Senior Advisor

Job Description

Provide expert advice and guidance to individuals or organizations in a specific area of expertise, such as management, finance, marketing, IT, human resources, and other areas. Work with clients to understand their needs and objectives, analyze their current situation, and recommend strategies and solutions to improve their performance or achieve their goals. May assist with implementing recommended solutions, providing training and support, and monitoring progress to ensure success.

Responsibilities

• Consulting Project/Program Design: Contribute to, and record the design of, the project architecture, building on the initial proposal and the strategic interviews to develop a solution that meets the client's stated requirements and addresses any identified client issues.
• Consulting Project Delivery: Research, collate, and analyze information to identify key themes and deliver a broad range of standardized training and documentation, advice, or reports to support client projects and programs.
• Consulting Project Content Development: Develop and write materials that are highly visible, such as slide decks for presentations to senior management or standardized client reports.
• Community of Practice Management: Participate actively in a community of practice in a defined area of expertise or consulting to build own expertise.
• Client Issue Diagnosis: Collate and conduct analysis of the tactical and operational information gathered through interviews and research to support the diagnosis of underlying client issues and problems and the design of single solutions.
• Client Issue Clarification: Conduct interviews following an established framework of questions to gather information on client issues.
• Workshop Facilitation: Assist in facilitating process development workshops with subject-matter experts, drive agreement on process flows across functional areas, and document processes and activity workflows to develop clear and detailed process maps.
• Data Collection and Analysis: Conduct research using primary data sources, and select information needed for the analysis of key themes and trends.
• Personal Capability Building: Develop own capabilities by participating in assessment and development planning activities as well as formal and informal training and coaching; gain or maintain external professional accreditation, where relevant, to improve performance and fulfill personal potential. Maintain an in-depth understanding of technology, external regulation, and industry best practices through ongoing education, attending conferences, and reading specialist media.
• Project Management: Deliver small- or medium-scale projects while working within an established program management plan.
• Business Advice: Oversee the provision of business advice of moderate complexity.
• Client & Customer Management (External): Manage relationships with small clients while also helping senior colleagues manage relationships with larger key clients and customers.
  
  

Competencies

• Ensures Accountability Holds self and others accountable to meet commitments. For example, tracks performance and strives to remain effective, learning from both successes and failures. Readily takes on challenges or difficult tasks and has reputation for delivering on commitments.
• Business Insight Applies knowledge of business and the marketplace to advance the organization's goals. For example, clearly understands how own activities relate to critical business drivers. Monitors business news and market changes for impact on the business or on own expertise area; uses this to shape decisions.
• Communicates Effectively Develops and delivers multi-mode communications that convey a clear understanding of the unique needs of different audiences. For example, disseminates knowledge, insights, and updates in a polished, precise, and compelling manner. Demonstrates a deep interest in others comments. Creates rich documents and reports.
• Manages Complexity Makes sense of complex, high quantity, and sometimes contradictory information to effectively solve problems. For example, consistently looks at complex issues from many angles; obtains a rich and deep understanding; swiftly cuts to the core issue; skillfully separates root causes from symptoms.
• Customer Focus Builds strong customer relationships and delivers customer-centric solutions. For example, probes deeply into customer needs to identify less obvious interests or expectations. Consistently goes above and beyond to understand customer requirements and surpass their expectations.
• Cultivates Innovation Creates new and better ways for the organization to be successful. For example, approaches professional work in unique or innovative ways. Offers original ideas. Appreciates others creative ideas and solutions and provides helpful input to enhance them.
• Self-Development Actively seeks new ways to grow and be challenged using both formal and informal development channels. For example, creates a development plan that states clear goals and the tactics to achieve them. Gathers information on where to focus. Makes efforts to apply new skills on the job.
• Tech Savvy Anticipates and adopts innovations in business-building digital and technology applications. For example, investigates technologies to learn some cutting-edge best practices. Uses digital/social media to benefit the team and add value to the work being done; understands how to avoid misuse of these tools.
• Optimizes Work Processes Knows the most effective and efficient processes to get things done, with a focus on continuous improvement. For example, uses metrics and benchmarks to monitor accuracy and quality. Takes steps to make methods productive and efficient. Promptly and effectively addresses process breakdowns.
  
