• 3. Cross-functional alignment and initiative leadership Lead selected strategic initiatives across Finance, Commercial, Operations, and other functions Define scope, owners, workplans, and milestones, and hold teams accountable through regular check-ins Identify dependencies, conflicts, and risks early, and elevate with clear options Facilitate alignment when functions have competing priorities, and drive decisions to closure Report progress to leadership through concise status updates and dashboards
• 4. Strategic analysis and planning support Synthesize financial, commercial, and operational data into insights and recommendations Support annual planning, quarterly business reviews, goal-setting, etc
• 5. Special projects and ambiguous problems Take on urgent or undefined problems, quickly define the problem, gather input, and stand up structure Support transformation, integration, or reorganization efforts as needed Serve as a trusted thought partner and sounding board to leadership

Core Deliverables

• Talking points and executive briefs for leadership engagements
• Decision memos and one-page issue briefs
• Leadership and board-style presentations
• Initiative workplans, status reports, and risk logs
• Meeting agendas, pre-reads, and decision and action trackers
• Planning and business review materials

Experience and Educational Requirements:

Education

• Bachelor’s degree required in business, finance, economics, communications, or a related field
• MBA, master’s degree, or equivalent professional experience preferred

Experience

• 4-8 years of experience in strategy, management consulting, corporate development, business operations, or a chief-of-staff-type role
• Demonstrated experience leading cross-functional initiatives through influence
• Experience working directly with senior or executive leaders
• Industry experience, such as healthcare, pharma, or distribution, preferred or required

What Cencora offers

• We provide compensation, benefits, and resources that enable a highly inclusive culture and support our team members’ ability to live with purpose every day.
• In addition to traditional offerings like medical, dental, and vision care, we also provide a comprehensive suite of benefits that focus on the physical, emotional, financial, and social aspects of wellness.
• This encompasses support for working families, which may include backup dependent care, adoption assistance, infertility coverage, family building support, behavioral health solutions, paid parental leave, paid caregiver leave.
• To encourage your personal growth, we also offer a variety of training programs, professional development resources, and opportunities to participate in mentorship programs, employee resource groups, volunteer activities, and much more.
• For details, visit https://www.virtualfairhub.com/cencora.

Full time Equal Employment Opportunity

Cencora is committed to providing equal employment opportunity without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, age, disability, veteran status or membership in any other class protected by federal, state or local law. The company’s continued success depends on the full and effective utilization of qualified individuals. Therefore, harassment is prohibited and all matters related to recruiting, training, compensation, benefits, promotions and transfers comply with equal opportunity principles and are non-discriminatory. Cencora is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities during the employment process which are consistent with legal requirements. If you wish to request an accommodation while seeking employment, please call 888.692.2272 or email [e-mail]. We will make accommodation determinations on a request-by-request basis. Messages and emails regarding anything other than accommodations requests will not be returned.

Affiliated Companies

• AmerisourceBergen Services Corporation

Cencora is a leading global pharmaceutical solutions company that is committed to improving the lives of people and animals everywhere. We connect manufacturers, providers, and patients to ensure that anyone can get the therapies they need, where and when they need them. We’re a purpose-driven organization, where all of our team members around the world are united in our responsibility to create healthier futures. We work together every day to help our partners bring their innovations to patients worldwide, creating unparalleled access and impact at the center of health.