Assurance Strategy Execution & Operations Leader

Job Summary:

The Assurance Strategy Execution & Operations Leader serves as a strategic operations partner and chief-of-staff-type resource to the National Managing Principal of Assurance. The role helps translate Assurance strategy into clear priorities, operating rhythms, action plans, and measurable progress by driving coordination, follow-through, execution, and accountability across the consolidated Assurance practice.
This leader supports the Assurance executive team in advancing strategic priorities, fostering national alignment across Assurance business lines, and surfacing alignment concerns to appropriate stakeholders to promote a centralized approach to the practice.
The role also helps the National Managing Principal anticipate priorities, risks, decisions, and opportunities, ensuring the right leaders are engaged, and the practice remains focused on key strategic and operational objectives.

Job Duties:

Strategic Execution and Operations
•    Translates Assurance strategic priorities into practical workplans, milestones, operating routines, and accountability mechanisms that support execution across the practice
•    Represents the Assurance practice in firmwide strategic initiatives and coordinate deployment of priorities, decisions, and action items within Assurance
•    Connects strategic priorities to operational execution and identify gaps, dependencies, risks, and decision points that affect desired outcomes
•    Serves as a strategic advisor to the National Managing Principal of Assurance by pressure-testing ideas, surfacing implications, and anticipating operational and strategic needs
•    Builds and maintains strong working relationships with Assurance Operational Leaders to promote sharing of successful practices across markets and geographies
•    Maintains visibility into key priorities, timelines, owners, deliverables, and dependencies and provide leadership with a clear view of progress, risks, and upcoming decision points
•    Supports coordination of third-party consultants by aligning workstreams to Assurance priorities, tracking deliverables, facilitating communication, and translating recommendations into actionable next steps

Meetings and Strategic Forums
•    Collaboratess with leadership to develop and maintain the Assurance meeting cadence, including operational leader meetings, all-hands calls, principal meetings, and live strategic forums
•    Develop strategic agendas in partnership with leadership and ensure meeting topics align with Assurance priorities and intended outcomes
•    Captures meeting notes, decisions, action items, owners, and deadlines and monitor follow-through on commitments and unresolved items
•    Attends meetings on behalf of the National Managing Principal of Assurance, when appropriate, and summarize key themes, risks, decisions, and follow-up actions
•    Analyzes stakeholder feedback and synthesize data-based recommendations to support planning and design of town halls, business segment forums, and practice-wide meetings

Communication
•    Serves as a critical communication partner to the NMP, helping shape, draft, and coordinate clear, consistent, and strategically aligned messaging to Assurance leaders, principals, managing directors, and other key stakeholders.
•    Writes first drafts of proposals, emails, leadership messages, talking points, and other communications for NMP review and distribution.
•    Ensures communications reinforce Assurance priorities, reflect the voice and intent of the NMP, and help leaders understand the why, what, and expected actions behind key strategic and operational initiatives.

People
•    Supports monitoring of principal and managing director goal setting to maximize practice performance and evaluate alignment of goals across the practice
•    Reviews Pulse Survey results, including employer net promoter scores, and support development and monitoring of root cause analysis and remediation plans by market and geography
•    Maintains visibility into key accounts across the consolidated Assurance practice, including relationship status, ownership, planned touchpoints, satisfaction levels, and follow-up needs
•    Supports leadership in managing key account relationships by monitoring relationship plans, tracking client communications and visits, and surfacing relationship risks and service concerns
•    Plans, coordinates, and manages internal and external principal and managing director promotion processes
•    Other duties as required.

Support and Supervisory Responsibilities:
•    Supports the National Managing Principal of Assurance and Assurance leadership team in planning and executing the fiscal year strategic plan
•    Helps keep the National Managing Principal of Assurance current on critical strategic priorities, progress, risks, and decisions across business segments and practices within Assurance
•    Fosters alignment across business lines nationally and raise alignment concerns to appropriate stakeholders to support a centralized approach across the practice
•    Fosters alignment with Operations teams to support consistent and standardized approaches across assigned functional areas
•    Provides coaching and support to project teams 
•    Other duties as required

Qualifications, Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

Education:
•    Bachelor’s degree, required; focus in Accounting or Finance, preferred

Experience:
•    Ten (10) or more years of experience in finance, project management, consulting, strategy execution, operations, or practice management, required
•    Experience supporting executive leadership on strategic planning, operational execution, and cross-functional coordination, required
•    Experience leading complex initiatives involving multiple stakeholders, priorities, and deadlines, required
•    Experience in Assurance operations, preferred
•    Experience within a professional services firm, preferred
•    Experience managing promotion processes, leadership communications, or strategic meeting cadences, preferred

License/Certifications:
•    CPA certification, preferred
•    Project Management Professional (PMP), preferred
•    Other professional certifications applicable to strategy, operations, finance, or leadership, preferred

Software:
•    Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook, required
•    Experience with CRM systems, preferred
•    Experience with financial systems including Oracle, PeopleSoft, or Hyperion, preferred

Language:
•    N/A

Other Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:
•    Advanced organizational and project coordination skills
•    Strong analytical, research, critical thinking, and decision-making skills
•    Strong written and verbal communication skills
•    Willingness to collaborate with and learn from stakeholders on AET. Collaboration skills are critical
•    People-focused approach and ability to work effectively with varied working styles and personalities
•    Proactive mindset and ability to think ahead, identify issues and anticipate problems before they arise
•    Ability to synthesize complex information into clear recommendations, communications, and action plans
•    Ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines with a high level of accuracy and follow-through
•    Ability to build strong relationships across leadership levels and functional teams
•    Ability to identify risks, dependencies, and emerging issues and escalate appropriately
•    Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a fast-paced environment
•    Ability to influence without direct authority and drive alignment across stakeholders
•    Ability to handle confidential and sensitive information with discretion
•    Commitment to the mission and the strategic direction of the consolidated Assurance practice