Strategic Desk Lead — Trading Operations & Growth

imc; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work environment in Chicago

In-office 4 days per week

Job summary

IMC is seeking a Chief of Staff in Chicago to act as a strategic partner, aligning trading and business support teams while driving cross-functional initiatives and process improvements. The role reports to desk leadership and offers exposure to trading leadership with a path toward broader responsibility.

You will own goal tracking, drive desk meetings, manage onboarding, and push continuous improvements in desk operations and communication.

Qualifications

• MBA or equivalent advanced degree.
• 2+ years of post-MBA experience in top-tier management consulting or a comparable structured problem-solving environment.
• Demonstrated ability to influence and align senior stakeholders across multiple levels, including executive leadership, without formal authority.
• Proven track record of owning complex, cross-functional projects and delivering results in unstructured and ambiguous environments.
• Strong knowledge of business, finance and analytics; strong quantitative skills and comfort working directly with financial and operational data.
• Proven track record of identifying and driving process improvements that enhance efficiency and communication.
• Outstanding communication and presentation skills, with the ability to craft compelling narratives and build supporting materials (decks, briefings, and reports).
• Strong interpersonal skills and a collaborative approach to building relationships across teams and levels.
• Excellent organizational, verbal, analytical, and written skills with attention to detail.
• Interest in financial markets and a desire to build domain expertise in trading.

Responsibilities

• Operate at a tactical, strategic and operational level, handling the oversight of projects that do not neatly fit within the organizational chart or that fall between departments or leadership areas of responsibility.
• Drive cross-functional desk initiatives and buildouts from initiation through delivery, managing scope, milestones, dependencies, and escalations
• Co-ordinate business development for the desk
• Support budget planning, cost allocation reviews, and cost approval processes for the desk.
• Support evaluation, onboarding, and ongoing management of vendors and external data providers, including cost and performance reviews.
• Coordinate desk resourcing and staffing needs with recruiting and training teams.
• Contribute to long-range strategic planning and cascade firm strategy into desk-level goals and deliverables.
• Own goal tracking and milestones; ensure communication processes are completed when goals are achieved
• Coordinate, and lead desk meetings and follow up on action items; including
• Promote information flow and knowledge sharing across teams working on similar initiatives.
• Serve as owner/main point of contact for all stakeholders in onboarding and transfer processes.
• Drive continuous improvement of desk processes, tooling, and communication.
• Working closely with trading leads, proactively spot opportunities to improve efficiency of desk operations.
• Support team culture and engagement by fostering connection, recognition, and collaboration
• Own the desk's internal communication cadence, including planning and coordinating desk celebrations, offsites, and the holiday coverage calendar
• Perform daily reconciliation checks on PnL and support outputs; identify and flag discrepancies directly to the relevant support teams before they elevate.

Skills

Influence senior stakeholders

Cross-functional collaboration

Strong communication

Analytical skills

Interpersonal skills

Education

MBA or equivalent advanced degree

Job description

IMC is seeking a Chief of Staff in Chicago to act as a strategic partner, aligning trading and business support teams while driving cross-functional initiatives and process improvements. The role reports to desk leadership and offers exposure to trading leadership with a path toward broader responsibility.

You will own goal tracking, drive desk meetings, manage onboarding, and push continuous improvements in desk operations and communication.