Associate, Industrial Practice

SSI (U.S.) Inc. d/b/a Spencer Stuart; Washington (District of Columbia); Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Spencer Stuart seeks an Associate for its Industrial Practice to help solve executive searches across sectors, developing specialized candidate pools and delivering exceptional service to clients.

The role emphasizes project management, research, assessment, sourcing and relationship-building, with opportunities to work with senior executives and board members.

Qualifications

• 3+ years of progressive business experience in executive search, recruiting, talent acquisition, strategy consulting, or related professional services.
• Evidence of promotion or tenure over time.
• Strong project management in a multi-project environment.

Responsibilities

• Contribute to the start-up phase of searches by assisting in creating position specifications and search strategies.
• Gather industry and target company information and represent the client in the marketplace.
• Validate candidates through references and sourcing calls.
• Develop and present a slate of qualified candidates to clients and provide market context and compensation data.
• Prepare position specifications, candidate presentations, and reference reports adhering to assessment methodology.
• Communicate search developments clearly with Consultants and Administrative staff.
• Prepare client progress reports and meetings with informed perspectives on candidates.

Skills

Project management

Writing skills

Results orientation

Attention to detail

Intellectual curiosity

Industrial sector knowledge

Education

Undergraduate degree

Job description

Associate, Industrial Practice

Spencer Stuart is seeking to recruit an Associate for the Industrial Practice. This Associate will have the opportunity to help solve Chief Executive Officer and other C-level functional executive searches, working across sectors, and will develop a specialization over time. With exposure to a broad set of clients and leadership challenges, this Associate will help to identify and develop diverse candidate slates as an essential member of the global search team. The Associate role combines project management, research, assessment, sourcing, validation, and relationship-building skills to deliver extraordinary service and value to Spencer Stuart clients.

Successful candidates for the Associate position will have strong project management ability, writing skills, results orientation, rigorous attention to details, intellectual curiosity and ideally, an understanding of the industrial sector. The Associate will enjoy the challenge of working internally with a variety of Consultants across geographies, and externally with diverse, senior-level executives and board members. Associates will be expected to acquire deep and insightful candidate pool knowledge over time.

The Associate will ideally be based in Chicago, New York City, or Washington, D.C. There is an expectation of being in the office a minimum of two days a week. In the early stages, it will be beneficial for the individual to spend more time in the office to build relationships, engage with colleagues and participate in the local office community.

KEY RELATIONSHIPS

Reports to: Industrial Practice Leader

Consultants (on an assignment basis)

Other key Associate Practice Leader

Relationships: Market Leader

Analysts, Associates, Senior Associates, and Consultants

EEAs

Talent Partner

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Contribute actively to the start-up phase of each search by participating in client kick-off meetings with the Consultant and assisting in the development of the position specification, search strategy and target list of companies.
• Gather relevant information regarding the appropriate industries and target companies. Identify potential prospects and sources and represent the client effectively in the marketplace, discussing the opportunity with relevant executives.
• Validate potential candidates through reference and source calls.
• Partner with the Consultant to develop and present a slate of qualified candidates to each client. Anticipate what needs to drive the search to closure and be prepared to supply additional information, such as related industry/segment trends, market findings, reaction to the opportunity, compensation data, etc., gained during the course of a search.
• Contribute to the preparation of position specifications, candidate presentations and reference reports adhering to the Firms assessment methodology.
• Communicate effectively with the Consultant and Executive Assistant, and remain fully abreast of search developments, in order to communicate accurately and credibly regarding the assignment.
• Prepare organized information for the client progress reports/meetings by teaming with the Consultant and the Executive Assistant. Provide an informed perspective on prospects/candidates and how they match against the key selection criteria.
• Be aware of activities and management changes in the relevant industrys sector; keep team members apprised of relevant developments in the marketplace.
• Add to the firms candidate pool expertise by continually identifying and introducing new talent to the firm. Ensure that up to date assignment, company and candidate information during the course of an assignment is always available for colleagues, by leveraging technology and information from the firms state-of-the-art, proprietary database.
• Contribute to responses to inquiries for new business, as well as business development initiatives.
• Be willing and proactive about contributing to local, practice or firm-wide initiatives. Coordinate and share practice related information with colleagues for potentially broader distribution.

IDEAL EXPERIENCE

• 3+ years of progressive business experience in executive search, recruiting, talent acquisition, strategy consulting, or a relevant professional services environment, with significant time spent in client service
• Advancement of skills and knowledge evidenced through promotion or tenure
• Superior project management skills demonstrated through experience working in a high-performance environment where multiple projects and competing demands are the norm
• Excellent communication skills shown through clear, structured and concise written and verbal presentation
• Undergraduate degree required; postgraduate degree a plus

CRITICAL LEADERSHIP CAPABILITIES

Project Management

Plans, manages and drives own efforts to identify and develop a slate of quality candidates as measured by consultant, client and candidate feedback. The successful Associate will do this while handling multiple projects with competing deadlines, working with individuals who have differing styles, and managing challenging expectations:

• Takes an end-to-end view of each project and the required resources; works at pace and with attention to detail while managing competing deadlines and priorities; has a sense of urgency.
• Understands the search process (from internal kick-off to referencing); asks questions to understand; and is proactive.
• Works on multiple projects; meets deadlines and is resilient under pressure; delivers on commitments on time or notifies as early as possible if deadlines will slip.
• Demonstrates enthusiasm, tenacity and intellectual curiosity; action-oriented; deals with problems immediately.
• Demonstrates a strong work ethic, with a results-focused and flexible approach to project management.

Candidate Development

Develops qualified and interested candidates for portfolio of searches. A successful Associate will develop excellence in search strategy to build strong contact management lists:

• Observes and asks questions to fully understand the issue; synthesizes information from a variety of internal/external sources, despite possibly having ambiguous or incomplete information.
• Gathers relevant data from a variety of sources, including views gathered through Third Party Sourcing (TPS), to help determine broad capabilities, gaps, qualifications/fit; articulates reasons for fit to spec in a succinct manner.
• Determines priority of which potential candidates to approach.
• Adds meaningful notes on Quest, diligently uses the initial assessment feature.

Credibility and Influence

Communicates effectively both in writing and verbally; has "gravitas" (executive presence) and is able to build relationships. Able to hook candidates and convince consultants to meet them, building a strong internal brand:

• Interacts with a range of internal and external stakeholders and candidates with differing styles and egos, understanding and appreciating what is important to each.
• Becomes a credible and authentic professional by observing colleagues and emulating role models.
• Adapt[s] verbal and written communications according to expectations for role and audience, specifically how to be confident, succinct, concise, prepared and professional.

Market and Candidate Knowledge

Obt