Associate, Leadership Advisory Services

Spencer Stuart; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 100,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working

Career development

Job summary

Spencer Stuart's Associate role positions you as the operational lead on LAS engagements, turning leadership data into actionable insights. You own workstreams end-to-end, drive the project plan, conduct interviews, synthesize data, and produce client reports and materials.

You partner with Consultants and assume accountability for quality, pace, and the client experience as you grow your credibility. This apprenticeship-based role emphasizes developing judgment, building a practice, mentoring

Qualifications

• Four or more years in leadership advisory, executive assessment, or strategy consulting.
• Undergraduate degree from an accredited institution.
• Advanced degree helpful but not required; relevant experience can substitute.
• Superior English business writing and communication.
• Ability to synthesize qualitative and quantitative information into insight.
• Strong project management and organizational skills with multiple priorities.

Responsibilities

• Synthesize qualitative and quantitative data into themes and insights for client deliverables.
• Lead and participate in executive interviews and assessments; draft reports and board decks.
• Manage engagements end-to-end with internal teams and client communications.
• Develop and mentor junior colleagues and contribute to practice development.

Skills

Leadership advisory

Executive assessment

Management consulting

Client communication

Project management

Education

Undergraduate degree

Advanced degree helpful

Job description

THE ASSOCIATE ROLE

The Associate is the operational lead on LAS engagements and a genuine thought partner in the advisory process. Associates transform leadership data into business-relevant insights: identifying patterns in people and teams, determining what those patterns mean for organizational outcomes, and communicating those implications in ways that help clients make better talent decisions. Associates own workstreams end-to-end. They drive the project plan, conduct and support interviews and assessments, synthesize qualitative and quantitative data, write the reports and client materials, and keep engagements moving. They partner closely with Consultants, who own the client relationship and the final deliverable, while taking real accountability for quality, pace, and the client experience along the way. This is a role with meaningful ownership. It is also a support role in an apprenticeship model: Associates build credibility, judgment, and client exposure over time, and responsibility grows as that credibility is earned.

WHAT YOU WILL ACTUALLY DO

Insight development and client deliverables Synthesize qualitative and quantitative data from interviews, assessments, diagnostics, and secondary research to identify themes, insights, and implications Write and own client deliverables, Advanced Leadership Profile (ALP) and Leadership Profile (LP) assessment reports, group and comparison reports, culture and team diagnostic outputs, board materials, workshop decks, and executive summaries Draft assessment components independently, including Individual Style Profile (ISP), 360, capabilities, strengths and development opportunities, and summary pages; over time, contribute Executive Intelligence (ExI) insights Connect leadership insight to business context, company performance, value creation, role requirements, and the risks and opportunities facing the client

Assessment, interviews, and client interaction Conduct and support executive and stakeholder interviews; lead, co-lead, or participate in assessments depending on the Solution, the engagement, and the Consultant Conduct 360 reference interviews and synthesize input into balanced, evidence-based summaries Lead internal calibration calls and contribute an informed, data-backed point of view on scoring and conclusions Participate in client debriefs, workshops, and readouts; over time, debrief participants and lead segments of client sessions

Administer proprietary leadership advisory tools and diagnostics (ISP, culture, team effectiveness, and related instruments) in partnership with the Consultant, and analyze the resulting data Represent the Firm with professionalism, maturity, and poise in written, verbal, virtual, and in-person settings, and handle confidential information with discretion

Engagement and project management Own the project plan and timeline end-to-end; organize and facilitate team touchpoints, including kick-offs, check-ins, and project recaps Serve as a day-to-day point of contact for the client alongside the Consultant, and draft client and stakeholder communications Organize and distribute work across the engagement team, clarify roles, and hold the team accountable to deadlines Anticipate what the client, Consultant, and team will need next; identify risks early, elevate appropriately, and propose a path forward Synthesize client meetings, board interactions, and workshops into clear themes, decisions, and next steps Manage several engagements at once across time zones and competing deadlines, and maintain your capacity tracker accurately so staffing decisions can be made well Use AI-enabled tools thoughtfully to improve efficiency in research, drafting, and summarization, always validating sources and conclusions, exercising judgment around client data and confidentiality, and retaining human accountability for the insight

Developing others and building the practice Guide Analysts on first-draft documents, provide examples and standards, and give timely, constructive feedback Serve as an onboarding or apprenticeship mentor to new colleagues and contribute to their integration Contribute to Solution and intellectual capital development, case studies, best practices, and internal tools Build relationships with Executive Search colleagues and help them understand where LAS can add value for their clients Occasionally support business development, contributing to qualifications decks, proposal materials, and background research. Associates are rarely involved in client pitches; that exposure typically comes at the Senior Associate level and beyond.

