About Telesto Strategy
Telesto Strategy is a boutique management consulting firm that was founded with a bold vision to regenerate the planet’s health, resources, and wellbeing. We aim to achieve this goal through our dual missions: (i) reframing how businesses, organizations, and countries achieve meaningful and sustainable growth, and (ii) redirecting corporate strategy to solve for the biggest challenges of our time while delivering a positive ROI.

To help leaders broaden their strategic approaches and plan for growth through a comprehensive, network-based approach, Telesto Strategy partners with clients to offer distinctive and reinforcing growth-focused services across several offerings spanning both more traditional management consulting and sustainability-focused services:

• ESG and strategy development and execution
• PMO and executive stakeholder management
• Sustainable growth strategy development and PMO
• ESG, Climate, and Sustainability leadership training

We bring a range of perspectives and leverage a collaborative approach both internally and with our clients to generate actionable recommendations for growth that advance our firm’s vision.

This role presents a unique opportunity to join and shape a growing, globally oriented firm and advance client’s strategies and decision-making through innovative operating model design, organizational growth calculus, and Telesto’s solution offerings. 

Position Description
The Manager (Executive Stakeholder and Project Management) leads a team of Analysts and Consultants in collaboration with Telesto leadership to coordinate and drive the development of essential deliverables for the executive management team of one of Telesto’s keystone clients. This keystone client considers Telesto to be a deeply trusted advisor and has asked Telesto to serve in an increasingly strategic and trusted capacity over the past two years. As part of this growing trust, the keystone client has asked for Telesto’s support on a wide range of strategic topics, including board engagement, coordination, and preparation; strategic pressure-testing of, and narrative development for, budget requests to the board; and ongoing advisory support to the executive leadership team.

The Manager (Executive Stakeholder and Project Management) is instrumental in supporting the regular strategic preparation of materials needed to present to the organizations’ boards of directors on a quarterly basis. In this capacity, the Manager (Executive Stakeholder and Project Management) leverages Telesto Analysts, Consultants, and Telesto leadership and works directly with the client’s executive leadership team to drive end-to-end process management of board meeting cadence, serving as a critical thought partner for the strategic framing of materials, packaging and preparing necessary materials to present to the board, drafting critical supporting materials to facilitate productive board meetings, and equipping the client’s executive leadership team to be actively and meaningfully engaged during their discussions with board members.

Job Responsibilities
On a day-to-day basis, the responsibilities of the Manager (Executive Stakeholder and Project Management) include:

Project, Process, and Executive Stakeholder Management

• Function as “air traffic controller” for board preparation on a quarterly basis, ensuring that all executive stakeholders are delighted, that the preparation processes are harmonized, content is strategically appropriate, and materials are delivered in accordance with a highly coordinated timeline
• Build rapport with key counterparts by spending time with executives (and their respective teams) in-person to navigate complex questions or potential conflicts at their organizational headquarters in the Chicago metropolitan area
• Create, maintain, and provide transparency on the calendar of key milestones and touchpoints with client executive leadership team to ensure continued progress of deliverables
• Frequently align with Telesto leadership on project direction and key deliverables; elevate risks as appropriate
• Raise risks and strategic opportunities for Telesto’s relationship with the account to Telesto leadership
• Own key client relationships, ensuring that deliverables are aligned with client expectations
• Contribute to firm’s continuous project management process improvement to ensure successful project delivery

Board presentation and supporting materials preparation

• Generate initial hypotheses for the key narratives and themes for upcoming board presentations, including the developing of end-to-end storylines that synthesize complex topics into compelling recommendations for action
• Ensure that Telesto is also providing a perspective on strategic questions by working closely with Telesto leadership and identifying when to push back on guidance provided by stakeholders
• Identify and liaise with key collaborators in preparing for each board cycle (including supporting development of presentation materials as required), define their role(s), and ensure ongoing accountability
• Maintain accountability of key contributors to presentation materials, facilitate regular touchpoints to ensure adherence to timelines and expectations
• Document and action feedback on presentation materials provided by client executive leadership team as well as Telesto leadership

