Managing Director, Strategy & Execution

Grow with us. Lead with us. At Pioneer, you’ll work directly with executive teams, solving complex problems and shaping strategies that reset what’s possible. Sometimes the work is headline-worthy. Sometimes it’s foundational. But every project earns trust – and earns us the right to take on more. You’ll get the kind of access, challenge, and growth found at big firms – while helping build a company that’s scaling fast and guided by what we value. If you're looking for meaning, momentum, and a seat at the table, you're in the right place.

As Managing Director, Strategy & Execution (S&E) Consulting, you are the senior leader responsible for the performance, growth, and health of your market practice portfolio. You are a force multiplier — elevating delivery excellence, strengthening C-suite client relationships, shaping strategy, growing revenue, developing leaders, and bringing firmwide innovation into the market. You operate at the intersection of talent & leadership, delivery & client success, financial growth & pipeline, and market operations & performance. You lead leaders. You shape the market. You see around corners. And you drive the business forward with precision, pace, and high accountability.

Responsibilities

Practice & Offering Development

• Shape and evolve Pioneer’s S&E offerings by synthesizing market demand, client feedback, and delivery experience into firm-wide insights
• Inform National Solutions Leaders with signals from the market — what’s working, what’s needed, what’s next
• Serve as an external thought leader — board participation, speaking engagements, articles, and industry presence that build Pioneer’s brand
• Drive ongoing training, coaching, and capability building across the S&E team
• Set and maintain Pioneer standards and practices that scale across the market

Client Delivery & Relationships

• Own a portfolio of S&E accounts with full oversight and accountability for delivery excellence at the market level
• Build and sustain long-term C-suite relationships across the market’s top accounts, serving as the trusted senior advisor clients want in the room
• Engage clients to develop and expand unique, measurable service offerings that meet emerging needs and drive account growth
• Step into high-risk, high-visibility engagements with clarity and speed when delivery is at stake
• Maintain market-level CSAT of 90% and above by setting standards, coaching leaders, and holding the line on quality

Leadership & Talent

• Lead 20 to 50 Pioneers across the S&E market through a direct team of 4 to 8 directors, principals, and senior leads
• Build a high-performing S&E leadership bench — from senior leads to directors to future MDs — through coaching, calibration, and intentional development
• Own market-wide hiring strategy, headcount planning, and succession planning because the best teams are built, not assembled
• Run the talent conversation with full honesty: performance, promotion, compensation, and accountability
• Sustain market engagement at 85%+ by creating an environment where people grow, belong, and do their best work

Business Development

• Own $10M to $40M+ in market revenue and associated margin KPIs
• Run $10M to $20M in active pipeline with accuracy and discipline — every deal tracked, every signal read
• Bring in $5M to $10M+ of new annual S&E revenue through C-suite relationships, flagship pursuit sponsorship, and market visibility
• Run weekly and quarterly business reviews across pipeline, utilization, financials, and delivery — and you own the budget and levers behind them
• Sponsor proposals and collaborate with the business development team to position and win work only you can close
• Maintain a 40% to 60% win rate on market-sponsored pursuits

Requirements

• 10+ years of consulting leadership experience, with 5+ years at director level or above
• Demonstrated P&L ownership and market-level financial management experience
• 15+ years of program and transformation leadership across complex, large-scale, global engagements
• Track record of building, leading, and scaling high-performing consulting teams of 20+ people
• Proven C-suite relationship management and business development success, including $5M+ pursuit sponsorship
• Deep expertise across S&E offerings: strategy formulation, activation, enablement, process optimization, and program leadership
• Experience working with formal process improvement projects (PMI, Kaizen, Six Sigma, Lean process improvement, value improvement etc.)
• Understanding of the Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC) with experience in technology implementation or systems integration
• Ability to plan and operate in 12 to 36 month arcs while managing day-to-day market performance
• Exceptional executive communication — verbal, written, and facilitation — for all levels of leadership and professional audiences
• Strong business and financial acumen; comfortable owning P&L, pipeline forecasting, utilization management, and compensation decisions
• High level of proficiency with the Microsoft Office suite
• Passionate about leading with humility, driving hard to do great work, while being connected to the team and things you love outside of work
• Ability to commute to various clients across the metro area
• Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent work experience required.

Consulting Mindset: Ability to translate business needs into technical solutions, with an emphasis on clear communication, stakeholder engagement, and problem-solving. Responsible for driving market practice performance by managing consultant utilization, aligning staffing with project demands, and ensuring teams consistently meet or exceed practice financial and delivery satisfaction targets.

The estimated salary range for this role is $200-$285k annually. This is based on a wide array of factors unique to each candidate, including but not limited to skillset and years and depth of experience. This may differ from location to location. Bonuses and other incentives are awarded at the Company’s discretion and are based upon individual contributions and overall company performance. Pioneer is proud to offer a comprehensive benefits package that includes meaningful time off and paid holidays, parental leave, 401(k) including employer match, tuition reimbursement, and a broad range of health and welfare benefits including medical, dental, vision, life, long and short-term disability, etc.