YOUR FIRST YEAR

We invest heavily in structured onboarding, and we expect training to take priority over client work in the early months. New Associates are not expected to take a project solo until they have demonstrated proficiency in that skill under the mentorship of an experienced colleague. A typical first-year path includes: Firm and LAS onboarding - understanding our business model, strategy, services, and how Search and LAS work together. Core curriculum - Insight Foundations, Insight Bootcamp, Overview of Capabilities, Culture in Action, the Leadership Model, the 360s course, Writing with Impact, and ExI Bootcamp. Assessment - shadow full ALPs; lead 360 interviews and write the page solo; write ISP and capabilities pages; write strengths, development opportunities, and summary pages; build toward delivering a full ALP report at roughly 80 percent client readiness. Organizational consulting - administer and analyze ISP, culture, and team effectiveness surveys; draft group and culture reports; debrief the culture graph; support workshop design, materials, and onsite coordination. Business acumen - how businesses make money, different operating and ownership models, organizational structures, C-suite roles and responsibilities, and basic financial literacy. This is supported by the LAS Business Acumen Series (Business Strategy, Financial Basics, Anatomy of a Company, Engagement and Client Management). Consulting skills - craft a credible introduction for clients, present informed opinions and defend them with data, professionally challenge the views of others, and proactively seek feedback from every project team.

THE SUPPORT AROUND YOU

You will not be left to figure this out alone. Every new Associate is supported by a defined team: Talent Partner — your manager, responsible for your development, staffing, and performance, with a recurring one-on-one cadence Onboarding mentor — a peer who helps you navigate the Firm, its systems, and its unwritten rules Apprenticeship mentors — one to two Associates or Senior Associates who are your first point of contact for client work; new hires are paired with a dedicated Consultant or Senior Associate capacity for the first six to twelve months, so you learn by apprenticeship Engagement teams — Consultants, Associates, and Executive Engagement Assistants who coach you in the flow of the work The AAPM community — the Associate & Analyst Practice Member group, which runs monthly calls, coffee chats, learning cafés, and peer development programming.

THE REALITIES OF THE ROLE

We would rather be direct than have you discover these after you join. The workload is deadline-driven and uneven. Priorities are set by client needs and Consultant schedules. There are genuinely intense stretches around report deadlines, board readouts, and workshops, and quieter stretches in between. This is client service: timelines shift, clients reschedule, and there will be occasional work outside normal hours to meet a client commitment. Assessment work is rigorous. Spending several hours on camera with a participant and then multiple hours writing and nuancing a report is demanding. It is also core to what we do. We balance assessment with other work to give you a variety. Staffing is partially relationship-based. Opportunities are influenced by the connections, trust, and internal reputation you build. Early on, you will work on what the practice needs, which may not always be the work that energizes you most. Over time you gain far more influence over the projects and people you work with, but you have to invest in the relationships to get there. The work is predominantly at the most senior levels. Because we work with C-suite executives and boards, there are fewer opportunities to independently lead assessments early on than at firms that work deeper in the organization. This also leads to what makes the role great (below). Autonomy can feel like ambiguity. You will be trusted to manage your own time and to choose work in partnership with your Talent Partner. Not every step will be laid out for you. The learning curve is real. Our methodology is complex, and our quality bar is high. Most Associates, including those with directly relevant prior experience, need several months before they feel confident with the tools, frameworks, and standards. That is expected.

WHAT MAKES THIS ROLE WORTH IT

• Exposure to senior leaders and consequential decisions. Associates work directly on material that reaches C-suite executives, boards, and investors, and contributes to decisions that shape organizations. That exposure typically comes much later in a career elsewhere.
• Accelerated learning. You will see how successful leaders think, make decisions, and navigate complexity across many companies, industries, and situations in a fraction of the time it would take from inside a single organization.
• Exceptional colleagues. Our people are consistently named as the best part of working here: smart, generous with their time, deeply committed to quality, and invested in helping one another improve.
• Quality over volume. We prioritize thoughtful analysis, sound judgment, and exceptional work products over speed or scale. That creates a steeper learning curve and a far better development experience.
• Variety and breadth. Public and private companies across every major sector, and work spanning assessment, succession, culture, team effectiveness, development, and organizational effectiveness.
• Real ownership. You own workstreams, deliverables and client communications, and you have meaningful influence over your schedule, your projects and your career path.
• A developmental culture. Structured curriculum, apprenticeship mentoring, real-time feedback on every project, a published development framework and colleagues who are invested in your growth rather than competing with you.