  

Skills

• Project Schedule Management Works with full competence to identify, sequence, and resource project schedules for timely completion. Typically works without supervision and may provide technical guidance.
• Data Collection and Analysis Works at an advanced level to determine and analyze trends from data that is collected to assist in compiling reports that will help in decision-making. Typically works independently and provides guidance.
• Verbal Communication Works at an advanced level to express ideas, request actions, formulate plans, & policies by means of clear and effective verbal communications. Typically works independently and provides guidance.
• Project Risk and Issue Management Works with full competence to plan, identify, monitor, analyze, and prioritize risks (threats and opportunities), create response plans, and manage the risk if it occurs. Typically works without supervision and may provide technical guidance.
• Project Tracking and Reporting Works with full competence to measure and report on the status of milestones in order to deliver predefined project results. Typically works without supervision and may provide technical guidance.
• Project Organization and Structure Works with full competence to build the structure and culture of the project team, and define roles and responsibilities within that structure to enable the achievement of project mission and objectives and the effective operation of key business processes. Typically works without supervision and may provide technical guidance.
• Project management software Works with full competence to demonstrate knowledge and expertise in project management software. Typically works without supervision and may provide technical guidance.
• Governance of Business Analysis Activities Works at an advanced level to identify, select, and manage the oversight of business analysis work, including decision making, change control, prioritization, and approval processes. Typically works independently and provides guidance.
• Database Reporting Works with full competence to use database reporting tools and techniques. Typically works without supervision and may provide technical guidance.
• Information Retrieval and Searching Works with full competence to utilize systems and tools required to search for new data or retrieve existing data in a database. Typically works without supervision and may provide technical guidance.
• Data Conversion Works with full competence to use data conversion tools and techniques to encode data in various formats. Typically works without supervision and may provide technical guidance.
• Project Communications Management Works with full competence to ensure timely and appropriate planning, collection, creation, distribution, storage, retrieval, management, control, archiving, and disposition of project information. Typically works without supervision and may provide technical guidance.
• Project Scope Management Works with full competence to identify, verify, and manage changes to the scope of the project or program, utilizing the most appropriate approach. Typically works without supervision and may provide technical guidance.
• Project Portfolio Management Works with full competence to develop the strategic plan, and roadmap and manage the strategic changes associated with the portfolio. Typically works without supervision and may provide technical guidance.
• Multi-Project Management Works with full competence to manage multiple unrelated projects (not an integrated program) with possibly different life cycle frameworks such as traditional, agile, or hybrid. Typically works without supervision and may provide technical guidance.
  
  

Education

• Bachelor's Degree or Equivalent Level
  
  

Experience

• General Experience: Substantial general work experience together with comprehensive job related experience in own area of expertise to fully competent level. (Over 6 years to 10 years)
• Managerial Experience: Experience of supervising and directing people and other resources to achieve specific end results within limited timeframes (13 months to 3 years)
  
  

Traits

• Need for Achievement A tendency to work intensely to achieve and exceed difficult standards.
• Focus Preference for organization, procedure, and exactitude.
• Adaptability Comfort with unanticipated changes of direction or approach.
• Persistence A tendency toward passionate and steadfast pursuit of long-term goals, in spite of obstacles, discouragement, or distraction.
• Composure The ability to stay calm and poised in stressful, difficult, or ambiguous situations.
• Curiosity The extent to which a person is likely to tackle problems in a novel way, see patterns in complex information, and pursue deep understanding.
• Sociability The natural inclination to engage with and interact with others.
• Confidence The degree to which a person is convinced that they control the course of events in their lives.
• Credibility The degree of consistency between a person's words and actions.
• Openness to Differences A desire to consider and explore differences in perspective, thought, and experience of persons from a variety of backgrounds.
• Tolerance of Ambiguity Comfort with uncertain, vague, or contradictory information that prevents a clear understanding or direction.
• Empathy Being attuned to others feelings,motivations and concerns.
• Situational Self-Awareness The ability to stay attuned to one's own experiences, motivations, and reactions in the present moment.
• Optimism The degree to which people are comfortable with themselves and positive about life.
• Assertiveness The degree to which people enjoy taking charge and directing others.
• Affiliation A preference for aligning with a larger team or organization toward a common goal.
• Risk-Taking A willingness to take a stand or take chances based on limited information.
• Trust An expectation of honesty and forthrightness on the part of oneself and others.
• Influence The ability to motivate and persuade others.
• Humility The degree to which a person is seen as courteous, free from self-absorption, and easy to get along with.