Associate Director, Strategy Milano

Associate Director, Strategy
Milano
Lombardia, Milano

Since 1993, EPAM Systems, Inc. (NYSE: EPAM) has leveraged its advanced software engineering heritage to become the foremost global digital transformation services provider - leading the industry in digital and physical product development and digital platform engineering services.

Through its innovative strategy; integrated advisory, consulting and design capabilities; and unique 'Engineering DNA, ' EPAM's globally deployed hybrid teams help make the future real for clients and communities around the world by powering better enterprise, education and health platforms that connect people, optimize experiences, and improve people's lives.

Selected by Newsweek as a 2021 Most Loved Workplace, EPAM's global multi-disciplinary teams serve customers in more than 40 countries across five continents.

As a recognized leader, EPAM is listed among the top 15 companies in Information Technology Services on the Fortune 1000 and ranked as the top IT services company on Fortune's 100 Fastest-Growing Companies list for the last three consecutive years.

EPAM is also listed among Ad Age's top 25 World's Largest Agency Companies and in 2020, Consulting Magazine named EPAM Continuum a top 20 Fastest-Growing Firm.

**POSITION**:

Are you passionate about whitespace design and creating innovative analogue -digital systems that drive client business success and value?

Are you able to connect, structure and deliver complex strategies and systems that disrupt businesses and industries?

As an associated director, strategy, you will work with a multi-disciplinary team of expert product designers, business strategists, researchers, service designers and PMs, as a core member to create differentiated, relevant and meaningful experiences for our global clients.

You will be responsible for providing both client and teams with clear business, market and user perspective.

This typically involves developing a deep understanding of users, the business and market, identifying and prioritizing insights and opportunities and helping to frame, communicate and evangelize the overarching story of a new business or system program.

**Responsibilities**:

- Leading programs and teams focused on understanding user/consumer needs and translating them into future compelling whitespaces and omni or multi-channel strategies and experiences

- Translating strategies into tangible experiences through system thinking in relation to holistic physical and digital environments

- Communicating with and managing clients throughout complex innovation programs that have the potential to significantly impact the client's business

- Collaborating with experts in different domains such as strategists, engineers, UX designers, architects, human factor experts or brand experience designers

- Managing and mentoring junior profiles and teams

**Requirements**:

- Have 10+ years of experience in research, design strategy, envisioning, analogue and digital services with a proven track record of success

- Background in Business or Strategic design is preferred

- Excel at critical thinking and bring an uncommon point of view on design practice

- Have excellent written, presentation and client management skills

- Enjoy working in a challenging, multidisciplinary, design environment

- A passion for looking beyond and designing non-obvious strategies

- Enjoy defining and tackling undefined problems and projects

- Are curious, observant & insightful

- Are able make connections between insights and business opportunities

- Enjoy working closely in a team with people who possess diverse skills and working styles

- Are passionate about creating compelling strategies and directions for future products and services

- Are willing to travel approximately 20%-30% of each year for project work

- DISCOVERING, ENVISIONING & DEVELOPMENT (FROM INPUT TO OUTPUT SKILLS): Understanding how primary and secondary research synthesize into cohesive and holistic values is key.

With this background, you will need to connect and visualize the research into relevant frameworks that enable the client to understand and leverage tools for further business value

- Discovery skills:

- Co-design and lead workshop activities

- Plan and conduct ethnographic & behavioral based research.

(1:1 interview, interception in field, contextual observation)

- Plan and conduct secondary research (competitive/comparative audit, brand/trend analysis, desk research)

- Define and lead stakeholder interviews

- Envisioning skills:

- Cluster, connect and synthesize research data through the usage of appropriate frameworks, tools and methodologies

- Envision complex experience scenarios into intuitively understood extended visualizations relevant for stakeholders

- Design value propositions, business models and future/foresight scenarios

- Articulate strategy and direction through the right mix of visual and verbal communication

- Create sophisticated tangible and visceral deliverables that visually convey the