KEY RELATIONSHIPS

Reports to Talent Partner (Leadership Advisory Services) Day-to-day direction Consultants and Senior Associates, on a per-engagement basis Career guidance Counselor (Consultant), onboarding mentor and apprenticeship mentors Other key relationships Analysts; Project Managers; Executive Engagement Assistants; Content Editors; Client Care Liaisons; Knowledge Management and Solution Support; Executive Search colleagues; the Associate & Analyst Practice Member (AAPM) community Location Based in one of our North American offices

CANDIDATE PROFILE IDEAL EXPERIENCE

• Generally four or more years of relevant professional experience in leadership advisory, executive assessment, management or strategy consulting, organizational development, human capital or talent management, or a relevant industry role.
• Undergraduate degree from an accredited institution.
• An advanced degree (for example, in organizational psychology, industrial-organizational psychology, business or a related field) is helpful but not required; relevant professional experience can substitute.
• Superior business writing skills, evidenced through project work or a writing sample provided on request.
• Demonstrated ability to synthesize complex qualitative and quantitative information into clear, evidence-based insight.
• Strong project management and organizational skills, with a track record of managing multiple priorities and competing deadlines.
• General business acumen developed through exposure to a range of business situations and contexts.
• Executive presence and interpersonal effectiveness; comfort interacting with senior leaders.
• Client deliverables are written in English; superior English business writing is an essential function of the role. Additional languages are an advantage.
• Work authorization for the country in which you are applying.

WHO TENDS TO THRIVE HERE

• Intellectually curious people who want to understand the “why” behind people, businesses, and organizational outcomes, and who enjoy connecting disparate pieces of information into a point of view.
• People who combine intellectual confidence with genuine humility, and who engage readily with feedback and iteration.
• Strong writers and communicators who take visible pride in the quality of their work and the accuracy of their details.
• Self-directed people who are comfortable creating structure where none exists, figuring things out independently, and taking ownership of their own career.
• Resourceful relationship builders who proactively reach out, build trust across teams, and adapt their style to different personalities and Consultant preferences.
• People who are comfortable with ambiguity, shifting priorities, and the pace of client service.
• Team-oriented colleagues with a “no task too small” mindset who contribute beyond their immediate responsibilities.
• People with poise, maturity, and professional presence.

IS THIS ROLE RIGHT FOR YOU?

• Earned scope rather than immediate ownership. Client relationship ownership and independent assessment leadership expand as demonstrated quality and trust are established, not from day one.
• Working without a defined process. Engagements vary by Solution, client, and Consultant. The role requires building your own structure, workflows, and standards in the absence of fixed procedures.
• Extensive writing and multiple revision cycles. Writing is an essential function. Deliverables routinely undergo several rounds of substantive feedback and rework before reaching the client.
• Owning your own project management. The role carries end-to-end accountability for timelines, coordination, and follow-up. Dedicated project management support is not provided.
• Building internal relationships that influence staffing. Engagement assignments are shaped in part by internal trust and reputation, which the role requires you to actively develop.
• Capability-based advancement. Progression to Consultant is assessed against a published framework and takes time; it is not tenure-driven or accelerated on request.
• Limited early opportunity to independently lead assessments. Because our work sits at the C-suite and board level, independent assessment leadership comes later than at firms working deeper in the organization.
• Influence through partnership rather than sole authority. Decisions are reached collaboratively with Consultants and engagement teams.
• A distinct business from Executive Search. LAS has different client work, methodologies, and career paths.

