Director, Business Strategy & Planning

Get to know Okta

Okta is The World’s Identity Company. We free everyone to safely use any technology—anywhere, on any device or app. Our Workforce and Customer Identity Clouds enable secure yet flexible access, authentication, and automation that transforms how people move through the digital world, putting Identity at the heart of business security and growth. 

At Okta, we celebrate a variety of perspectives and experiences. We are not looking for someone who checks every single box - we’re looking for lifelong learners and people who can make us better with their unique experiences. 

Join our team! We’re building a world where Identity belongs to you.

Director of Business Strategy & Planning

 

We are looking for a seasoned leader to drive business strategy development for Okta’s product portfolio and own key pieces of the annual planning cycle. This is a role that demands depth in strategic thinking as well as the ability to build and sustain X-functional executive-level advisory relationships. This role sits within Okta’s central Business Planning Function, rolling up to the President of Business Operations. 

Job Duties / What This Role Entails

• Collaborate with VP+ level stakeholders across product management, product marketing, finance, business operations, corporate development and GTM teams to build business strategies for planned new product investments.
• Own the end to end strategy development process: hypothesis development, market research, opportunity sizing, formulation of actionable recommendations, financial impact modeling and X-functional alignment.   
• Build the market thesis on key opportunities to drive the growth of Okta’s product portfolio, combining insights from past business performance, external research into evolving market dynamics as well as X-functional input from product and GTM teams. This thesis is a key input into Okta’s annual planning process.
• Deliver executive ready presentations and facilitate discussions to drive key strategic decisions with VP/SVP level functional leaders.
• Develop deep product-level subject matter expertise on the Identity & Access Management market.  
• Build and sustain deep advisory relationships with Okta’s product leadership (Chief Product Officer and their direct reports).
• This is an individual contributor role to start but extensively supported by the broader Business Planning Team. The role offers the ability to build a team over time. 

 

Qualifications / Who You Are (Must Have)

• Minimum 10+ years of work experience with 5+ years’ experience (post MBA roles) in strategy (product / corporate), consulting, product management, growth or investment banking roles.
• Strong understanding of B2B SaaS business models
• Experience in building and sustaining executive level advisory relationships
• Extensive experience navigating complex data sets as well as dealing with ambiguity, where clear data is not available 
• MBA strongly preferred

Qualifications / Who You Are (Good to Have)

• Experience in customer research via quantitative methods
• Understanding of B2B Enterprise technology space, specifically Enterprise Security
• Undergraduate degree with a concentration in Statistics / Math / Engineering
• Experience at top tier consulting firms (McKinsey, Bain, BCG)

Why this role?

• Deep exposure to product strategy development at a market leading high growth SaaS company.
• High degree of autonomy to shape company strategy and drive impact.
• Strong executive sponsorship from Okta’s product leadership team to engage.
• Ability to take on broader responsibilities beyond strategy development over time.
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Okta’s Top 5 Core Leadership Competencies are part of the deeply ingrained principles that guide all of our company’s actions. They also align strongly to our cultural cornerstones, our Okta values: love our customers, empower our people, never stop innovating, act with integrity, and maintain transparency. It’s our expectation that our managers and leaders embody these core competencies:

• Builds Effective Teams: Building strong-identity teams that apply their diverse skills and perspectives to achieve common goals.          
• Demonstrates Self-Awareness (EQ): Using a combination of feedback and reflection to gain productive insight into personal strengths and weaknesses.
• Develops Talent: Developing people to meet both their career goals and the organization’s goals.
• Drives Results: Consistently achieving results, even under tough circumstances.
• Strategic Mindset: Seeing ahead to future possibilities and translating