Associate, Private Equity (Industrials)

Associate Role

Spencer Stuart is seeking to recruit an Associate for the Private Equity team focused on executive search and pre-deal offerings for private equity firms and their portfolio companies. With exposure to a broad set of clients and leadership challenges, this Associate will help to identify and develop diverse candidate slates as an essential member of the project team, with a focus on the Industrials sector, with an ideal focus on manufacturing, engineering, process industries, energy, and/or automotives. The Associate role combines research, assessment, validation, project management, and relationship-building skills to deliver extraordinary service and value to Spencer Stuart clients.

Successful candidates will have a proven track record of being driven, graceful under pressure, resilient, and demonstrating strong project management ability, commitment to excellence, writing skills, results orientation, rigorous attention to details, intellectual curiosity and ideally, an understanding of the private equity operating model. The Associate will enjoy the challenge of working internally with a variety of Consultants and externally with diverse, senior-level executives and board members.

The Associate will ideally be based in New York City, though exceptional candidates based in D.C., Philadelphia, or Boston will also be considered. There is an expectation of being in the office a minimum of two days a week. In the early stages, it will be beneficial for the individual to spend more time in the office to build relationships, engage with colleagues and participate in the local office community.

Key Relationships

Reports to:

• Private Equity Practice Leader

• Private Equity Team industrials Consultant Lead (on a project basis)

Other key relationships:

• PE Practice Manager

• HRBPs

• Market Leader

• Analysts, Associates, Senior Associates, and Consultants, EEA’s

• Associate Practice Leader

Key Responsibilities

• Contribute actively to the start-up phase of each pre-deal engagement, participating in client kick-off meetings with the Consultant and assisting in the development of internal teams and work flows to meaningfully and swiftly address client needs and critical dilligence activities.

• Gather relevant information regarding the appropriate industries and target companies. Identify potential prospects and sources and represent the client effectively in the marketplace, discussing the opportunity with relevant executives and providing high-end, bespoke support when facilitating executive introductions, management insights, or other search activities.

• Partner with Consultants to develop and present our relationship access and insights. Anticipate what needs might drive investment decisions and actively work to create deal angles and to supply additional information, such as related industry/segment trends, market findings, customer feedback, supplier issues, or other items of distinct value as it pertains to management teams and specific executives.

• Contribute to the preparation of position specifications, candidate presentations and reference reports adhering to the Firm’s assessment methodology and leadership frameworks.

• Communicate effectively with Consultants, and EEAs, Analysts, Associates, or client success colleagues affiliated with a client. Given the holistic nature of relationship management, and the body of human capital consulting required over the life of an asset or portfolio of assets, the Associate will need to remain fully abreast of all developments, in order to communicate accurately and credibly, as part of the glue that binds these activities together.

• Work with each project team to prepare organized information for candidate reports, and client update meetings, giving an informed perspective on work to date, and how they match and align to the value creation efforts of our clients.

• Be aware of market activities and management changes in the relevant industry’s sector; keep team members apprised of relevant developments that could inform search strategies and client insights.

• Add to the firm’s candidate pool expertise by continually identifying and introducing new talent to the firm.  Ensure that up to date assignment, company and candidate information during the course of an assignment is always available for colleagues, by leveraging technology and information from the firm’s state-of-the-art, proprietary database.

• Contribute to responses to inquiries for new business, as well as business development initiatives, inclusive of reactive RFPs in partnership with Analysts and GTM team