Strategy Consultant at Old Mutual South Africa

Job Description

• As a strategy analyst you will form the backbone of Group Strategy project teams and will be expected to play a key role in all aspects of delivering strategic support and initiatives to Old Mutual Limited.
• Highly organised and analytically very strong, you will be capable of working with minimal direction – structuring your own rigorous research, modelling and analysis to provide the insights required to answer our clients’ toughest strategic questions. You will take ownership of discrete research and analysis work streams within a more complex project and will be capable of pulling together multiple streams of work to deliver smaller projects with limited oversight.
• You must feel comfortable in an advisory role offering real strategic insight based on a data-backed argument to both internal project teams and to the “client.” The ideal candidate is self-motivated, ambitious and can think creatively when addressing problems.

Strategy development/ thought leadership

• Analyse the organisation’s wider environment and draw conclusions about the impact of events and activities; guide the team to create solutions that deliver value in line with the business and finance plans
• Link ideas or events, use insights to shape the views of managers and feed insights and observations to senior finance colleagues to influence business decisions
• Understand the steps to achieve long-term business strategy, identify immediate threats or opportunities to the business and resolve or escalate them accordingly
• Content expert on stream of work within a project. Comfortable defending findings to internal clients 
• Solid business grasp, keeps up to date with business press and can sound knowledgeable with internal clients on most general issues
• General understanding of internal client's business and goals, enough to sound informed and competent in conversation        
• Builds areas of expertise within Group Strategy department    

Strategic Networking

• Evaluates current network for effectiveness and relevance to achieving strategic objectives within own area.
• Identifies and creates opportunities to initiate new connections that will facilitate the achievement of strategic goals within own area

Problem Solving

• Processes and distils a variety of information to understand a problem fully
• Proposes options for solutions to presented problems
• Builds on the ideas of others to encourage creative problem solving
• Thinks laterally about own work, considering different ways to approach problems
• Seeks the opinions and experiences of others to understand different approaches to problem solving

Strategic Thinking

• Demonstrates awareness of the impact of own work on aspects of organisational strategy, and the impact of organisational strategy on own work.
• Identifies implications of own analysis

Responding to pressure and change

• Maintains a focus on key priorities and deliverables, staying resilient in the face of pressure
• Anticipates and adapts flexibly to changing requirements
• Uses challenges as an opportunity to learn and improve
• Participates fully and encourages others to engage in change initiatives
• Manages team’s well-being, supporting them to cope with pressure and change

Stakeholder Focus

• Seeks to understand requirements, gathering extra information when needs are not clear
• Presents GS positively by interacting effectively with stakeholders
• Delivers a timely and accurate service
• Understands the differing needs of stakeholders and adapts own service accordingly
• Seeks and uses feedback from a variety of sources to improve GS's service to the organisation

Organisational awareness

• Challenges unethical behaviour
• Uses understanding of OML's complex partnership arrangements to deliver effectively
• Recognises how political changes and sensitivities impact on own and team’s work
• Is aware of the changing needs, anticipating resulting changes for work agendas
• Anticipates outcomes based on an understanding of organisational decision making bodies and power relationships.
• Promotes and encourages others to keep up to date with the organisation’s rules, structures, decision-making bodies, networks, power relationships and environment

Organisational Alignment

• Stays aware of the organisational objectives and monitors current developments and trends that may affect implementation of organisational direction, programmes or plans.
• Helps others understand the strategic goals of the organisation and how their work relates to these

Research and Analysis

• Proactively seeks new information sources to progress research agendas and address gaps in knowledge
• Grasps limitations of or assumptions behind data sources, disregarding those that lack quality
• Analyses and integrates qualitative and quantitative data to find new insights
• Translates research outcomes into concise, meaningful reports
• Identifies relevant and practical research questions for the future

Market and regulatory environment

• Apply knowledge of the organisation’s products and services along with their markets to own activities, including regulatory environment to day-to-day role
• Use sound knowledge of the organisation’s customers and competitors to analyse and challenge business cases; apply regulatory understanding in support of reporting requirements and investment funding decisions
• Devise short-term tactical responses based on understanding of impact of external factors on the organisation’s performance
• Understand behaviour and effects (adverse and positive) of issues involved in both the domestic and global economy
• Ability to analyse various economic indicators and their impact on the organisation goals, strategies, products and services

Process management

• Operate parts of key business processes assigned; understand the elements that make up each process and the performance measures that can be applied to each; proactively identify process improvement opportunities
• Implement best practices and industry trends; manage others to ensure they comply with processes and operating procedures in place to achieve results
• Ensure standardisation is applied to all processes — creating, developing, improving and complying with the standards

Project management

• Develop simple project plans including business case, contingencies, critical paths and apply project management tools and techniques
• Manage and monitor implementation of multiple project plans and handle obstacles effectively
• Communicate project plans and outcomes

Communicating and influence

• Clearly articulates the key points of an argument, both in verbal and written communication
• Persuades others, using evidence based knowledge, modifying approach to deliver message effectively
• Challenges the views of others in an open and constructive way
• Presents a credible and positive image both internally and externally

Developing Talent

• Helps others learn from experience and development initiatives. Recommends readings, trainings and other resources.
• Continually acquires and applies new knowledge and learning to improve job performance.
• Provides constructive feedback to others

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS / EXPERIENCE (REQUIRED FOR THE JOB)

• Relevant tertiary qualification (BCom, BSc, CA, Actuarial Science or B Bus SC or similar)
• 2 - 3 years relevant experience in financial services and/or business strategy
• Prior consultancy experience is an advantage

Skills

• Agendas, Agendas, Analytical Thinking, Business, Business Acumen, Business Strategies, Change Initiatives, Communication, Consulting, Critical Paths, Deliverables Management, Emerging Technologies, Finance, Financial Analysis, Futures Markets, Industry Trends, Leading Project Teams, Organizational Alignment, Organizational Strategy, Organizing, People Management, Prioritization, Problem Solving, Process Improvements, Process Management {+ 9 more}

Education

• Bachelors Degree (B) (Required)

Closing Date

17 May 2023