Strategy & Innovation Associate

Department: Strategy
Location: South Africa

Description

About Allied Talent Partners

Founded by Three Cairns Group in 2023, Allied Talent Partners (ATP) is a mission-driven, not-for-profit talent marketplace focused on overcoming human capital bottlenecks that hinder sustainable development in emerging economies, with an initial focus on Africa. We connect vetted professionals to high-impact opportunities in energy access and sustainability, strengthening local capacity and driving economic growth. Specializing in fixed-term, deliverable-based engagements, the organization manages project scoping, talent matching, contracting, payroll, and compliance - allowing partners to focus on impact.

ATP currently has 11 full-time team members across Nairobi, Johannesburg, and the US.

Position Overview
This role supports the Director of Strategy & Innovation in driving strategic planning, innovation initiatives, and data-driven decision-making. The Strategy & Innovation Associate will be instrumental in translating strategic vision into actionable plans, optimizing operations, measuring impact, and identifying growth opportunities. This position combines analytical rigor with practical problem-solving to enhance ATP's efficiency, innovation capacity, and strategic execution.

Key Responsibilities

1. Data, Insights & Impact Measurement (20%)

• Metric Development & Tracking: Support the establishment and monitoring of key business metrics (e.g., project delivery metrics, operational efficiency ratios etc)
• Dashboard Management: Maintain and refine performance dashboards for leadership review
• Impact Analysis: Analyze data to assess project outcomes, client impact, and operational effectiveness
• Reporting Support: Prepare data visualizations and insights for board, leadership, and funder communications

2. Strategic Analysis & Planning Support (15%)

• Market Intelligence: Conduct research on industry trends, competitors, and emerging opportunities
• Scenario Modeling: Build models to evaluate strategic options, investment decisions, and growth scenarios
• Strategic Planning: Assist in developing and refining ATP's multi-year roadmap and annual priorities
• Meeting Preparation: Support preparation for strategy sessions, leadership and board meetings, and partner discussions

3. Innovation & New Opportunities (30%)

• Experiment Design: Help design and document innovation experiments, including success metrics and learning objectives
• Technology Assessment: Research and analyze emerging technologies relevant to ATP's mission
• Innovation Pipeline Management: Track and evaluate new service models, partnership structures, and revenue pathways
• Best Practice Research: Lead structured research into emerging delivery models, talent marketplace innovation, and future-of-work trends and identify innovative approaches that ATP could adapt

4. Operational Efficiency & Business Optimization (20%)

• Process Mapping & Analysis: Assess current processes and identify improvement opportunities
• Optimization Initiatives: Support cross-functional projects to streamline workflows and eliminate inefficiencies
• Capacity Analysis: Help identify resource allocation opportunities and bottlenecks.

5. Special Projects & Cross-Functional Delivery (15%)

• Strategic Initiatives: Support high-priority projects led by the Director of Strategy & Innovation or leadership team
• Problem-Solving: Apply structured analysis to complex organizational challenges
• Cross-Team Collaboration: Work with BD, operations, and marketing teams to implement strategic priorities

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise

Core Competencies:

• Strategic Communication: Superior written and verbal communication skills. Ability to distill complex analysis into clear insights, strategic narratives, and executive-ready recommendations.
• Executive Presentation: Advanced proficiency in PowerPoint/Google Slides. A keen eye for visual storytelling and creating polished, persuasive board and leadership presentations.
• Analytical Rigor: Strong quantitative and data analysis skills, with experience in modelling, metric development, and business intelligence.
• Project & Stakeholder Management: Excellent organizational skills and the ability to drive projects forward in a collaborative environment.

Experience: 3-5 years in consulting, strategy, business analytics, or a related field. Top-tier consulting experience (McKinsey, Bain, BCG) is highly preferred.

• Technical Proficiency: Experience with data visualization tools (e.g., Power BI, Tableau) and advanced Excel is a strong plus.
• Education: Bachelors degree in business, economics, engineering, or a related field

Reporting & Collaboration

• Location: Johannesburg, Hybrid role with 3 in-office days per week
• Reports to: Director of Strategy & Innovation
• Key Collaborators: Managing Director, Brand & Partnerships Enablement Manager, Business Development team, Operations team.