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Senior Consultant, Center for Financial Services Innovation
Position: Senior Consultant
Functional Area:
Organization: Center for Financial Services Innovation
Location: Chicago, IL
Metro Region:
Overview:
The Center for Financial Services Innovation (CFSI) is the nation’s leading authority on financial services for underbanked consumers. CFSI’s programs are based on the belief that addressing the needs of underbanked consumers as a market will deliver broad, long-term change throughout the financial services landscape by creating mutual benefit for both the underbanked and the companies serving them. Therefore, CFSI works with leaders and innovators in the business, government and nonprofit sectors to transform the financial services landscape with programs focused on informing, connecting and investing – gathering enhanced intelligence, brokering and supporting productive industry relationships and fostering best-in-class products and strategies. CFSI seeks to improve the quality and quantity of financial products and services, better shape them to the needs and desires of underbanked customers, and expand effective savings and asset acquisition opportunities. The organization spurs innovation to bridge the gaps that remain in creating a path to prosperity for underbanked consumers by:
- Developing market intelligence;
- Assessing existing products, services and strategies;
- Providing strategic advice;
- Promoting and facilitating marketplace partnerships;
- Influencing public policy;
- Investing in promising innovations and encouraging others to do so as well
Founded in 2004, CFSI has experienced dramatic growth in the last two years and currently has a staff of 17 with offices in Chicago, New York and Washington, DC. CFSI seeks to continue that growth through a range of new programs, services, and activities in various stages of implementation. CFSI is a fast-paced, entrepreneurial and highly collaborative nonprofit environment. We are looking for people who share our values of innovation, passion, excellence, impact and directness.
CFSI plans to continue that growth through a range of programs including a newly expanded research agenda and exciting new Advisory Services Products. Planned consulting offerings include industry overview workshops, the provision of both strategic analysis and tactical plans to help partners more successfully reach underbanked consumers and serving as a connector for vendors and clients with intersecting goals.
Initially funded by the Ford Foundation and housed as an initiative of ShoreBank, CFSI is now an independent non-profit organization that is supported by foundations as well as earned-income in keeping with its belief that entrepreneurship and industry play a vital role in achieving financial services access for underbanked consumers. CFSI is a fast-paced, entrepreneurial and highly collaborative nonprofit environment. We are looking for people who share our values of innovation, passion, excellence, impact and directness. For more on CFSI, go to http://www.cfsinnovation.com.
Position:
CFSI is currently seeking an experienced yet entrepreneurial and motivated Senior Consultant to help shape and execute the new and expanding Advisory Services work of the organization. Working closely with the Associate Director, the Senior Consultant will be responsible for contributing to product development for the new department, leading consulting engagements with both for-profit and nonprofit clients and disseminating information about the work of the department at industry conferences and other business development venues. This position will manage a junior consultant and interns, and work closely with a wide variety of both internal and external stakeholders to forward the mission of CFSI and the Advisory Services department. The Senior Consultant role is an exciting opportunity for a smart, ambitious professional with a commitment to social change to make a significant contribution to increasing opportunity for underbanked consumers throughout the country.
Responsibilities:
Advisory Services Development
- Work with the Associate Director and CFSI team to further develop and implement CFSI’s Advisory Services strategy by assisting with the development of consulting products and the build out of frameworks for those products
- Capture best practices, trends, insights and impacts from client engagements and regularly share those learnings both internally and externally
- Stay abreast of current developments in the industry with an eye toward identifying new business opportunities for CFSI moving forward Client Engagements
- Lead consulting engagements, providing services to a diverse mix of clients and developing high quality client deliverables (memoranda, PowerPoint presentations, reports, etc)
- Ensure effective client engagement, obtain information from clients necessary to a successful engagement, finalize timelines with clients, effectively communicate progress, problems, and emerging issues. Pro-actively resolve challenges to ensure a mutually satisfactory resolution.
- Provide high quality project management, assemble and motivate internal teams, develop time tasks, ensure progress is on track and lead debriefs at the end of engagements
- Oversee client satisfaction systems/processes
Business Development
- Work closely with other CFSI team members to respond to inquiries, meet with prospects at conferences, and other business development activities
- Work with the Marketing/Communications team on the development of collateral, website information, and showcasing of client successes
- Communicate with clients about other CFSI offerings including proprietary research
- Create effective presentations and content, and as necessary, present this information at Center events or industry conferences
Supervision/infrastructure/administrative
- Supervise junior consultants and interns
- Work collaboratively with other team members on the full range of CFSI activities
Qualifications:
- 5+ years of work experience in consulting and financial services, or related role; experience with program development a plus.
- Experience developing and managing client relationships with responsibility for deliverables and presentations
- Exceptional project management skills and a business development orientation
- Superior analytical skills; demonstrated ability to quickly assess situations, identify trends, develop solutions, and translate and apply insights and learnings to the larger context
- Exceptional written and oral communications and interpersonal skills
- An entrepreneurial spirit with the ability to work independently as well as collaborate with a close-knit group
- Self-motivated and results-oriented with drive and initiative
- Advanced Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint skills
- Strong desire to be engaged in mission-related work and a commitment to the work of CFSI
- Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience required; MBA preferred
To Apply:
Please upload a resume and thoughtful cover letter, outlining how your skills and experience meet the qualifications of the position and stating how you heard about this opportunity, both in Word format, to Kimberly Gartner at http://jobs.cgcareers.org/application.aspx?id=1700 with subject line “Senior Consultant” Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.