Building Our Firm

• Over time, support project proposal development and thought leadership under the direction of firm leadership; over time, take full leadership of select proposals
• Support the recruitment, onboarding, training, and mentorship of firm staff
• Spearhead internal firm initiatives to support growth and realize the firm’s vision to regenerate the planet’s health, resources, and wellbeing

Because Telesto is a growing and evolving firm, the focus of the responsibilities and track within the firm of the Manager (Executive Stakeholder and Project Management) may be subject to adjustment to ensure that the Manager is best positioned for success in their role. Any such change will be communicated to the Manager at such time.

Position Requirements
The ideal candidate will meet the following criteria:

Executive stakeholder and project management

• 3-5 years of work experience in relevant professional services, analysis-driven, or similar contexts (e.g., consulting, finance, internal strategy), including 2-3 years of management consulting experience or similar with at least 6 months in a project manager role
• Demonstrated experience working across large groups of executive stakeholders and working to balance potentially competing or conflicting guidance
• Graduate-level degree in relevant field (e.g., science, engineering, or business administration) preferred but not required
• Experience delivering corporate strategy and/or operations projects, including a combination of management and “hands on” delivery experience
• Distinctive project management and organization skills
• Accustomed to hypothesis-driven analyses and first-principles problem-solving

 Interpersonal and client engagement skills

• Outstanding written and oral communication skills and demonstrated emotional intelligence with the ability to bring together stakeholders (across levels) to persuade and influence without direct authority
• Demonstrated ability to understand stakeholder positions, expectations, and/or priorities, and shape communications to stakeholder contexts
• Resilient and self-motivated, especially in a hybrid environment
• Highly entrepreneurial, adaptable, and excited to expand the firm’s capacity and capability to realize our vision to regenerate the planet’s health, resources, and wellbeing

Compensation
Telesto Strategy cares about its people, and its compensation package and benefits are designed accordingly. The standard base pay range for this role is $140,000-170,000 annually. This base pay range is specific to Illinois and may not be applicable to other locations. In addition to a competitive base salary, this position is also eligible for year-end bonus compensation based on individual and firm performance. Actual amounts will vary depending on individual and firm performance.

Additionally, Telesto Strategy also offers other benefits, including:

• Premier medical healthcare package (Blue Cross Blue Shield PPO with nationwide coverage) with fully covered dental, vision, life insurance, and long-term disability insurance
• Responsible PTO policy
• Lifestyle considerations – We are committed to promoting and achieving an environment where work/life balance is a driving force behind the success of our people.  We give great respect and consideration to time with family and other interests outside of work
•  Hybrid work policy so team members can spend time in Telesto’s office and at client site with colleagues as well have flexibility for at-home work time
• 401k program with immediate matching and vestment
• Annual wellness stipend

Upskilling
We recognize that building a world-class firm requires continuous upskilling and technical development. To that end, Telesto Strategy provides a variety of remote and in-person upskilling opportunities for all roles in the firm. Such opportunities include training on deconstructing complex problem statements, data visualization and communication, Excel for strategy and business, and slide design.

Location and travel
This role is based in Chicago with a mix of in-person work (at both the Telesto office and the client site) and remote work. The Manager (Executive Stakeholder and Project Management) is expected to be present at the client site at least one-to-two days per week and potentially more frequently during the more active period of the board engagement cycle.

Our Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion
In reviewing national trends and statistics, we understand that many underrepresented candidates do not apply for positions unless they feel they meet all the stated requirements. If you have interest in the position but are concerned you do not meet all the criteria, we still encourage you to apply. At Telesto, we hire based on hard and soft skills and believe in providing technical training to all team members. At our core, we value having a well-rounded team consisting of a multitude of backgrounds, experiences, and ideas.