Associate

About Us

We are a strategy and innovation consultancy that helps organizations thrive in the face of change. Thorny problems are our strong suit.

We’re a team of consultants who are energized by big, messy problems. We are strategists, analysts, designers, and editors who bring agility and flexibility to projects focused on stemming chronic disease, closing the skills gap, rethinking the future of work, supporting digital transformations, using data to make smart cities safer, developing sustainable business models, and making moonshot investments.

We help companies thrive in the face of change. Our clients are “innovation mavericks” — leaders inside global corporations, nonprofits, and federal agencies who are tasked with helping their organizations adapt to the technological, economic, political, and social norms of the 21st century. We’re the strategy and innovation consultants they call when there’s no playbook for the problem they’re trying to solve.

Our open innovation practice was established in 2011. We are particularly focused on open innovation for impact, making use of incentive prize mechanisms to accelerate innovations such as artificial organs (Artificial Kidney Prize), early biothreat detection (DHS Hidden Signals Challenge), access to career and technical education (the Ed Prizes challenge series), and improving our understanding of Earth’s magnetism (NGA MagQuest).

We have an equal appreciation for strategy and execution. We offer our clients the upfront thinking that goes into careful strategy development and can become partners in execution to ensure those strategies are implemented.

We believe that career choices are not binary; you can have a challenging and rewarding career as part of a high-performing team and also live your life. Our clients appreciate that we bring the highest level of excellence to everything we do, and our team appreciates that we are extraordinarily efficient so that you aren’t expected to be online later.

Please note: for employment at Luminary Labs, you must be fully vaccinated (including booster) for COVID-19 to ensure compliance with enhanced health and safety protocols.

We are not actively hiring for this role at the moment; however, given the fast-paced nature of our work, our hiring needs can change quickly. We collect applications on a rolling basis, so if you’re interested in this or other roles at Luminary Labs, we encourage you to apply. If your background and skillset are a fit, we’ll reach out and provide more information on anticipated timing.

The Role

Luminary Labs seeks Associates to support strategy formation and program execution for our Fortune 500, nonprofit, and government clients.

Please note that our team has embraced a hybrid model for our five-day work week, with two synchronous days in the office and three days wherever you work best. This role is based in New York City and will join our team in the office on Tuesdays and Wednesdays most weeks.

About You

You are known for quickly ramping up on any subject and for synthesizing large amounts of information to tell a story. You enjoy solving problems, large and small, and think both critically and expansively in doing so. Having worked in or for large organizations, you partner well, knowing the conditions for success to advance decisions. You have experience super-flexing across a range of activities, sometimes outside of your comfort zone. You are passionate about technology and the opportunities it presents to clients.

You care about the impact your work has on the world and have been looking for a career path that is both high-performance and high-impact.

People love to have you on their team. You love to be part of a team.

Role and Responsibilities

• Realize client objectives. Earn the respect and trust of our clients by delivering on their day-to-day needs. Support your team in all client management and deliverables, and help anticipate what’s needed next. Maintain client connectivity by supporting proactive and responsive communications required for each project.
• Own work streams. Serve as the lead project manager, owning the work plan and executing critical work streams.
• Support insight development. Conduct research and analysis to identify connective patterns in people, companies and industries, and develop and share insight and recommendations based on said patterns.
• Interpret the data. Build financial models for products, services, and emerging businesses, and conduct quantitative analysis for measuring performance outcomes.
• Tell the story. Help develop flawless presentations based on your research and analysis and contribute to the creation of materials for innovation exercises and ideation workshops.
• Drive business growth. Support the development of new business proposals and pitches and deepen value with existing clients. Support company growth by participating in the ongoing recruitment of talent.

Desired Skills and Experience

• 2-4 years of experience; client services experience a huge plus
• Demonstrated work and/or educational experience in synthesizing data, drawing meaningful insights, and providing actionable strategies
• Exceptional attention to detail - quick to catch internal inconsistencies in documents and strong ability to recall key insights and decisions that impact project thinking
• Stellar communication skills and a high EQ, with an ability to strike the right tone with clients in e-mails and verbal communications
• Passionate about technology, and the opportunities it presents to our clients
• Good technological literacy and ability to quickly learn and navigate the full functionality of tools like Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Dropbox, and Google Docs
• Quick learner who is eager to absorb feedback
• Enjoy solving complex problems using analytic and creative methods
• Ability to structure thinking in an easy to follow manorHave a strong record as a high performer in academic, volunteer, or work activities, with noted leadership accomplishments
• Strong numeracy; Excel skills a plus
• Entrepreneurial mindset, but experience working with corporate clients
• Are super-flexible, adaptable, realistic, practical, and agile
• Thrive in a fast-paced and dynamic environment

Investing in our people is a high priority. Benefits include:

• Competitive compensation and formal bonus structure
• Health benefits package (80% of premium is covered for health, dental, and vision)
• Competitive vacation package
• Paid family leave
• 401k plan with matching
• Pre-tax transit check
• Cell-phone reimbursement
• Fitness reimbursement
• Education stipend and growth opportunities
• Charitable donation matching
• Opportunities to mentor and be mentored

Does this sound like you?

Please submit your resume and cover letter. In your cover letter, show us three examples of ideas, companies, or teams that you consider to be at the forefront of innovation. Let us know your availability for employment. If available, also send us examples of your own work or thinking online (blog posts, Slideshare examples).

Candidates must be authorized to work in the US. No agencies please.

The total compensation package for this role includes a base salary in the range of $75,000 to $90,000 plus a discretionary annual performance bonus. The starting salary for this role is at the lower bound of the salary range; an individual's starting salary will depend on the individual’s relevant knowledge, skills, and experience.