As
a Consultant at Simon Management Group, you will work on
and potentially manage several projects simultaneously.
Depending on the needs of each client engagement, your
primary role will be to develop the logic and manage the
project team.
Consultant Qualifications
-
BA/BS
degree and MBA
-
Demonstrated
academic and career success
-
Superior
analytical capabilities
-
Strong
work ethic
-
Excellent
written and oral communication skills
-
Ability
to thrive and ultimately lead in a team environment
-
Experience
in a technology-based industry preferred
Consultant Responsibilities
The
typical phases of a project and your likely role in each
phase are:
- Hypothesis
Development and Research Design
In
conjunction with senior managers, the initial steps in
most client engagements involve establishing a
perspective on the issues and a working hypothesis about
their resolution. This
hypothesis becomes the basis for the development of a
work-plan that is designed to collect the appropriate
data to address the issue.
The challenge is often to be able to identify and
focus on the essential data early in the project so that
the data collection activities are cost-effective and
timely. Accuracy
and comprehensiveness are critical, and you will
contribute to the data collection and the review and
interpretation of information generated by other members
of the project teams.
- Interview
Guide Development
Proper
primary market research requires reaching specific
knowledgeable individuals to collect essential
information. Telephone
interviews and discussions are critical interactions
with clients’ potential customers that will have
immediate impact on their products, distribution
channels, competitive positions, and longer-term
strategies.
You
will help write the interview guide to focus the
discussion and gather the “must have” information in
the limited amount of available time.
Client input and review is important for building
credibility and for setting expectations regarding the
results of the interviewing; you will be actively
involved in this interaction.
In addition, the usefulness of the data is
directly dependent on its source, so you will evaluate
the profile and process for accessing the appropriate
individuals within the target markets.
All
members of the project team participate in the primary
research phase of the projects.
You will help direct the interviewing, provide
guidance regarding techniques to improve the efficiency
and quality of each interview, and conduct your own set
of interviews. This
phase often has the greatest impact on the perceptions
of the client because it feeds relevant information and
perceptions directly from the market, with complete
objectivity, to the senior executives.
Client
executives never lack data.
Simon Management distinguishes itself by the
completeness and clarity with which it analyzes the data
and draws useful conclusions.
You will be integral to this important phase, and
often will be responsible for the analysis, error
checking, and charting of the results.
Interpreting the results is undertaken and
discussed as a team and the original hypothesis is
challenged and modified during this phase.
Often, additional data must be collected and
emerging conclusions tested with clients.
The project does not move to the next phase until
the team is completely satisfied that the conclusions
are accurate and supported by the data.
- Final
Report Creation and Delivery
Simon
Management uses PowerPoint presentations to deliver the
results and recommendations of its projects.
You will help develop the final reports, ensure
that the logic is clear and that the conclusions are
properly documented and supported.
In some instances you will participate in
delivering the final report by presenting sections of it
to the client and directing the discussion.
By helping to create the final report, you will
understand it at several levels and be well prepared to
both present and defend the conclusions and
recommendations. Organizing
data into a clear, analytically driven presentation
provides the client with the important logic and
evidence supporting the recommendations.
Simon
Management strives to maintain long-term relationships
with its clients. The
final report of each engagement is normally followed by
a series of meetings to disseminate the results, to
discuss the implications of the work, and to determine
appropriate additional analysis.
You will participate in these review sessions,
listen to the reactions and needs of the clients, and
therefore be well suited to participate in the design
and undertaking of the follow-on projects.
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