Job Title: Managing Consultant/Senior Managing Consultant
Status: Exempt, 40 hours per week
Location: Madison, WI; Tucson, AZ; Remote
- Remote candidates will be considered and will be required to travel to hub offices occasionally.
JOB SUMMARY
ILLUME’s Managing Consultants combine their evaluation and social science research expertise with their passion for serving clients, detailed eye for project management, and their ability to juggle multiple priorities to deliver exceptional and actionable project deliverables.
The Managing Consultant Will:
Demonstrate exceptional project leadership, end-to-end. The Managing Consultant will lead and own planning, budget management, reporting and successful delivery of all projects. Communication is a key part of project leadership. The Managing Consultant maintains frequent professional, clear, and assertive communication with project teams, project leadership, and clients.
Mentor project team members to grow the knowledge and expertise of the ILLUME team. The ILLUME team blends varied educational and professional backgrounds and we value the diverse perspectives we can bring to our work and our clients. You’ll work alongside a brilliant team of ethnographers, linguists, engineers, social scientists, data scientists, urban planners, graphic artists, and more. Managing Consultants provide in-project training and frequent and clear feedback to team members to ensure project success and the professional development of their project teams.
Bring their curiosity and love of problem-solving to their work every day. The Managing Consultant will turn research and analysis into insight, analyzing why things happened and how our clients can learn from the research. The Managing Consultant works with the analytical team to synthesize and report a cohesive story that informs and presents realistic paths forward.
Be energized by working across multiple projects where every day brings something new. The Managing Consultant will be responsible for the success of multiple projects. Every day is different, and Managing Consultants love the variety and fast-paced nature of research in a consulting environment.
Harness their growth mindset to expand their knowledge and expertise within energy efficiency and clean energy by keeping up with new developments in the industry and bringing new ideas to the ILLUME team. The ideal candidate will also be excited to learn and support project teams with market research and evaluation that might be outside their typical experiences.
Cultivate client relationships with a service-mindset. Managing Consultants seek to understand the motivations, needs, and challenges of our clients to provide exceptional service and to identify project expansion opportunities. The Managing Consultant fosters trust and provides exceptional service to ensure long-term relationships with clients.
REQUIRED EDUCATION
Bachelor’s degree in relevant area of study such as statistics, mathematics, engineering, building science, sociology (or other applied social science fields), economics, environmental science, psychology, or policy.
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
- Four to eight years of experience managing research or evaluation projects that include qualitative and quantitative research techniques.
- Industry experience with utilities, energy efficiency, market research, program evaluation, or energy program design and planning.
- Demonstrated experience managing projects of various sizes and complexities, including project planning, contingency planning, client management, proactive communication, and budget tracking and management.
- Superior verbal and written communication skills, demonstrating clarity and conciseness and ability to explain complex topics to a non-technical audience.
- Demonstrated ability to prioritize effectively in the face of multiple and shifting priorities, with the ability to switch between complex analytical thinking and attending to routine tasks without compromising quality or losing one’s focus.
COLLABORATION
Collaboration is the minimum standard at ILLUME. Team members build trust through regular, open, and honest communication and by working together across the company to ensure the success of every project. By working together, we create the momentum to accomplish our company objectives and together attain exceptional results.
Salary and Benefits
The salary for this position will depend on the education, professional experience, industry experience, and subject matter expertise of the applicant. The Managing Consultant/Senior Managing Consultant position salary band is $80,000 to $145,000.
ILLUME offers competitive benefits packages including:
- Medical, dental, and vision insurance options
- 401k plan & company match of 3%
- Generous and flexible time off (6+ weeks including holidays)
- Opportunities for professional development and growth
- Flexible work schedule
TO APPLY
Please submit a cover letter, resume, and writing samples/report samples from past work to hiring@illumeadvising.com.
In the subject line of your email, indicate the following:
Last name_First name_ Managing Consultant or Senior Managing Consultant
In your cover letter, provide us with:
- A sense of who you are by being honest, creative, and “yourself”
- Any experience with DEI in the workplace, and your own professional growth
- Please include your desired location (Madison, WI or Tucson, AZ Office), or indicate if you wish to work elsewhere and how you will ensure collaboration and availability to your colleagues in a remote environment.
Expect that we will carefully review all materials, including your cover letter. Incomplete applications will not be considered.
ILLUME will accept applications until the position is filled.
WORKING CONDITIONS
The Managing Consultant/Senior Managing Consultant will work in an office setting the majority of the time under normal conditions. Due to COVID-19, ILLUME employees will work remotely at their homes (or other, socially distant locations), until it is deemed safe to resume work in office. This position requires sitting (or standing) for long periods of time at a computer; and communicating by telephone and email. Dress code at ILLUME is business casual (“pulled together”). This position requires some travel.