CRITICAL CAPABILITIES FOR SUCCESS

• Project management: Manages overall projects and oversees the team's collective efforts to drive the cadence and flow of client outcomes. Owns the project workplan across multiple workstreams; organizes and facilitates team touchpoints and keeps the team accountable. Takes ownership of whole projects and serves as a day-to-day point of contact with the client. Manages multiple engagements with competing deadlines; sets expectations, clarifies roles, and avoids duplication of effort. Anticipates challenges, adjusts priorities, and pushes back internally as appropriate. Remains calm under pressure and delivers on commitments, or raises slippage early with a proposed solution. Uses technology and AI-enabled tools to improve project efficiency, with appropriate validation.
• Client insights: Gathers nuanced insight from sophisticated data collection and delivers it in a way that is relevant for clients and resonates with participants. Co-administers our tools and develops independent insights under the supervision of a Consultant or more experienced colleague; knows how each tool relates to the others and to our overall methodology. Elevates perspective to discern themes across individuals and deliver nuanced insight at the team or organizational level. Highlights and resolves inconsistencies or contradictions in the data to reach a more nuanced narrative. Produces client-ready documents, assessment reports, comparison reports, and board decks with limited assistance. Conveys insight compellingly, beyond “just the facts,” tailored to the audience and the client situation. Engages in constructive discussion with the Consultant, defending a view and amending it when the evidence warrants.
• Impact and effectiveness: Communicates effectively in writing and verbally; has executive presence and builds trusted relationships. Establishes productive relationships with clients, participants, and colleagues across the Firm, and builds a personal brand defined by reliability and collaboration. Adapts style to the audience, coaching with participants, business-insight-driven with clients, and remains composed under pressure. Contributes meaningfully in debriefs, assessments, workshops, and client conversations without being prompted. Coordinates team efforts on complex projects; unblocks obstacles and helps create consensus. Places team goals ahead of individual goals; volunteers to share workload and shares information generously while being rigorous about confidentiality.
• Business and market knowledge: Obtains and incorporates knowledge across one or more of our Solutions to enhance client work in a meaningful way. Builds deep knowledge of the concepts and principles underlying our assessment, culture, team effectiveness, development, succession, and performance acceleration frameworks, and can teach others. Develops foundational business acumen, financial statements, executive role responsibilities, organizational structures, operating models, and applies them to the client context. Demonstrates curiosity about the bigger picture surrounding an assignment, taking a systems view that considers company and industry context. Understands how Search and LAS work together, and navigates internal resources, materials, and experts to bring the best of the Firm to client work. Stays current on business, economic, and leadership advisory news, and brings relevant insight to teams and clients.
• Developing self and others: Seeks and provides feedback; coaches and mentors to improve team performance; modifies own performance based on input. Proactively seeks feedback from every project team and demonstrates progress against development areas over time. Takes personal responsibility for career development, engages mentors and sponsors, and articulates aspirations clearly. Provides balanced, behavioral feedback to junior colleagues and creates opportunities for their development. Serves as an onboarding or apprenticeship mentor and supports the integration of new colleagues. Firm values: Champions the Firm's values, culture, and Code of Conduct; engages, participates, and collaborates with others. Demonstrates alignment to Firm values in everyday behavior; is professional, cordial, and engaging in all settings. Brings cultural awareness and sensitivity to every interaction with colleagues and clients. Participates actively in office, practice, and Firm-wide activities, and builds a network beyond LAS. Leverages AI responsibly, maintaining human accountability for client data, confidential information, and intellectual property. Represents Spencer Stuart well and lives by the Code of Conduct.

LEVEL: Associate

What changes: Own workstreams end-to-end; manage substantial project components with increasing autonomy; build trusted client relationships; synthesize data into clear, client-relevant insight; create structure from ambiguity; begin developing others intentionally. Typical review cadence: Entry point

LEVEL: Senior Associate

What changes: Lead client interactions and complex, multi-Solution programs; deepen advisory expertise; progress toward Associate Consultant and Consultant roles or to other internal opportunities across the Firm. Typical review cadence: Reviewed twice per year

LEVEL: Associate Consultant and beyond

What changes: Advise clients in the first seat; develop distinctive Solution or industry expertise; support and originate commercial opportunities; progress toward the Consultant and Partner track or to other senior opportunities across the Firm. Typical review cadence: Reviewed annually. Review cadence is typical, not guaranteed; promotion is capability-based and discretionary. Associates also pursue a range of paths beyond the LAS delivery track, including roles elsewhere in the Firm.

HOW WE WORK

Hybrid working. Colleagues are in the office a minimum of two days per week. For new hires, we strongly recommend three to four days per week during the early months, because learning, shadowing, and relationship-building happen fastest in person. Best practice is to choose the days your team is also in. Subject to reasonable accommodation. Staffing and autonomy. New Associates are paired with one to two Consultants or Senior Associates for their first six to twelve months. As your network develops, you take a greater role in choosing projects in partnership with your Talent Partner, weighing interests, developmental value, relationships, and goals. Travel. Travel is modest and has decreased as assessments have moved largely online. Expect roughly 25-50 percent at the high end, primarily for client workshops, onsite sessions, occasional board meetings, and Firm events, with considerable variation by Solution and team. Most associates travel less than 20% of their time. Flexibility. We are a client-service business. Timelines shift, and there will be occasional early, late or rescheduled work to meet a client commitment. In exchange, you have real control over how you manage the rest of your time.

