Practice Lead – IT Consulting

Gateway Staffing & Consulting; Cincinnati (OH); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

A dynamic consulting firm in Ohio is seeking an experienced Practice Lead to drive business development, operational excellence, and IT strategy. This pivotal role requires extensive experience in IT operations and consulting, alongside strong skills in sales, marketing, and team leadership. The ideal candidate will manage market visibility, client engagement, and strategic growth, fostering an environment of innovation and excellence. Competitive compensation package includes base salary and business growth incentives.

Qualifications

• 10+ years in IT operations, infrastructure, or technical consulting roles with progressive responsibility.
• Proven experience in business development and consulting practice growth.
• Strong understanding of modern IT concepts: cloud, security, data analytics.
• Strong understanding of modern IT concepts: cloud (Azure), security, data analytics, governance, automation/AI, digital transformation.
• Executive presence with excellent communication, storytelling, and client-facing skills.
• Ability to work cross-functionally with joint-venture related businesses.
• Entrepreneurial mindset with the ability to build new offerings, practices, and revenue streams.

Responsibilities

• Build and execute business development strategies aligned with the board’s direction.
• Ensure engagement quality and delivery consistency.
• Drive various sales and marketing efforts internally and externally.
• Develop and maintain a healthy pipeline across verticals, with strong forecasting discipline.
• Represent the company in executive-level conversations with prospective clients, delivering high-value insights that drive engagement.
• Establish repeatable sales motions, frameworks, and playbooks to support long-term practice growth.
• Ensure engagement quality, delivery consistency, and adherence to company methodologies.
• Collaborate with engineering, project, and account teams to align cross-functional operations and consulting deliverables.
• Drive practice KPIs including utilization, revenue forecasting, pipeline health, margin targets, and client satisfaction.
• Support staffing decisions, resource allocation, and engagement scoping.
• Execute operational processes that improve efficiency, scalability, and alignment with each business unit.
• Drive various sales and marketing efforts for the company internally and externally, in partnership with the marketing division.
• Develop thought leadership content, presentations, webinars, whitepapers, and collateral that position the company as a trusted expert in IT strategy and transformation.
• Shape and refine the brand positioning, messaging, and go-to-market narrative across service offerings.
• Represent at industry events, conferences, community engagements, and client-facing briefings.

Skills

Business development

Executive advisory

Operational leadership

Cloud (Azure)

Data analytics

Automation/AI

Excellent communication

Governance

Automation/AI

Executive communication

Cross-functional collaboration

Entrepreneurial mindset

Job description

Position Overview

We are seeking a dynamic Practice Lead to drive the growth, operational excellence, and market visibility of our emerging consulting practice. This role blends executive-level IT strategy, daily operational leadership, sales and business development, and marketing direction.

The ideal candidate functions as a CIO-level leader who is equally comfortable in sales and a go-to-market strategy operator who can steer the ship while also generating new revenue opportunities. This role is central to building the next era of our consulting engine and expanding our impact across the client base and beyond.

Responsibilities

Business Development & Growth

• Build and execute business development strategies aligned with the board’s strategic direction.
• Partner with leaders across the organization to co-create consulting opportunities, assess client needs, and develop solution pathways.
• Lead pursuit efforts for consulting engagements including IT strategy, Fractional CIO, Data Analytics, Security Advisory, AI/Automation, Cloud Transformation, and Governance.
• Develop and maintain a healthy pipeline across verticals, with strong forecasting discipline.
• Represent the company in executive-level conversations with prospective clients, delivering high-value insights that drive engagement.
• Establish repeatable sales motions, frameworks, and playbooks to support long-term practice growth.

Daily Business Operations

• Ensure engagement quality, delivery consistency, and adherence to company methodologies.
• Collaborate closely with engineering, project, and account teams to align cross-functional operations and consulting deliverables.
• Drive practice KPIs including utilization, revenue forecasting, pipeline health, margin targets, and client satisfaction.
• Support staffing decisions, resource allocation, and engagement scoping.
• Execute operational processes that improve efficiency, scalability, and alignment with each business unit.

Marketing & Market Presence

• Drive various sales and marketing efforts for the company internally and externally, in partnership with the marketing division.
• Develop thought leadership content, presentations, webinars, whitepapers, and collateral that position the company as a trusted expert in IT strategy and transformation.
• Shape and refine the brand positioning, messaging, and go-to-market narrative across service offerings.
• Represent at industry events, conferences, community engagements, and client-facing briefings.

Required Skills & Experience

• 10+ years in IT operations, infrastructure, or technical consulting roles with progressive responsibility with the ability to understand, guide, and communicate technical decisions without needing to be the primary implementer.
• Proven experience in business development, executive advisory, or consulting practice growth.
• Operational leadership experience: managing teams, delivery processes, and financial performance.
• Strong understanding of modern IT concepts: cloud (Azure), security, data analytics, governance, automation/AI, digital transformation.
• Executive presence with excellent communication, storytelling, and client-facing skills.
• Ability to work cross-functionally with joint-venture related businesses.
• Entrepreneurial mindset with the ability to build new offerings, practices, and revenue streams.

Success Metrics

• Practice revenue growth and margin contribution.
• New client acquisition and expansion within the current client base.
• Marketing reach and brand visibility improvements.
• Operational excellence: utilization, delivery quality, client outcomes.
• Development of scalable frameworks and repeatable consulting models.

Reports to: Leadership Team/Board

Compensation: Base Salary + Business Growth Incentives