Center of Excellence (CoE) Operations Specialist

We’re growing quickly and looking for a Center of Excellence (CoE) Operations Specialist to support the operational and strategic success of our CoEs.

About the CoE Practice Operations Specialist Role

The CoE Operations Specialist will support the operational and strategic success of our Centers of Excellence (CoEs)—including Keystone’s Advanced Technology Services (K.ATS), Keystone Economics (K.ECON) and Keystone Management Science. Our CoEs are led by Consulting leadership and require operational and strategic support to function well. The person in this role will proactively develop partnerships with CoE leaders, operations partners, and other stakeholders in order to support the operations and growth of our CoEs. This role is ideal for someone who has strong business acumen, is well organized, and can manage multiple projects and stakeholders simultaneously. This role reports to the Sr. Director of Practice Operations.

Key Responsibilities

CoE Framework & Strategic Alignment

• Design a CoE Framework and ensure adoption across the firm
• Ensure alignment of all efforts across CoEs with broader firmwide goals
• Serve as the centralized resource for best practices and implementation across CoEs
• Contribute to the creation and execution of coordinated tactical action plans supporting CoEs

Execution, Tracking & Reporting

• Provide support to CoEs' goal achievement — including research, project management, data analysis, and more
• Manage CoE goals and priorities by tracking meeting discussions and emails, monitoring progress, identifying next steps and potential roadblocks, and following up on action items
• Assist and coordinate on all efforts related to CoEs — including, but not limited to, preparing CoE sections of monthly firmwide updates and Board presentations, and building slides
• Act as a liaison between CoEs and the Operations team

Planning & Cross-Functional Partnership

• Assist with CoE budget and workforce planning as needed
• Support CoE staffing and capacity planning workflows and tools
• Work with Finance and other stakeholders on projects impacting CoEs — including conducting research and designing implementation and communication plans
• Manage ad-hoc leadership requests and coordinate with Operations, Finance, and IT as needed

Events & Offsites

• Plan and coordinate CoE team offsites and in-person events, including agenda planning, logistics, vendor coordination, and on-site execution
• Manage timelines, materials, and post-event follow-ups to ensure events run smoothly and deliver on intended objectives

Tools, Systems & Process Improvement

• Understand the relevant subscription and tooling landscape across CoEs and promote usage of the correct services
• Create, maintain, and manage internal databases containing employee and practice-related information, ensuring data accuracy and usability
• Identify and implement continuous process improvements, leveraging technology and innovation when appropriate, to enhance efficiency and reduce administrative burdens

What You’ll Bring

• Enthusiastic, team-player who is willing to dive in head-first in a fast-paced environment at a growing firm
  • Natural collaborator, people-person, and effective communicator
  • Ability to work independently and provide guidance to executive-level management across all operational areas and CoE practices
  • Extensive knowledge of Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook; basic knowledge or experience with Customer Relationship Databases and Resource Management/scheduling tools; experience with Salesforce is preferred
  • Excellent written/verbal communication, analytical, problem identification and resolution skills; organized and deadline oriented
  • Ability to handle ad hoc projects as business requirements emerge and evolve
  • High professional and ethical standards for handling confidential and sensitive information
  • Excellent multi-tasker — experience with project management a plus