Senior Director Corporate Strategy

at  Pearson

THE DEPARTMENT

Strategy and Corporate Development is a small, high-profile team reporting to the Chief Strategy Officer and based across Pearson’s London and Hoboken, NJ offices. This team works hand in hand to drive all group strategy, venture & investment, strategic partnership, and M&A activity across the Pearson group. Within the department, our team – Group Strategy - is responsible for providing strategic thought leadership by working collaboratively with colleagues across all areas of the business to develop Pearson’s strategic direction and identify what Pearson needs to do to succeed. We collaborate closely with the M&A and Venture & Investments teams, as well as with Pearson’s business divisions, so your projects will provide you with many learning and networking opportunities. Our team has a significant amount of exposure to the Pearson CEO, CFO, Executive team, and Board.

SUMMARY

Reporting to Head of Corporate Strategy, the Senior Director of Group Strategy and Business Development is a key role that will drive, facilitate, and enable Pearson’s Corporate strategy and strategic business partnerships. The role will support the business strategy leads, SME’s, PEM members and the Board to deliver that strategy. This role will align our people, enabling functions, businesses and change transformation agenda and market priorities to enable a balance between current state forward and future state back plans and initiatives.
This role will be accountable for ensuring that Pearson orientates and continues to move towards our 5-year strategic vision. This role will connect the various business teams, functions, and investment plans to connect a new strategy advisory council with representations from across the business and key functions to ensure a joined-up pathway towards the future state. This role will be part of the expanded Corporate Development & Strategy team and work closely with senior business leaders and their key team members, Finance and other key enabling functions such as the Transformation Office to ensure the strategic opportunities are aligned to our long-term appetite and business vision.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

• Significant experience in strategy, commercial, consulting, or operational management. The ideal candidate would’ve worked with a top-tier consulting firm for 5-6 years post grad degree level.
• Able to think strategically, decomposing and simplifying complex problems.
• Strong commercial acumen and skills in financial analysis, business case development & interpretation with extensive experience managing strategic projects teams.
• Excellent communicator and team player, with the ability and confidence to influence stakeholders, collaborate effectively and to build strong relationships at all levels.
• Highly analytical and experienced in execution with diligent tracking and monitoring.
• Experience of delivering large scale strategic plans, investment plans and business opportunities
• Degree level education or equivalent preferred
• Experience in developing and supervising team members.
• Ability to work under pressure to time critical deadlines and changing priorities. Strong senior level stakeholder management and influencing skills, able to shape, adapt and engage with executive leaders.
• High levels of intellectual capacity and ability to synthesize complex ideas and information into actions that matter.
• Strong leadership skills with credibility across varying stakeholders.
• Collaborative work style; able to adapt and work effectively in a matrixed management structure.
• Self-starter with ability to prioritize and multi-task with strong time management skills, organizationally savvy.
  Compensation at Pearson is influenced by a wide array of factors including but not limited to skill set, level of experience, and specific location. As required by the Colorado, California, Washington State, New York State and New York City laws, the pay range for this position is as follows:
  The minimum full-time salary range is between $220,000 - $250,000.
  This position is eligible to participate in an annual incentive program, and information on benefits offered is here

The role will be accountable for the following key outcomes:

• Own the development and execution of key strategic initiatives – The role will identify, develop, and execute key strategies across the organization using a project-based approach. The candidate will be responsible for developing a baseline, a vision, goals, and strategic plan to solve a business imperative and executing said plan with key business stakeholders.
• Develop and align our strategic plan and priorities – This role will help to build and articulate in partnership with key business strategy owners what our business and group plans are and how Pearson will realize its strategic vision in a way that balances short and long-term returns. It will help ensure that our plans identify clear priorities and pathways to develop the capabilities needed to deliver winning propositions for our customers. It will work with key stakeholders to ensure investment plans and strategic planning are interlocked and connected.
• Building capacity and accountability for execution – This role goes beyond planning and will help to ensure that we translate our plans into action. It will support and connect key strategy and planning leaders accountable for driving the execution of the Pearson plan. It will be responsible for pushing our business leaders beyond the status quo and ensuring we have an integrated execution. This will connect financial, strategic planning and transformation roadmaps for each business across Pearson. This will include the formal creation of a Strategic Advisory Council that will work with the CEO and PEM members to ensure future state back alignment with our priorities, opportunities, and plans.
• Drive agile portfolio planning – Working as part of Finance, this role will have a Group responsibility to help all lines of business and functions to come together to maximize shareholder value and deliver our future state strategy by being an independent voice on how we allocate capital across our businesses and commercial opportunities. Working with Corporate Development on opportunities and the Finance and Transformation office on investment priorities will connect our needs today with tomorrow’s aspirations.
• Identify, enable, and execute strategic business partnerships – The role will own end-to-end business partnerships, identifying likely candidates, developing relationships, and executing on these partnerships as needed. The role will ensure tight alignment with the business and the transition of these relationships to the right business owner once executed.