Senior Director Corporate Strategy & M&A

Acosta•Jacksonville, FL

About The Position

For over 90 years, Acosta continues to lead the industry in helping consumer goods companies move products off shelves and into shoppers’ baskets. Acosta is the US’s second-largest national brokerage organization, providing sales and marketing services that reach consumers from the shelves of North American across the entire retail spectrum and foodservice industry. Major consumer products manufacturers call on Acosta to help them sell their products, launch new products and execute key priorities in-store; it has long-standing relationships with over 2,000 brands such as Google, Meta, Campbell's, Proctor & Gamble, Kroger, Walmart, Costco, and Amazon. Acosta’s mission is to enable clients to win in the modern retail environment, by consistently delivering progressive solutions and exceptional service. Their purpose is to connect people to the brands they love and their vision is to be the go-to Sales and Marketing solutions partner to consumer brands, retailers, and food service suppliers. Headquartered in Jacksonville, Fla., Acosta has more than 60,000 associates and operates throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe, providing outsourced headquarter sales, retail merchandising, marketing, and customer support services. POSITION FUNCTION: Acosta is currently seeking a new Senior Director to play a critical leadership role within Corporate Strategy and M&A . This position reports directly to the Chief Strategy Officer and will help drive pivotal change in Acosta’s strategic growth agenda and will contribute to the company’s overall strategic plan through both organic and inorganic growth. The ideal candidate will bring fresh perspectives and ideas, including both challenging the existing thinking and opening new ways of seeing the market and opportunities, and specifically, to take advantage of the robust business development opportunities globally. The Senior Director will assist the Leadership Team and business leaders in setting the long-term strategy for the company, emerging partnerships and thought partnering to challenge ways of thinking on enterprise-wide strategic initiatives.

Requirements

Consulting Experience: 8+ years of professional experience with 3+ post-MBA years at a management consulting firm preferred; extensive corporate strategy/development experience will also be considered
Relevant Industry Exposure: The ideal candidate will have 3+ years of experience working in consumer-facing industries, either in a corporation or during their time in management consulting.
Relevant Functional Experience: Experience across growth strategy, finance and/or operations required; Diversity of work is welcome, with the ability to flex and drive strategic change across an organization being required for success.
Structured & Logical Thinking: The ability to dissect a problem into an organized approach and quickly form a hypothesis against which to run analysis. Ability to present complex concepts/ideas in concise, easy-to-understand terms is critical.
Analytical Aptitude: Ability to run and manage highly complicated quantitative analysis in a defect-free manner.
Communication Ability: The ideal candidate will have the gravitas to influence and motivate senior stakeholders both internally and externally across a matrix organization.
Executive Presence: The candidate will have a strong executive presence and the ability to communicate at all levels of the organization.
Be modest in nature, recognizing the accomplishments of the team before the individual
Be highly motivated and possess vision and enthusiasm
Be comfortable acting as an individual contributor and as a team manager (Player/Coach)
Understand how to deliver on short time frames and be committed to meeting deadlines
Communicate in an open and honest way that quickly builds trust and respect
Possess an entrepreneurial spirit
Be comfortable on their feet making presentations

Responsibilities

Corporate strategy
Market trends and competitive insights – monitor and evaluate, identify opportunities and risks (e.g., potential disruptions)
Review and evaluation of our business and capability portfolio
Strategic initiatives
Provide strategic oversight for top priority corporate and BU initiatives, will vary over time
Ensure dots are connected between initiatives and business units, and that all are in-line with enterprise strategy
Strategic planning
Facilitate annual planning
Frame the conversation and lead the dialogue
Challenge assumptions on trends and competitive landscapes
Develop and keep up to date the 5-year strategic plan and model, in partnership with Finance
Cascade strategy, measurement, and communication
Board and Executive Leadership Team
Develop the business case with the leadership team and Board of Directors to move forward on strategic initiatives and targets.
Build consensus and effectively influence senior-level stakeholders.
Interface with BOD, including preparation of quarterly BOD materials and ongoing updates on key priorities and initiatives
Mergers & Acquisitions / IMO
Own Acosta’s M&A strategy, including prioritization criteria and target list
Facilitate initial discussions and prelim due diligence with potential targets
Act as central point of contact for commercial/functional diligence efforts
Prepare and manage materials for leadership and Board alignment
Lead integration planning / IMO, as relevant