Executive Director, Workplace Operations

Ankura is a team of excellence founded on innovation and growth.

Ankura Corporate Overview:

Ankura Consulting Group, LLC is an independent global expert services and advisory firm that delivers services and end-to-end solutions to help clients at critical inflection points related to change, risk, disputes, finance, performance, distress, and transformation. The Ankura team consists of more than 2,000 professionals serving clients across the globe who are leaders in their respective fields and areas of expertise. Collaborative lateral thinking, hard-earned experience, expertise, and multidisciplinary capabilities drive results and Ankura is unrivaled in its ability to assist clients to Protect, Create, and Recover Value.

The goal of Ankura Business Services (ABS) is to provide support and assistance to Ankura’s client facing business groups. All of Ankura’s ABS groups work together to achieve a common goal, which is to create innovative solutions for our clients. ABS includes Finance, Legal, IT Services, Marketing and Communications, Real Estate, Conflict Check, Operations & Workplace Services, and the People Office.  

Role Overview:

The Executive Director, Workplace Operations leads the global Operations & Workplace Services (OWS) team, driving service excellence across business operations and workplace functions for a global consultancy. This role provides day-to-day leadership to Operations Associates and Managers, ensuring accurate, efficient, and cost-effective support for client service teams. Responsibilities span time entry compliance, physical security, corporate card program management, Salesforce data quality, and supplier coordination. The role supports operational transformation through technology-enabled reporting and process optimization, while fostering a strong sense of community and operational acumen. Additionally, the Executive Director develops and executes the firm’s evolving real estate strategy in partnership with firm leadership, aligning capacity with business needs and managing global real estate operations. The ideal candidate is located in the greater Washington, DC area.

Responsibilities:

• Support the transformation of the operations function enabling technology solutions to monitor and report on operational activities.

• Partners with corporate card administrators to help manage the firm’s card program, including T&E and P-Cards. Serves as the operations representative to ensure systems, policies, and processes are current and aligned with business needs.

• Responsible for overseeing physical security across all office locations, including access controls, emergency preparedness, and crisis response protocols. Develops and maintains procedures for secure travel, ensuring alignment with firmwide risk and safety standards. Coordinates with internal teams to deploy resources and lead security exercises.

• Responsible for ensuring firmwide time entry compliance by consultants, including generating weekly reports, establishing escalation procedures, and coordinating with business group leaders. Leverages Operations Associates to submit time on behalf of consultants, streamlining compliance and minimizing delays. Implements automated alerts and performance-linked KPIs to reinforce accountability. Serves as the operations representative with IT applications to ensure timekeeping systems are current, functional, and aligned with business needs.

• Partner with Corporate Finance on third party supplier management.

• Oversee Operations Associates in maintaining Salesforce data quality, ensuring accurate and timely entry of pursuit, account, and contact records. Leads data remediation initiatives to resolve duplicates, incomplete fields, and misaligned taxonomy, and partners with data governance teams to refine business rules and support system enhancements.

• Implement the Real Estate playbook and partner with Firm and Business Group Leaders to align real estate strategy and capacity with evolving demands/requirements.

• Lead, coach, and develop a team of Operations Associates to deliver business operations and workplace services in support of the Firm’s tactical and strategic objectives. 

• Ensure Operations Associates are planning and allocating resources, based on skills, previous experience, availability, or project budget, to meet business and project demands while maintaining a high level of customer service and maximizing resources.

• Manage both real estate and office workplace services budgets while maintaining a strong focus on cost and spend management.

• Use vendors and service providers to the best advantage of the Firm on the dimensions of time, cost, and quality.

• Provide learning and development opp