Sr Dir Corporate Strategy

UKG (Ultimate Kronos Group); Helena (MT); On-site; USD 207,000 - 296,000; Full time

Job summary

UKG is seeking a senior Corporate Strategy leader in the United States to shape enterprise strategy, advise the Executive Committee, and drive cross-functional strategic initiatives across market entry, product strategy, and operating models.

You will own complex analyses, build business cases, and prioritize initiatives to accelerate growth and margins, while communicating clearly with senior leadership and stakeholders across the organization.

Qualifications

• 12+ years of relevant experience in Corporate Strategy, management consulting, strategic finance, business operations, product strategy, or related field.
• Experience in enterprise software, SaaS, HCM, workforce management, AI-enabled software, or adjacent tech market.
• Proven ability to advise C-suite or senior executive leaders on complex decisions.
• Ownership of major strategy engagements from problem definition to activation.
• Exceptional business judgment and ability to connect market, customer, product, and financial dynamics.
• Advanced quantitative and analytical capabilities including market sizing and financial modeling.
• Outstanding executive communication skills with concise writing and storytelling.
• Track record of influencing without direct authority and cross-functional impact.
• Demonstrated people leadership and coaching of high-performing teams.
• Leadership style: curious, collaborative, and focused on enterprise outcomes.
• Comfort operating as player-coach across synthesis, problem solving, and team development.
• Entrepreneurial mindset and ability to create clarity amid uncertainty.

Responsibilities

• Shape UKG's enterprise strategy and multi-year strategic agenda; translate insights into clear priorities and resource implications.
• Serve as trusted advisor to the Executive Committee and functional leaders, providing structured problem solving and recommendations.
• Sponsor and lead cross-functional strategy engagements across market entry, product strategy, operating model, and growth initiatives.
• Identify and prioritize opportunities to accelerate growth, improve margins, and increase enterprise value.
• Set analytical approach for complex strategic questions, including models, cases, and primary research.
• Build coalitions across functions to move from recommendation to decision and execution.
• Distill issues into executive-ready narratives and board-level materials.
• Represent Corporate Strategy in industry forums to strengthen external perspective.
• Lead, coach, and develop strategy talent and foster a high-accountability team.

Skills

Strategy leadership

Executive advisory

Cross-functional collaboration

Analytical thinking

Communication skills

Problem solving

Entrepreneurial mindset

People leadership

Education

MBA

Job description

Why UKG:

At UKG, the work you do matters. The code you ship, the decisions you make, and the care you show a customer all add up to real impact. Today, tens of millions of workers start and end their days with our workforce operating platform. Helping people get paid, grow in their careers, and shape the future of their industries. That’s what we do.

We never stop learning. We never stop challenging the norm. We push for better, and we celebrate the wins along the way. Here, you’ll get flexibility that’s real, benefits you can count on, and a team that succeeds together. Because at UKG, your work matters—and so do you.

Key Responsibilities

• Enterprise strategy and strategic planning. Shape UKG's enterprise strategy and multi-year strategic agenda; translate market, customer, product, financial, and competitive insights into clear choices, priorities, and resource implications.


• Executive advisory. Serve as a trusted thought partner to the Executive Committee and functional leaders, bringing structured problem solving, independent perspective, and well-reasoned recommendations to ambiguous or high-stakes issues.


• Strategic initiative leadership. Sponsor and lead cross-functional strategy engagements across market entry, product and portfolio strategy, operating model, growth acceleration, strategic alliances, and other enterprise priorities.


• Value creation. Identify, size, prioritize, and help activate opportunities to accelerate growth, improve competitive position, expand margins, or strengthen long-term enterprise value.


• Decision framing and analytics. Set the analytical approach for complex strategic questions, including hypotheses, decision frameworks, market sizing, scenario modeling, business cases, primary research, and synthesis of imperfect data.


• Enterprise alignment and influence. Build coalitions across functions and levels, reconcile competing perspectives, and create the clarity and momentum required to move from recommendation to decision and execution.