The base compensation range for this position is $100,000 –150,000 per year. The actual base compensation within the range above will be dependent on the individual’s skills, experiences, and qualifications. This position may be eligible to participate in our annual discretionary bonus program. Spencer Stuart also offers a competitive benefits package, which includes: Retirement savings plan with discretionary profit sharing contribution and employer match; PTO (minimum 15 days per year, increases with tenure), paid sick time (10 days per year), company holidays (12 days per year), and paid leaves of absence when applicable; Comprehensive health benefits, including medical, dental, and vision insurance, and healthcare flexible spending account; Life Insurance, and short-term and long-term disability insurance; Wellness benefits, including an employee assistance program, virtual mental health program, and mindfulness program; and Voluntary benefit options, including supplemental life insurance, identity theft protection, and whole life insurance with long-term care and critical illness coverage. Benefits are subject to eligibility requirements and plan terms and may change.

Spencer Stuart is a proud equal opportunity and affirmative action employer. We are committed to non-discrimination without regard to actual or perceived race, ethnicity, creed, color, religion, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions), national origin, immigration status, ancestry, age, marital status, protected veteran status, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any basis prohibited under applicable federal, state or local law. Spencer Stuart is a proud equal opportunity and affirmative action employer. We are committed to non-discrimination without regard to actual or perceived race, ethnicity, creed, color, religion, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions), national origin, immigration status, ancestry, age, marital status, protected veteran status, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any basis prohibited under applicable federal, state or local law.

Founded in 1956 and privately owned, Spencer Stuart is one of the world’s leading executive search and leadership advisory firms. With 70 offices in 31 countries, the firm is considered to be the advisor of choice among top companies seeking guidance and counsel on senior leadership needs, and has unrivaled access to leading executives around the world. Spencer Stuart works with a wide range of clients, including multinational corporations, entrepreneurial businesses, private equity firms, family-owned companies, and nonprofit organizations.

Achieving Excellence As a leading professional services firm, Spencer Stuart prides itself on having a unique culture—a company culture made up of extremely results-oriented individuals, who also have strong relationship and collaboration orientations. Spencer Stuart strives for excellence in all that it does, and in all of its teams.

Looking For Leaders Spencer Stuart consultants apply real insight into clients’ strategic requirements and proven assessment tools to recruit leaders who have the necessary skill, experience, and personal qualities to advance company strategies and achieve outstanding results. Teams are organized into industry and functional practices to maximize sector specialization and knowledge sharing across the firm. These client service teams are supported by first-rate associates and research analysts, working across international borders and backed by state-of-the-art technology.

Problem Solvers Spencer Stuart is not only matching the right management with the right business missions, it’s also creating incredibly meaningful Leadership Teams that add long-term value, solve a wide range of important problems across organizations, and help candidates further exceptional careers.

Professionally, employees also learn multinational businesses inside out by working side-by-side with the world’s most phenomenal clients and leaders.

Website Accessibility Disability Accommodation for Individuals Applying to Spencer Stuart U.S. Spencer Stuart is an Equal Employment Opportunity / Affirmative Action employer and provides reasonable accommodation for qualified individuals with disabilities and disabled veterans in job application procedures. Disability Accommodation for Individuals Applying to Spencer Stuart U.K. Spencer Stuart UK is an equal opportunities employer whereby all employment decisions are based on job requirements, business needs and individual qualifications, with no attention to any protected characteristic. We are also a Level 1 Disability Confident Employer and will therefore provide reasonable adjustments to individuals in job application processes and ensure the process is fully inclusive and accessible. If you have any difficulty using our online system and you need an accommodation due to a disability, you may use the alternative email address below to contact us about your interest in employment in the United States or United Kingdom: [e-mail]. Only resumes for current open positions can be accepted.

Notice to Recruiters & Staffing Agencies Our preference at Spencer Stuart is to recruit candidates directly. We do occasionally partner with a limited number of preferred agencies when we identify a need for third party staffing support. We do not accept unsolicited agency resumes. We will pay a fee only if the candidate is presented after there is a signed recruiting agreement in place between Spencer Stuart and the agency and only if we have explicitly engaged the agency to submit resumes for a specific current opening. We do not pay fees for unsolicited candidates submitted to Spencer Stuart or any Spencer Stuart employee by email, fax, phone, mail, verbal referral or any other means. In the case of candidates submitted to Spencer Stuart without a signed agreement in place or without being solicited to work on a specific open requisition, Spencer Stuart explicitly reserves the right to pursue and hire those unsolicited candidates without any financial obligation to the recruiter or agency.

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