Background Screening and Drug Testing
Many clients of ILLUME Advising require individuals who will be working with confidential information, visiting client customer homes or businesses, or meet another contractually required circumstance to pass a background screen and/or drug test. In the event you are assigned to work on a contract with client ordered screening requirements you will be required to complete the client’s required screening before working on the project with appropriate notice. The results of background screening and drug testing are used solely to meet client criteria for working on specific projects.
COVID-19
As a federal contractor, ILLUME requires staff to have been vaccinated against COVID-19, or must be willing to receive a vaccine against COVID-19 within 45 days of hire where permitted by applicable law. This is a mandatory requirement except for employees with documented medical reasons and/or exceptions in accordance with the Civil Rights Act.
CULTURE AND COMMITMENT AT ILLUME
Our Vision: ILLUME is the premier consultancy for advancing, re-envisioning, and equitably transforming the energy industry. We align clean energy and social justice imperatives and give primacy to human dreams and aspirations so that all can thrive in a clean energy future.
Our Commitment to Team Values: At ILLUME, we value the diverse lived experiences of our team. We view diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) as an on-going commitment and investment in the growth of our employees, the growth of our company culture, and the growth of our industry. By centering environmental justice, climate change mitigation, and social justice in our work, we aim to transform the way the energy industry looks at its challenges. We believe that our collective well-being depends on how well we explore, elevate, and communicate the experiences of all people who use the electric grid. We quantify the impacts of our public investments to reduce energy demand and mitigate climate change.
ILLUME considers our investment in our team as a long-term and mutual investment. At ILLUME, we’re committed to building a valued business while ensuring rewarding careers for our employees. ILLUME does not discriminate in its employment practices regarding age, ancestry, arrest record, color, conviction record, creed, cultural background, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity or expression, marital status, military obligations, national origin, race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation.
Key Results Areas
Below we show the key result areas (KRAs) for the Managing Consultant/Senior Managing Consultant position. The Managing Consultant will be in the lower to mid-range for expected competency levels for this position while the Senior Managing Consultant will be at the higher end of this range. Levels may vary by individual based on focus areas.
Project Leadership and Administration
- Lead and own the planning, budget management, reporting and successful delivery of all assigned projects.
- Continuously communicate expectations, roles, and accountabilities with assigned project team on tasks, timelines, and deliverables; revisit expectations as needed to ensure project team is operating as planned and identify team process issues.
- Keep the project leadership, including the project’s Executive-in-Charge (EIC), informed on project progress, budget, cost-to-complete, key milestones, and status of deliverables.
- Schedule and lead critical meetings including kick-off meetings, debrief meetings (as needed and at project conclusion), and monthly financial meetings.
- Set up and lead weekly or bi-monthly project meetings ensuring all project team members are aware of upcoming tasks, deliverables, budget concerns, staffing, and review needs.
- Identify project resources and keep the project and ILLUME leadership team apprised of any resource-related issues.
- Be available to respond to and address client requests and questions in a timely manner (e.g., within the same day as request).
Staff Development, Training, and Mentorship
- Provide timely and clear feedback to members of the project team, both constructive and positive, related to project work.
- Identify the need for and provide task-level training to ILLUME staff based on the project and individual team member’s needs.
- Communicate overarching company training needs to ILLUME leadership as they arise, either technical or management related, based on personal or other staff needs.
- Work with the executive team to develop and deliver trainings in area of SME.
Area(s) of Expertise
- Identify at least one area of expertise for growth and development. Expertise can be wide-ranging, and include project management excellence, social science research and analytics, complex data analytics, and topical areas related to our industry.
- Stay abreast of industry trends and opportunity in areas of expertise and identify strategic opportunities for ILLUME in these areas.
- Take ownership of development of areas of expertise through project work (including setting stretch goals within projects), reviewing existing publications and literature, and contributing to thought leadership in that area.
Business Development, Upselling, and Proposal Development
- Identify project expansion opportunities with current clients.
- Cultivate client relationships to secure continued or renewals in work.
- Track rebids or new bids and inform marketing and business development of timing and needs with current clients.
- Support the development of proposals through writing and budgeting.
- Share and support the development of project marketing opportunities with the marketing and business development team (webinar topics, podcast, magazine articles, blogs, etc.).
- Represent ILLUME at key industry events and in key organizations.
- At project close-down, ensure that project summaries are created, updated, and archived for use in marketing and business development.
