Senior 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 Senior Associates to develop strategies and oversee 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 have earned your analytical chops and are a big-picture thinker who is comfortable identifying connective patterns and crafting a story from research and analysis. You are known for being a flawless executor while keeping projects on time and on budget. Your positive attitude and exceptional people skills are an asset. You are hungry to learn and grow while delivering results that exceed client expectations.

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

• Lead key work streams. Own project work plans, from conducting market, competitive, and digital analysis and research to developing and launching open innovation challenge programs. Manage junior team members on work streams to ensure high-quality execution, and effective managing up of key deliverables.
• Serve as a client champion. Earn respect and trust of our clients to serve as a go-to point-of-contact. Maintain empathy and perseverance to make change in large organizations.
• Connect the dots. Quickly get up to speed on new client industries, and keep your finger on the pulse of incumbents and newcomers. Identify key nodes in any given industry network, participate in industry events, stay abreast of relevant news and trends, tap into the network to drive value for our clients, and contribute to thought leadership work.
• Communicate the vision. Craft presentations and storytelling, both internally and with clients, leveraging the team’s insight and analysis. Contribute to strategy formulation and help to create “the big idea” for our clients.
• 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

• MBA or Undergraduate degree or equivalent experience
• 4-5+ years experience working with clients or teams who trust you implicitly; 2-3+ years of client services experience preferred
• Demonstrated work and/or educational experience in synthesizing data, drawing meaningful insights, and providing actionable strategies; an understanding of best uses and constraints of digital analytics measurement is a plus
• Exhibit leadership qualities, knowing how to effectively bridge work flow between senior and junior team members to maximize productivity and efficiency
• Exceptional attention to detail - quick to catch internal inconsistencies in documents and strong ability to recall key insights and decisions that impact project thinking
• Good technological literacy and ability to quickly navigate the full functionality of tools like Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Dropbox, and Google Docs
• Early adopter of emerging technology for networking and intelligence gathering
• Stellar communication and presentation skills with a high EQ, demonstrating an ability to strike the right tone with clients in e-mails and verbal communications
• Ability to structure thinking in an easy to follow manner
• Strong numeracy; Excel skills a plus
• 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, tell us why you want to work at Luminary Labs, and describe 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, please include 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 $95,000 to $115,000 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.