LAS Senior Associate (Solutions Hub)

Position Summary

Senior Associates are highly valued members of the Spencer Stuart team and are expected to work proactively and effectively on multiple client engagements through taking ownership of the research or assessment/advisory process. This includes having exemplary project management skills, industry and/or functional domain expertise, judgment and assessment skills, and commitment to the highest quality delivery orientation. With excellent communications and assessment skills, Senior Associates will demonstrate consistently their skill and capability in conducting in-depth assessments of business experiences and professional capabilities of top executive talent. The role of Senior Associate requires an individual with strong interpersonal skills who enjoys the challenge of working internally in a team based environment and externally with a variety of candidates and clients, as well as diverse, senior-level executives and board members.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

The Senior Associate will be recognized as an expert in an industry, functional or geographically based candidate pool. They may be sought out for advice and input during the business development stage, based on his/her depth of experience in a specific industry, function or geography. They will:

• Contribute to the Firm’s knowledge management activities by owning and working a defined candidate pool both proactively and during the course of normal search work.
• Contribute to qualifications packages by providing market information and potential profiles to demonstrate capability and knowledge of industry or functional area.

Deliver Quality

With strong assessment skills, Senior Associates will regularly draft position specifications and/or proposals following the initial client briefing, interview pre-qualified candidates/assessment participants along with the Consultant, create [long list] progress reports and draft candidate presentations or assessment/development reports including third party views (or references in the case of LAS reports). If the search Senior Associate has met the candidate, he/she may participate in taking selected references under the guidance of a Consultant. They will:

• Demonstrate ownership of the assignment/LAS engagement, define the search/assessment strategy, coordinate resources and meet all timelines.
• Assist in drafting the position specification/proposal on designated assignments/engagements following the client briefing.
• Develop and present outstanding prospects by routinely conducting third-party source/pre-reference calls (search only) and thoroughly assess experiences and critical capabilities for success.
• Co-interview candidates/participants with the Consultant and draft candidate presentations or assessment and development reports with evidence of assessment against experience and capabilities.
• In conjunction with the Consultant, take formal references on the final candidate, where the Senior Associate has had a significant level of interaction with that individual (search only).

Communication and Impact

Senior Associates often participate in client meetings and candidate interviews and, during the course of a search or advisory engagement, will be responsive to client enquiries in the absence, or under the direction, of a Consultant. They will:

• Actively participate in client briefing meetings with the Consultant and contribute to the development of the search/engagement strategy, providing insightful advice in client meetings based on market or subject matter expertise and demonstrating outstanding relationship building and communications skills.
• As appropriate, liaise directly with the client and maintain dialogue with prospects/candidates/participants regarding the search/advisory engagement, ensuring that clients and candidates/participants experience a seamless model when working with the Consultant and Senior Associate.
• Prepare information for the client progress report and other meetings by teaming with the Consultant and Executive Assistant, anticipating the information needs of others and providing an informed perspective on the market and the prospects/candidates/participants.

Role Model

Senior Associates are expected to be role models and good citizens to strengthen our People and Culture and make a broader contribution to the Firm. Senior Associates are viewed as go-to individuals and willing volunteers and they will have actively participated in contributing to the local office, practice or Firm development. They will:

• Ensure up-to-date assignment/engagement, company and candidate/participant information during the course of an assignment/engagement is available for colleagues through appropriate use of Quest.
• Actively contribute to practice/office/region/Firm with a global mindset (eg business development, knowledge building and sharing, best practice sharing, intellectual capital, marketing events, social activities etc.)
• Develop self and others (eg being involved in or leading learning and development initiatives, mentoring, regional/global projects or other relevant activities for the Firm)
• 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.)

IDEAL EXPERIENCE

University Graduate

Undergraduate degree required, postgraduate degree preferred

3-5 years of experience

3-5 years’ Associate level or relevant project/talent management experience in executive search or recruitment firms or similar professional services firms (eg strategy consulting, law firms, events management) or industry

Will have a minimum of one year with Spencer Stuart, along with meeting the criteria for promotion to Senior Associate.

Domain or Subject Matter Expertise

Domain expertise/candidate pool or subject-matter expert; recognized as a go-to person with developed prospect/source/candidate relationships (search) or content knowledge (LAS)

Quality Execution and Documentation

Consistently high volume of assignments/engagements as measured against practice/market average with successful outcomes.

Regularly contributed as part of the consulting team and be recognized as not only meeting, but in most cases, exceeding expectations in areas such as interacting with clients and candidates/participants in a “value added” way and co-interviewing candidates. In the case of executive search, third-party sourcing/pre-referencing must be routinely done and properly documented in Quest.

Flawless writing of (as applicable) position specifications, candidate presentations or assessment/development reports, progress and reference reports. The Senior Associate candidate will have mastered assessment and understand the difference between ideal experience and critical leadership capabilities as evidenced in documents they have produced. In addition, documentation should be free of typos and grammatical errors and be client ready.

Note: for the volume and type of required documentation to be presented to the Senior Associate Nominations Committee, please refer to Criteria and Guidelines documents for Senior Associate Promotions.

Role Model Quality Standards

Adherence to all Spencer Stuart policies and practices as outlined in the Red Book. Has mastered and routinely adheres to the Firm’s standards related to candidate/participant assessment and validation, including (as applicable) third party sourcing and pre-referencing and capturing important qualitative information in Quest. Candidates on assignments where the associate served as Primary Associate will be expected to be properly validated and documented in Quest.

Consistently high performance evaluations, CSS reviews, successful search outcomes and quality scores; recognized and supported by core stakeholder group as meeting, if not exceeding, the criteria for Senior Associate.

International

International mind set and ideally will have experience managing cross-border client engagements.

Language

Fluency in English (written and spoken); additional language skills will be an advantage.

CRITICAL CAPABILITIES

• Project Management
• Candidate Development
• Credibility and Influence
• Market and Candidate Knowledge
• Developing Self & Others
• Firm Values