Associate, Industrial Practice

Spencer Stuart is seeking to recruit an Associate for the Industrial Practice in the Italian Office. This Associate will have the opportunity to help solve Chief Executive Officer and other C-level functional executive searches, working across sectors, and will develop a specialization over time. With exposure to a broad set of clients and leadership challenges, this Associate will help to identify and develop diverse candidate slates as an essential member of the global search team. The Associate role combines project management, research, assessment, sourcing, validation, and relationship-building skills to deliver extraordinary service and value to Spencer Stuart clients.

Successful candidates for the Associate position will have strong project management ability, writing skills, results orientation, rigorous attention to details, intellectual curiosity and ideally, an understanding of the industrial sector. The Associate will enjoy the challenge of working internally with a variety of Consultants across geographies, and externally with diverse, senior-level executives and board members. Associates will be expected to acquire deep and insightful candidate pool knowledge over time.

The Associate will ideally be based in Milan or in Rome. There is an expectation of being in the office a minimum of three days a week. In the early stages, it will be beneficial for the individual to spend more time in the office to build relationships, engage with colleagues and participate in the local office community.

SPENCER STUART

Founded in 1956 and privately owned, Spencer Stuart is one of the world’s foremost leadership advisory consulting firms, operating out of 60 offices in over 30 countries and conducting more than 4,000 assignments worldwide annually. We are the advisor of choice among top companies seeking guidance on senior leadership needs and have unrivalled access to leading executives around the world. Our clients range across industries and vary in size from large multinationals to medium-sized businesses and entrepreneurial start-ups. We also serve key non-profit organizations around the world.

Our clients are going through continuous transformation, with new trends such as digital disruption, sector consolidation, globalization, and even greater competitive and regulatory pressure. Our business is transforming too. We believe that leadership is critical and are motivated by the power of our work to improve the vitality and fortunes of our client organizations, as well as the lives of individual executives. As a result, we are adding new services and developing our technology platforms and tools to deliver high quality services in an effective way to our current and future clients.

THE ROLE

As an Associate in the Industrial practice in the Italian office, you will play a critical and visible role on the team.

Associates are expected to work pro-actively and efficiently on multiple client engagements through the combination of solid project management skills, proactive and quality search execution, ownership mentality and strong, team-oriented delivery to specific client needs. Each assignment is driven by a team, including at a minimum a Consultant, Associate and Executive Assistant. There are times when an Associate may be working with multiple team members located in different geographies.

Executive search skill sets include strong communication and assessment abilities applied to evaluating business experiences and professional competencies of top executive talent as they relate to a client’s specific need. Successful candidates for the Associate position will also have project management ability, results orientation, rigorous attention to details, intellectual curiosity and enjoy the challenge of working internally with a variety of consultants, and externally with diverse, senior-level executives and board members. Associates will be expected to acquire deep and insightful candidate pool knowledge over time which would be related to a specific industry, function or geography.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Contribute actively to the start-up phase of each search by participating in client kick-off meetings with the Consultant(s) and assisting in the development of the position specification, search strategy and target list of companies. As appropriate contribute to winning client pitches by providing benchmark candidate profiles and other background information.
• Gather relevant information regarding the appropriate industries and target companies. Identify potential prospects and sources and represent the client effectively in the marketplace, discussing the opportunity with relevant executives.
• Validate potential candidates through reference and source calls.
• Partner with the Consultant to develop and present a slate of qualified candidates to each client. Anticipate what needs to drive the search to closure and be prepared to supply additional information, such as related industry/segment trends, market findings, reaction to the opportunity, compensation data, etc., gained during the course of a search.
• Contribute to the preparation of position specifications, candidate presentations and reference reports adhering to the Firm’s assessment methodology.
• Communicate effectively with the team, including Consultant(s), other Associates/Senior Associates and Executive Assistant(s), and remain fully abreast of search developments, in order to communicate accurately and credibly regarding the assignment.
• Prepare organized information for the client progress reports/meetings by teaming with the Consultant and the Executive Assistant. Provide an informed perspective on prospects/candidates and how they match against the key selection criteria.
• Be aware of activities and management changes in the relevant industry’s sector; keep team members apprised of relevant developments in the marketplace.
• Add to the firm’s candidate pool expertise by continually identifying and introducing new talent to the firm. Ensure that up to date assignment, company and candidate information during the course of an assignment is always available for colleagues, by leveraging technology and information from the firm’s state-of-the-art, proprietary database.
• Contribute to responses to inquiries for new business, as well as business development initiatives.
• Be willing and proactive about contributing to local, practice or firm-wide initiatives. Coordinate and share practice related information with colleagues for potentially broader distribution.
• Adopt and adhere diligently to Firm policies and standards for candidate validation, documentation and assessment as well as demonstrating professional behavior and living our values (including adherence to Red Book, Quest policies etc.)

KEY RELATIONSHIPS

Reports to:

Research Director

Consultants (on assignment/engagement basis)

Key relationships:

Office Manager

Industrial Practice leader

Other Industrial Practice Consultants, Associates and Executive Assistants

Other key relationships:

Other Consultants, members of the Research Team, Executive Assistants, Industrial Practice Client Development Team

IDEAL PROFILE

• 3+ years of progressive business experience in executive search, recruiting, talent acquisition, strategy, or a relevant consulting or professional services environment, with significant time spent in client service
• Domain expertise in an industry or functional area will be considered a plus
• Advancement of skills and knowledge evidenced through promotion or tenure
• Superior project management skills demonstrated through experience working in a high-performance environment where multiple projects and competing demands are the norm
• Excellent communication skills shown through clear, structured and concise written and verbal presentation
• Undergraduate degree required; postgraduate degree a plus, with strong academic performance
• Fluent spoken and written Italian and English
• International mind set and ideally will have experience in working across borders

CRITICAL CAPABILITIES FOR SUCCESS

• Problem solving and intellectual curiosity
• Project management
• Market and candidate knowledge
• Credibility and ability to influence, mature presence and ability to build relationships
• Collaborativeness, team orientation and drive to results, with strong attention to details
• Self-development and openness to feedback

FIRM VALUES

Champions the Firm’s values, culture and Code of Conduct; engages, participates and collaborates with others. A successful Associate, who people like working with and who may over time also have a leadership role:

• Accepts others’ opinions and encourages teamwork.
• Brings cultural awareness and sensitivity to each interaction with colleagues.
• Participates actively and contributes to internal activities; engages with office and practice.
• Represents Spencer Stuart well by speaking positively about the Firm and aligning behavior to Firm values.
• Conducts themselves in a way that is consistent with the Firm’s values.

Spencer Stuart is a proud equal opportunity and affirmative action employer. We are committed to non-discrimination without regard to actual or perceived race, ethnicity, creed, color, religion, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions), national origin, immigration status, ancestry, age, marital status, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any basis prohibited under applicable federal, state or local law.

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