Director of Consulting

Ascend Indiana (Ascend) is a fast-growing nonprofit on a mission to address Indiana’s workforce misalignment. An initiative of Central Indiana Corporate Partnership (CICP), Ascend collaborates with corporate, education, philanthropic, and community partners to carry out its vision for Indiana to be a place of economic opportunity for all.

The Director of Consulting is a critical member of the Ascend Services (Services) team. When employers have a large need for a particular job and insufficient supply of talent, Services works alongside them to build custom talent pipelines or develop robust talent strategies to enable their success. The team provides management consulting support to employers, education institutions, nonprofits, and government to improve outcomes and solve complex workforce challenges.

The Director of Consulting plays a leading role in identifying client needs, drafting statements of work, and developing solutions and strategies. The Director leads multiple client projects while managing project timelines and execution in a fast-paced environment. The Director manages a team under the direction of Ascend’s Vice President of Consulting.

To be successful in this role you must be...

Adept at effectively leading and managing a high-achieving team.

You lead and support a team of talented individuals who will collectively impact the education and workforce ecosystems across the state of Indiana.
You develop and communicate clear expectations for every member of your team and consistently measure against those expectations.
You leverage data to inform decision making and drive your team’s actions to ensure continued progress against goals.
You meet weekly with individual team members to support their professional growth and ensure performance to achieve organizational objectives.
You motivate and encourage team members to focus on high-impact activities and to maintain positive, sustained effort.
You support the identification, selection, and training of new team members.

Eager to tackle ambiguous challenges by scoping new talent pipeline solutions and delivering solutions through creative problem-solving.

You lead all aspects of the discovery process to secure new projects in partnership with the Vice President and/or Sr. Director.
You research and develop relevant solutions to address specific talent needs.
You research potential clients and their needs aligning to Ascend’s core capabilities.
You draft project proposals in partnership with Managers and/or Analysts to address clients’ specific talent needs.

Excel in leading multiple strategic plannings and talent pipeline projects.

You partner with the client to define objectives, manage project outcomes, and align on final deliverables.
You set the project strategy and direction and manage the team to execute project plans, manage deadlines, set milestones, and ensure alignment of tasks across the team.
You lead client meetings to effectively secure input and achieve defined outcomes.
You lead the team in analyzing complex issues, leveraging data, identifying trends and implications, and developing recommendations and guidance.
You are comfortable with a constantly changing workflow, creating clarity of ideas and priorities for the team and our clients.
You provide timely and excellent client service that leads to continued relationships and client success.

Produce high-quality, client deliverables.

You oversee the collection and analysis of data, identify gaps, determine additional information needed, and develop recommendations for deliverable creation.
You partner with clients, Managers, Analysts, and other team members to review, provide feedback, and finalize high-quality deliverables in Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel.
You present findings and project deliverables to clients, facilitate deliverable review discussions, and document feedback for future iterations.
You secure appropriate feedback and signoff internally and externally on work products.

Driven by aggressive goals and the ability to make a state-wide impact.

You serve on the Ascend Management Team and the Ascend Services Leadership Team to provide thought leadership, coaching, and guidance on our strategic direction.
With guidance from the Vice President, you develop yearly and project-based plans to achieve organizational objectives.
You manage and report against goals, priorities, and objectives to the Vice President.
You provide additional strategic support to the Vice President and CEO as needed.

Requirements

Degree from either an undergraduate or graduate institution.
7-10 years of applicable professional experience in a corporate or consulting environment, preferably focused in the fields of education, talent development, workforce development, and public policy.
Experience managing a team and client relationships.
Demonstrated track record of success in leading complex projects and achieving ambitious, quantifiable outcomes.
A detail-oriented self-starter who can be given a need or objective, break it down into executable activities, identify questions that need to be asked, gather priorities and requirements, set, and manage to milestones, and then execute with a team effectively.
Ability to learn new technology tools and processes quickly.
Track record of successfully working collaboratively within a team.
Demonstrate ethical handling of confidential information.
Proficiency in Microsoft Suite required.

Details

Manager: Vice President of Consulting, Ascend Indiana
Office location: 16 Tech, downtown Indianapolis, with hybrid work (in office on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays)
Work week: 40+ hours/week
Travel: Statewide, 10-15%

Benefits

100% paid healthcare and dental premiums for both individuals and families.
Pre-tax and Roth 401(k) Retirement Plan with generous match. 5% contribution by the employer regardless of employee contribution and up to an additional 5% employee voluntary contribution eligible to be matched by the employer.
Paid Group Life, Short-Term, and Long-Term disability insurance benefits.
New office location and facilities at 16 Tech Innovation District.
Generous Paid Time Off (PTO), including 17 holidays.

How to Apply

Interested applicants are asked to apply here.

CICP grants equal opportunity to all qualified persons without regard to race, color, religion, gender, pregnancy, disability, age, national origin, military service obligations, veteran status, citizenship, sexual orientation, or any other category protected by law. CICP provides equal opportunity in wages, promotions, benefits, and all other privileges, terms, and conditions of employment.

If you require reasonable accommodation in completing this application, interviewing, completing any pre-employment testing, or otherwise participating in the employee selection process, please direct your inquiries to careers@ascendindiana.com or 317.464.5412.

Responsibilities for this role include interacting with student personally identifiable information (PII). As a condition of access, you are responsible for taking steps to protect the confidentiality of student PII in both electronic and physical form. All responsibilities relating to student PII must be conducted within the parameters of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).