Associate, Industrial Practice

Associate for the Industrial Practice

Spencer Stuart is seeking to recruit an Associate for the Industrial Practice. This Associate will have the opportunity to help solve Chief Executive Officer and other C-level functional executive searches, working across sectors, and will develop a specialization over time. With exposure to a broad set of clients and leadership challenges, this Associate will help to identify and develop diverse candidate slates as an essential member of the global search team.

The Associate role combines project management, research, assessment, sourcing, validation, and relationship-building skills to deliver extraordinary service and value to Spencer Stuart clients.

Successful candidates for the Associate position will have strong project management ability, writing skills, results orientation, rigorous attention to details, intellectual curiosity and ideally, an understanding of the industrial sector. The Associate will enjoy the challenge of working internally with a variety of Consultants across geographies, and externally with diverse, senior-level executives and board members. Associates will be expected to acquire deep and insightful candidate pool knowledge over time.

The Associate will ideally be based in Chicago or New York City. There is an expectation of being in the office a minimum of two days a week. In the early stages, it will be beneficial for the individual to spend more time in the office to build relationships, engage with colleagues and participate in the local office community.

• Contribute actively to the start-up phase of each search by participating in client kick-off meetings with the Consultant and assisting in the development of the position specification, search strategy and target list of companies.
• Gather relevant information regarding the appropriate industries and target companies. Identify potential prospects and sources and represent the client effectively in the marketplace, discussing the opportunity with relevant executives.
• Validate potential candidates through reference and source calls.
• Partner with the Consultant to develop and present a slate of qualified candidates to each client. Anticipate what needs to drive the search to closure and be prepared to supply additional information, such as related industry/segment trends, market findings, reaction to the opportunity, compensation data, etc., gained during the course of a search.
• Contribute to the preparation of position specifications, candidate presentations and reference reports adhering to the Firm's assessment methodology.
• Communicate effectively with the Consultant and Executive Assistant, and remain fully abreast of search developments, in order to communicate accurately and credibly regarding the assignment.
• Prepare organized information for the client progress reports/meetings by teaming with the Consultant and the Executive Assistant. Provide an informed perspective on prospects/candidates and how they match against the key selection criteria.
• Be aware of activities and management changes in the relevant industry's sector; keep team members apprised of relevant developments in the marketplace.
• Add to the firm's candidate pool expertise by continually identifying and introducing new talent to the firm. Ensure that up to date assignment, company and candidate information during the course of an assignment is always available for colleagues, by leveraging technology and information from the firm's state-of-the-art, proprietary database.
• Contribute to responses to inquiries for new business, as well as business development initiatives.
• Be willing and proactive about contributing to local, practice or firm-wide initiatives. Coordinate and share practice related information with colleagues for potentially broader distribution.

• 3+ years of progressive business experience in executive search, recruiting, talent acquisition, strategy consulting, or a relevant professional services environment, with significant time spent in client service
• Advancement of skills and knowledge evidenced through promotion or tenure
• Superior project management skills demonstrated through experience working in a high-performance environment where multiple projects and competing demands are the norm
• Excellent communication skills shown through clear, structured and concise written and verbal presentation
• Undergraduate degree required; postgraduate degree a plus

Project Management

• Takes an end-to-end view of each project and the required resources; works at pace and with attention to detail while managing competing deadlines and priorities; has a sense of urgency.
• Understands the search process (from internal kick-off to referencing); asks questions to understand; and is proactive.
• Works on multiple projects; meets deadlines and is resilient under pressure; delivers on commitments on time or notifies as early as possible if deadlines will slip.
• Demonstrates enthusiasm,…