Innovation Strategy Manager

Gensler's Innovation Consulting practice is growing, and we are looking for a dynamic, cross-functional manager and operations leader to join our multidisciplinary team of designers, researchers, and strategists. Together we develop solutions that inform and guide large scale innovation, change, and workplace culture programs as well as inform the design of transformational built environments. Our expanding portfolio of services currently includes Experience Strategy and Design, Capability Building, Future-Casting, Organizational Culture Strategy and Change Activation.

The Team You'll Join

We're a close-knit team of creatives who believe in showing up as we are, the human centricity of design, and liminal thinking. We partner with clients around the world to think about how they create value in resilient and compelling ways. We come from diverse backgrounds - anthropology, architecture, philosophy, brand and marketing, industrial design, urban planning, and psychology to name a few.

You are a strategic thinker who is detail-oriented, organized, and enjoys problem solving. You thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic, open, collaborative environment and are able to prioritize tasks, for yourself and others, across multiple projects in different phases of completion. You possess outstanding client relationship, project and team leadership, and persuasive communication skills. You are curious, a life-long learner, and believe in motivating all team players to contribute to the project goals.

What You Will Do

Lead the workflow planning, coordination, and administration for a multi-disciplinary team of researchers, designers, strategists, and stakeholders in a way that leads to transformative ideas and preferred futures.

Provide leadership to our client and internal teams by communicating project objectives, scope, terms, and schedule.

Continually seek opportunities to help us work in smarter and more effective ways.

Scope and write proposals for new client engagements. Imagine new ways of working and craft project scopes that clients will be excited about.

Develop knowledge of our team member capabilities and goals, in order to build effective project teams and to identify opportunities for team member advancement as well as hiring needs.

Partner with the Innovation Strategy Directors to create annual strategic plans to grow the Innovation Consulting practice that are grounded in market opportunity and evidence of client need.

Be the primary point of contact for the client, responding to client's requests and communications in a timely manner.

Arrange and prepare for client touchpoints, documenting decisions made, action items, and deadlines.

Track and manage financial performance of project for success (e.g., work plan, schedule, fees, change orders, invoices and collections).

Manage and track new business opportunities, client touchpoints, and project pipeline using Salesforce.

Successful candidates will be able to demonstrate these characteristics

Relationally focused cultural barometer - you are a natural at connecting with people

Quick tactical thinker- you can see the forest for the trees and chart a path forward

Thoughtful decision making, always anticipating what's next

An aptitude for driving accountability in fluid and ambiguous processes

Driven by curiosity and action with acute attention to detail

An innate belief in the value of wonder, imagination, and optimism

Compelling written and spoken communication (Graphic skills a plus.)

Excellent organizational and time management skills

Interest in collaborating and working on multi-disciplinary teams

High degree of flexibility, ability to work on multiple projects at once

You are a self-starter, quick learner and have an entrepreneurial spirit

Your Qualifications

Bachelor's degree in a relevant filed and 5 - 7 years of experience at a design consultancy or other professional services environment in a lead research, strategy, design, or innovation operations role

Demonstrated experience as a client-facing advisor

A passion for and working knowledge of the design research and innovation process

Familiarity with design research methodologies and processes

High degree of flexibility, ability to work on multiple projects at once

Experience negotiating project scope and fees, managing project financial performance

Technical requirements

Proficiency in Microsoft Office (PowerPoint, Word, Excel, Outlook), and other visual communication tools

Familiarity with Salesforce, and other project management tools such as Smartsheet or Teams Planner, or willingness to learn

Familiarity with digital collaboration tools such as Microsoft Teams etc., and willingness to learn others such as Miro and/or Mural

Familiarity with Adobe Creative Suite (InDesign in particular) is a plus

About Consulting at Gensler

Gensler's Consulting Practice is focused on how space, technology, policies, and services support the changing nature of work and learning. Our Innovation Consulting Practice is leading the industry by bringing design thinking end-to-end to help our clients transform their businesses, their organizations, and the experiences of their employees and customers. Our multidisciplinary team works with a wide range of organizations including major Corporations, Healthcare and Cultural Institutions, Real Estate Developers, and Universities. We use in-depth user research and engagement to explore and develop strategies that enable our clients to meet their business and organizational objectives. With our design teams here in New York and around the world, we conceptualize and implement creative solutions that support our client's needs. In parallel, we help our clients manage change to ensure new ideas take root, and to build capability that sustains.

Life at Gensler

We encourage our employees to lead a healthy and balanced life. Our comprehensive benefits include medical, dental, vision, disability, wellness programs, flex spending, paid holidays and paid time off. We also offer a 401k, profit sharing, employee stock ownership and twice annual bonus opportunities.

As part of the firm's commitment to licensure and professional development, Gensler offers reimbursement for certain professional licenses and associated renewals and exam fees. In addition, we reimburse tuition for certain eligible programs or classes. We view our professional development programs as strategic investments in our future.

Gensler is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. All aspects of employment decisions will be based on merit, competence, performance, and business needs. We do not discriminate on the bases of any status protected under federal, state, or local law. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status. If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability you may contact us here . We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for our colleagues.

#LI-DO1

Posted 5 Days Ago

Full time

R-3436
About Us Gensler is a global architecture, design, and planning firm with 50 locations and more than 6,000 professionals networked across Asia, Europe, Australia, the Middle East, and the Americas. Founded in 1965, the firm serves more than 3,500 active clients in virtually every industry. Gensler designers strive to make the places people live, work, and play more inspiring, more resilient, and more impactful.
NOTICE TO APPLICANTS

Gensler endeavors to make gensler.com/careers accessible to any and all users. If you would like to contact us regarding the accessibility of our website or need assistance completing the application process, please contact us . This contact information is for accommodation requests only and cannot be used to inquire about the status of applications.

Gensler is an equal opportunity employer. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or protected veteran status. Women, minorities, individuals with disabilities and protected veterans are encouraged to apply. For more information please review our How To Apply page on our Careers site.