Director, Consulting Programs

Bain & Company; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 187,000 - 225,000; Full time

Job summary

Bain & Company in Houston is seeking a Director, Consulting Programs to lead staffing and development for Senior Managers, Managers, and Senior Consultants in Texas. You will align capacity planning with client needs, influence cross-office staffing decisions, and drive professional growth across cohorts.

This role requires strong leadership, strategic thinking, and excellent stakeholder management in a matrixed organization.

Qualifications

• Strong strategic thinking and business judgment required.
• Exceptional stakeholder management and influencing skills.
• Proven coaching and people-leadership capabilities.
• Based in Houston or willing to relocate; able to work four days per week in the Houston office.

Responsibilities

• Lead staffing for Senior Managers, Managers, and Senior Consultants across Texas.
• Partner with Talent VP, Partners, and regional leaders to balance client service and staffing needs.
• Oversee capacity planning and cross-office staffing decisions.
• Manage promotion programs and professional development across cohorts.
• Provide career guidance, mentoring, and performance feedback guidance.

Skills

Strategic thinking

Analytical capability

Business judgment

Stakeholder management

Communication (written & verbal)

Coaching & people leadership

Confidentiality

Cross-functional leadership

Partnering with senior executives

Leadership experience

Houston-based / relocation

Office presence 4 days/week

Travel readiness

Education

MBA or advanced degree

10+ years of relevant experience

Job description

You'll join Bain's Texas talent team and serve as a key people leader for our Houston office. You'll work closely with the Texas Talent Vice President, Houston Office Head, Partners, Team Leads, and other talent stakeholders to support our Senior Manager, Manager, and Senior Consultant populations.

You'll also manage and collaborate closely with another Program Manager in Houston and partner with Program Managers across our other Texas offices. Your work will be central to both serving our clients and advancing Bain's talent strategy in Houston and across Texas.

WHERE YOU'LL FIT WITHIN THE TEAM

As Director, Consulting Programs, you'll serve as the local office talent leader for Program Management, overseeing staffing and professional development for Senior Managers, Managers, and Senior Consultants.

You'll build trusted relationships across these cohorts, helping individuals navigate staffing, performance, professional development, and career decisions while balancing client, business, and talent priorities. You'll also play an important leadership role across the broader Texas talent team.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

Your responsibilities will include:

• Lead Senior Manager staffing, primarily within General Practice, by partnering with the Talent Vice President and Partners to understand staffing needs and match Senior Managers with opportunities that support both business needs and long-term development.
• Partner with office and regional leadership to balance client service, utilization, retention, price realization, and investment considerations in staffing decisions.
• Oversee Houston's participation in Texas capacity and pipeline planning, ensuring accurate and transparent capacity information and supporting cross-office staffing decisions.
• Manage Senior Manager client development requests within the Houston office.
• Lead staffing for Managers and Senior Consultants, balancing commercial priorities, case complexity, individual development needs, and promotion readiness.
• Serve as Program Manager for Managers approaching their Senior Manager promotion window and oversee the overall Manager promotion program.
• Serve as Program Manager for Senior Consultants, assessing professional development needs, staffing opportunities, and individual preferences.
• Lead professional development for Senior Managers, Managers, and Senior Consultants, including review of case-end and consensus feedback, performance ratings, and required follow-up actions.
• Build strong one-on-one relationships with individuals in your cohorts, providing career guidance, mentoring, and support.
• Monitor staffing experiences to help ensure individuals gain exposure to a variety of consulting projects and development opportunities.
• Support calibration discussions and participate in the biannual performance feedback process across Texas.
• Represent Houston staffing perspectives in Senior Manager promotion discussions and provide decision support to the Texas Senior Manager Promotion Committee.
• Lead New Senior Manager and New Manager orientations every six months.
• Manage Senior Manager Building Bain assignments in partnership with the Houston Office Head and provide input on recruiting, mentorship, and training allocations.
• Partner with office leaders, Class Champions, and Class Captains to strengthen cohort connectivity, learning, and development.
• Monitor performance-support needs and interventions.
• Advise Recruiting and office leadership on talent pyramid needs, external hiring, interviewing, leveling, and closing.
• Partner with Recruiting and leadership on intern staffing, performance assessments, future class needs, and selected marketing activities.
• Lead onboarding and integration for external hires in partnership with Recruiting and Houston office leadership.
• Support regional changes affecting the Senior Manager experience.
• Partner with HR on employee relations, employment policy, and related matters.
• Support consulting-staff capacity planning, including case activity, vacations, training conflicts, incoming and outgoing personnel, and upcoming case transitions.
• Serve as a point of contact for questions about upcoming availability and the impact of potential cases, backfills, and departures.
• Support long-term capacity analysis and periodic talent pyramid updates for office leadership.

ABOUT YOU

Required qualifications and capabilities:

• Strong strategic thinking, analytical capability, and business judgment.
• Ability to structure complex and ambiguous business problems and develop practical recommendations.
• Strong organizational skills and ability to prioritize in an environment with changing demands.
• Excellent stakeholder-management and influencing skills, including experience working with senior leaders.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills and the ability to adapt your communication style across audiences.
• Proven coaching and people-leadership skills, including experience motivating and developing colleagues.
• Ability to handle confidential information with professionalism and discretion.
• Demonstrated success leading cross-functional strategic initiatives in complex, matrixed organizations.
• Experience partnering with senior executives on strategic planning, business analysis, or enterprise initiatives.
• Experience leading and developing high-performing professional teams.
• Based in Houston or willing to relocate.
• Ability to work from the Bain Houston office four days per week, including Fridays.
• Ability to travel occasionally to other Texas offices as required.

Preferred qualifications:

• At least 18 months of experience as a General Consulting Senior Manager at Bain.
• MBA or another advanced degree.
• 10+ years of relevant professional experience.

You'll be most successful in this role if you are collaborative, proactive, pragmatic, data-oriented, comfortable navigating ambiguity, and energized by building relationships and developing others.

US COMPENSATION INFORMATION

Compensation for this role includes base salary, annual discretionary performance bonus, 401(k) plan with an annual employer contribution based on years of service and Bain's best-in-class benefits package.

Some local governments in the United States require a good-faith, reasonable salary range to be included in job postings for open roles. The estimated annualized compensation for this role is as follows:

• In Texas, the good-faith, reasonable annualized full-time salary range for this role is $187,000 - $224,500. Placement within this range will vary based on several factors including, but not limited to, experience, education, licensure/certifications, training, and skill level.
• Annual discretionary performance bonus.
• This role may also be eligible for other elements of discretionary compensation.
• 4.5% 401(k) company contribution, which increases after three years of service and is 100% vested upon start date.

Bain & Company's comprehensive benefits and wellness program is designed to help employees achieve personal independence, protection, and stability in the areas most important to you and your family.

• Bain pays 100% of individual employee premiums for medical, dental, and vision programs, offering one of the most comprehensive medical plans for employees without impacting your paycheck.
• Generous paid time off, including parental leave, sick leave, and paid holidays.
• Fully vested 401(k) company contribution.
• Paid life and long-term disability insurance.

WHAT MAKES US A GREAT PLACE TO WORK

We are proud to be consistently recognized as one of the world's best places to work. We are currently the top ranked consulting firm on Glassdoor's Best Places to Work list and have earned the #1 overall spot a record seven times. Extraordinary teams are at the heart of our business strategy, but these don't happen by chance. They require intentional focus on bringing together a broad set of backgrounds, cultures, experiences, perspectives, and skills in a supportive and inclusive work environment. We hire people with exceptional talent and create an environment in which every individual can thrive professionally and personally.