• Executive communication. Distill complex issues into compelling narratives and board- or executive-ready materials that focus leaders on the decisions, tradeoffs, and actions that matter most.


• External perspective. Represent Corporate Strategy in selected industry, customer, partner, and market forums to strengthen UKG's outside-in perspective and strategic network.


• Team and talent leadership. Lead, coach, and develop strategy talent; raise the bar for problem solving, executive communication, and quality of output; create an inclusive, high-accountability team environment.

About You

• 12+ years of relevant experience in Corporate Strategy, management consulting, strategic finance, business operations, product strategy, or a related field, including significant experience leading enterprise-level strategic work.


• Experience in enterprise software, SaaS, HCM, workforce management, AI-enabled software, or an adjacent technology market.


• MBA or other relevant graduate degree preferred.


• Proven ability to advise C-suite or senior executive leaders on complex, ambiguous, and cross-functional business decisions.


• Demonstrated ownership of major strategy engagements from problem definition and analytical design through executive recommendation, alignment, and activation.


• Exceptional business judgment and commercial acumen, with the ability to connect market, customer, product, operational, and financial dynamics.


• Advanced quantitative and analytical capabilities, including experience overseeing complex market sizing, scenario analysis, business cases, financial modeling, primary research, and synthesis of large or imperfect data sets.


• Outstanding executive communication skills, including strategic storylining, concise writing, distinctive presentation development, and confident facilitation of senior-level discussions.


• Track record of influencing without direct authority and building trusted relationships across functions, geographies, and organizational levels.


• Demonstrated people leadership, including coaching and developing high-performing teams and setting a consistently high bar for quality and impact.


• Leadership style that combines low ego with high standards: intellectually curious, candid, collaborative, resilient, and focused on enterprise outcomes over individual credit.


• Comfort operating as a player-coach - able to move seamlessly between executive-level synthesis, hands-on problem solving, and team development.


• Entrepreneurial mindset and strong ownership orientation; energized by unstructured problems and able to create clarity amid uncertainty.

Company Overview:

UKG is the Workforce Operating Platform that puts workforce understanding to work. With the world's largest collection of workforce insights, and people-first AI, our ability to reveal unseen ways to build trust, amplify productivity, and empower talent, is unmatched. It's this expertise that equips our customers with the intelligence to solve any challenge in any industry — because great organizations know their workforce is their competitive edge. Learn more at ukg.com.

Equal Opportunity Employer

UKG is an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, disability, religion, sex, age, national origin, veteran status, genetic information, and other legally protected categories.

View The EEO Know Your Rights poster (https://www.eeoc.gov/sites/default/files/2022-10/EEOC_KnowYourRights_screen_reader_10_20.pdf)

UKG participates in E-Verify. View the E-Verify posters here (https://www.e-verify.gov/sites/default/files/everify/posters/EVerifyParticipationPoster.pdf) .

It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

Disability Accommodation in the Application and Interview Process

For individuals with disabilities that need additional assistance at any point in the application and interview process, please email [e-mail] .

The pay range for this position is $207,400 to $296,000. The actual base pay offered may vary depending on skills, experience, job-related knowledge and work location. In addition to base pay, employees may be eligible to participate in a performance-based bonus plan and to receive restricted stock unit awards as part of total compensation. Learn more about UKG’s benefits and rewards at https://www.ukg.com/about-us/careers/benefits

It is the policy of Ultimate Software to promote and assure equal employment opportunity for all current and prospective Peeps without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, disability, marital status, familial status, sexual orientation, pregnancy, genetic information, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, veteran status, and any other legally protected status entitled to protection under federal, state, or local anti-discrimination laws. This policy governs all matters related to recruitment, advertising, and initial selection of employment. It shall also apply to all other aspects of employment, including, but not limited to, compensation, promotion, demotion, transfer, lay-offs, terminations, leave of absence, and training opportunities.