For those wanting to work at the head of business strategy and direction, there are plenty of careers in corporate strategy awaiting out there. According to the Harvard Business Review, “Corporate strategy is what makes the corporate whole add up to more than the sum of its business unit parts.” To become a part of this often hidden world of corporate innerworkings, here are five career opportunities one might consider that are to be found within and directly related to the subject of corporate strategy.
Operations Manager
Operations managers are those individuals tasked with overseeing the entirety of an area of a company’s operations. An operations manager over physical book manufacturing of a publishing organization for example will specifically handle all aspects of physical book-making activities. The operations manager of the same company’s sales and distribution division might then oversee operations of that particular department. Strategy within each department must align with overall brand strategy, and the manager here sees to it.
Strategist
A strategist is probably the most direct semblance of corporate strategy by way of a specific vocation. Certainly, many other areas within corporate ranks also deal with strategy in a considerable way, but strategists are those that are specifically expert in the matter. Highly regarded in virtually all areas of big-business, strategists typically come equipped with a master’s in business or finances and many years of key, strategic experience.
Transition, Acquisitions Officer
Many companies undergo certain transitions that are large enough in scale to warrant the appropriation of an associated, overseeing department and strategy-minded staff. In cases of the purchase of another business entity or properties, acquisition and transition strategy is extremely important. Therefore, company acquisition teams and the lead officers in charge of them are very important in assuring the beneficial gain as opposed to loss within such big-money deals.
Human Resources Manager
Although human resources managers aren’t necessarily involved in the core areas of strategy formation, they are often involved in areas of strategy administration through the workforce. The HR manager is the head of the HR department, the source of all employee additions, removals, and other dealings. Here, strategy can be dispensed via employees and the application of policies, targeted motivation techniques, company ideology, work output method, and other forms of strategy. This manager may even be asked to come up with their own creative proposals of what methods may work best in advancing company strategy through employees.
Professional Outside Consultant
Professional outside consultation is yet another way in which companies often seek to form and advance their personalized strategies. The final spot on this brief list is dedicated to the consultant that works in this particular environ of corporate strategy. Here, a professional is hired from an outside consultation agency, provided with company info and goals, and then asked to form applicable and advantageous strategy. The most successful of consultation experts here can even go on to form their own consultation services, alone or within the confines of partnership.
Related Resource: What Careers are in Business Intelligence?
Without basic and advanced strategies alike, a company is without greater guidance in a world of extreme competition and adversity. It therefore behooves the educated leadership body of every major corporation to adopt strategy as a matter of top priority. In the end, those looking for diversity in options when it comes to careers in corporate strategy are exceedingly well-met in big-business today.
