Strategy Manager, Office of the CIO

About Kohl’s

With a 1 billion dollar investment in cutting-edge technology over the next 3 years, innovation is at the heart of everything that we do. Join our team and dive deep into industry insights, using synthesized research to help create the roadmap to our technology strategy, including our efforts in Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Cloud Migration, and Conversational Commerce.

What Will You Be Doing?

Research & Competitive Intelligence

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  Lead research and evaluation of emerging trends in the information technology field and recommends ways to apply technology solutions that will maximize their value to the organization. Presents findings and point-of-views to Executive leaders.
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  Proactively monitor and relate industry insights and technology trends relative to key corporate objectives and strategic planning.
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  Capitalize on all available sources of insight, including primary and secondary studies, syndicated sources, operational/transactional and observational data, white papers and competitive intelligence as well as tap into both internal/institutional knowledge and third-party perspectives to advance Kohl’s Technology’s understanding and effectiveness in critical and emerging technologies.
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  Lead efforts to ensure we are leveraging our external research resources effectively. Identify other sources as needed and lead efforts to build a knowledge repository/library.
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  Coach and develop research skills across the Enterprise Technology Strategy team, developing standards and templates to drive consistency in methods.

Lead strategy development

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  Assist with assessments of key initiatives and leverages research to inform strategic planning.
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  Partner with Executive leaders to interpret, influence, and define high-level strategy direction into action.
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  Identify and assess the pros and cons of possible strategies and articulate a recommendation supported with logical reasoning.
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  Partner with other departments to address ad-hoc needs in alignment with corporate initiatives.
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  Continually learn about and probe into the different aspects of our technology and digital business to make informed projections and guide strategic direction.
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  Leverage internal partners in Insights, Analytics, Finance and throughout the business to ensure strategies are well-informed with context on the business, customer and industry.
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  Provide consulting expertise for specific strategic initiatives, both in strategy support and in roadmapping for successful execution.

Organizational Strategy Alignment

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  Identify the synergies to be created through cross-functional work, linking business unit strategies to corporate strategy.
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  Curate content and develop presentations relating to strategic work (independently and/or in partnership with business leader) to communicate with internal and external audiences.
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  Facilitate brainstorming or discussion sessions with leaders to identify themes, generate new ideas and create prioritization.
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  Influence and orchestrate cross-functional teams to enable execution.

Strategy Planning

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  Lead the curation and communication of pre-read content for the Executive Committee including industry reports, customer insights summaries, relevant articles, macro context, competitive performance and other inspiration to inform the Strategy planning session.
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  Help to facilitate annual strategic planning with the Executive Committee.
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  Provide recommendations for strategy evolution based on insights, industry and competitive context, macro trends, and knowledge of the business.

Required Competencies:

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  5+ years experience working at leading global professional services com pany supporting technology strategy or retail insight generation and research, including design, analysis and presentation of results
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  Solid business acumen with an ability to synthesize complex topics for C-Level consumption
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  Experience with research designed to inform the development and evaluation of emerging technology
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  Proven ability to interact effectively at all levels within the organization, including C-Level leadership
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  Excellent communication skills with a demonstrated ability to synthesize analysis and conclusions and convey key information via written reports or presentations
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  Results oriented; delivers results under tight deadlines, manages uncertainty and risk
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  Excellent team player with the ability to build and leverage internal and external alliances and to work effectively in a lean environment.