Strategy and Planning Project Leader

About Ropes & Gray

Ropes & Gray is a preeminent global law firm. The firm has been ranked in the top three on The American Lawyer's prestigious A-List for eight consecutive years and #1 on Law.com's UK A-List twice in the past three years - rankings that honor the "best of the best" law firms. The firm has approximately 2,500 lawyers and professionals serving clients in major centers of business, finance, technology, and government in Boston, Chicago, Dublin, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, Milan, New York, Paris, San Francisco, Seoul, Shanghai, Silicon Valley, Singapore, Tokyo and Washington, D.C.The firm has consistently been recognized for its leading practices in many areas, including asset management, private equity, M&A, finance, real estate, tax, antitrust, life sciences, health care, intellectual property, litigation & enforcement, privacy & cybersecurity, and business restructuring. Ropes & Gray is an equal opportunity employer.

Overview

About the Strategy team

A key component of Ropes & Gray’s success is a strategy team that supports the firm’s leadership in making a wide range of strategic business decisions through rigorous research, analysis, and assessment.  The strategy team enjoys the trust of Ropes & Gray’s leadership and is called upon to advise on important strategic decisions about the firm’s future.  The wide range of practice areas at Ropes & Gray and the broad array of client segments and geographic markets that the firm serves result in strategy team projects that span many disciplines – indeed, no two projects are alike – and variety is the name of the game.   Strategy team members have diverse backgrounds, but share an immutable commitment to the excellence of our work product and to the growth and development of team members.   We are dedicated professionals, we work together as a team that has a strong sense of purpose, and take great pride in our collective success.

About you

We are looking for a special individual to join us.  Ropes & Gray is an exceptional firm and a special place to work.  The strategy team is a group of highly capable, humble, and deeply committed professionals with an impressive track record of excellence in all that we do.  You are our ideal candidate if you are curious, self-motivated, patient, and poised; enjoy working in an environment where team members are supportive and have each other’s backs; possess an innate desire to own and complete assignments to the highest standard in a timely manner; and have experience, aptitude, and interest in both quantitative and qualitative business analytics.  As a member of the strategy team, you will feel vested in the team’s success and will care about the professional experience of colleagues.  You will enjoy working on a wide variety of strategy projects that are challenging and provide opportunities for growth.

Responsibilities

• Research and analysis, which is a cornerstone of the strategy team’s work.  This means you get to be curious and learn every day, and encourage curiosity and a learning mentality in other team members.  You will balance working independently and guiding others to gather, analyze, structure, and synthesize qualitative and quantitative business, external market, and competitor data and information, as well as examine aspects of the firm’s client base, capabilities, and economics – to find patterns, draw implications, and develop effective and compelling deliverables.
• Project management and work planning, which means that you will start your work and the work of others from a general problem statement and clearly scope out the strategic issues and options to be researched and analyzed.  You will develop hypotheses and figure out how to explore them, applying effective time management skills to balance multiple efforts and consistently meet deadlines – all while ensuring the highest level of accuracy, organization, documentation, communication, and follow-through for your own work and the work of others, as a mentor to teammates.
• Strategic option development and decision support, which starts with the presentation of findings through compelling and logical deliverables such as qualitative and quantitative exhibits, as well as written reports.  You will work closely and iteratively with teammates to create polished, client-ready deliverables; propose actionable options for decision makers; and potentially frame strategy implementation plans.
• Relationship building, which is an essential component of the role of the project leader.  This entails building, developing, and growing business relationships vital to the success of each project, as opportunities arise, as well as adopting and fostering a collaborative approach to working with team members and across support team functions, consistent with Ropes & Gray’s culture of collaboration.

Qualifications

You are the right person for the job if you:

• Are, first and foremost, adaptable and flexible given the dynamic nature of the strategy team’s work and evolving demands and priorities.
• Have a strong aptitude for analytical work, and demonstrated strengths and interest in problem solving.
• Are able to work in a self-directed manner, take ownership of work, and contribute to the success of the team.
• Are willing to receive and provide constructive feedback.
• Are capable of multi-tasking, sometimes under time-sensitive conditions.
• Possess strong communication skills including written, verbal, and listening.
• Like to collaborate, build relationships, and contribute to a positive work environment.
• Have advanced Excel, PowerPoint, and Word skills.
• Have an MBA, JD, or similar advanced professional degree preferred. 
• Have a minimum of five years of relevant professional experience, ideally in a professional services environment.

Compensation and Total Rewards Package

Ropes & Gray is proud to offer a comprehensive Total Rewards package to our business support team members. The firm also offers comprehensive health and well-being benefits, personal and professional development, career growth opportunities and a collegial and supportive culture. The anticipated pay range for this role is listed below and represents our good faith and reasonable estimate of the starting salary range at the time of posting. In addition, this role is eligible for a discretionary bonus based on performance. The actual offered rate for this position will be determined based on job-related, non-discriminatory factors, including qualifications and experience, geographic location, education, external market data and consideration of internal equity.

Boston: $150,100 - $240,150

New York: $161,000 - $257,600

Working Conditions

This position requires hybrid on-site presence as an essential function of the role. Consistent and predictable on-site presence is required for ongoing business continuity, professional development and effective collaboration with colleagues and management.