Kearney, EA Team Leader - Johannesburg Office
About the job
As an EA Team Leader based in Kearney’s Johannesburg office, you will provide critical administrative support to the Middle East Partners and Principals and undertake administrative functions to ensure that their operational, project-based and business development requirements are carried out effectively and efficiently. You will lead, develop and support high-performing Executive Assistant team, ensuring operational excellence (overseeing day-to-day management) in our service delivery offering, operational efficiency and stakeholder support while fostering a collaborative and continuous improvement culture.
Reporting directly to the Business Support Manager, you will be given the freedom to be yourself along with recognition for what you bring to the table, allowing you make a real impact and be a true Kearney Original.
Key responsibilities
Partner/Principal Support:
- Arrange complex travel & logistic plans, often with last minute changes for Senior Leadership.
- Time and expense management, in addition to handling payments & invoicing, including, not limited to data entry, recharges, reconciliation, reporting.
- Coordinate calendars, appointments, meeting agendas, minutes for Senior Leadership, in addition to strategic support, advice, forward planning to maximize productivity gains of Leaders.
- Support with Business Development; CRM management, RFP coordination and support, L&P management, WIP creation, tracking and monitoring proactively for relevant projects, supporting with cash collection initiative, pipeline tracking/ updates for relevant projects/tasks, DSO support coordination with relevant departments.
- Support marketing efforts and internal network building.
- Provide research, reports, and compile company profiles, databases & create, and manage organized filing systems.
- Assist with onboarding and set up of new Partners and Principals, Leaders to the firm.
- Support performance management processes and general administrative tasks.
- Strategic planning of event management, assist in planning events that align with business objectives (client engagement strategies)
Team Leader Support:
- Ensure consistent service levels of support for our Leaders from the EA cohort in regard to the services provided.
- Lead and manage the EA team based in Johannesburg, at times maybe required to manage and lead the wider EA cohort.
- Assign team members tasks and initiatives, monitoring productivity levels, output, and reporting.
- Actively seeks insights from Leaders on their agendas and priorities, using such information to strategically plan across the cohort to meet said business needs.
- Provide coverage, assistance, and back-up for the team and EA team leader colleagues.
- Ensure team’s understanding and adherence to standards, processes, procedures, code of conduct and confidentiality.
- Track the growth and development of teams, in addition to performance management of direct reports, drafting analytical reports and insights.
- Coach team members; continue to seek & share on-going feedback.
- Assign, develop and/ or deliver training as required to upskill and further improve knowledge, awareness, and development of team.
- Operational and strategic support with delegation planning and coverage planning of team/cohort regarding people, projects, practice.
- Manage Leaders’ EA assignment and all related communications.
- Effectively manage conflict resolution within the team, promote positive team dynamics, initiate, lead, and support Team Building sessions.
- Stakeholder management – serve as a main point of contact between EA team/Leader and cross-functional teams, ensuring streamlined information flow, resolution of bottlenecks and efficient and productive workflows.
- Maintain budgets, data and analysis & reporting related to relevant team/dept spending as well as supporting with team’s expense management workflows and troubleshooting.
- Compliance Management – ensures teams adherence to code of conduct & relevant mandatory trainings, policies, procedures.
- Identifies issues and inefficiencies and reports and suggests implementation of essential process improvements based on gathered insights.
- Oversee end-to-end performance management activities for the team, ensuring consistent feedback, development opportunities, and alignment with business objectives.
- EA team KPI tracking/accountability – ensure teams adherence to their set KPIs, progress tracking and reporting year on year.
- Develop, maintain, and track relevant project/ team dashboards related to leadership driven objectives.
- Executive-Level Briefings: Prepare strategic briefing materials, summaries, and key insights for internal and external meetings.
- Build strong relationships with key stakeholders, ensuring active collaboration to accomplish objectives.
- Maintains clear communication channels with Line Manager on team challenges / and or relevant updates on resolution.
- Develops their own unique brand and leadership style which aligns with unit leadership, demonstrating firm’s values.
- Thorough understanding of the firm’s operations, practice, policies, procedures, transfers such knowledge to the cohort/team.
- Department processes – support the Business Support Manager with drafting and teams’ compliance to relevant SOPs, best practice, and housekeeping items.
- EA onboarding & integration: development and support of onboarding plans; trainings, checklists, presentations in addition to support of new joiners’ integration to the team.
Project/Practice Support:
- Develop documents and presentations, coordinate project setup, and manage client invoices and or portals.
- Support proposal efforts and conduct research for special projects.
- Set up Outlook calendars and distribution lists for project teams.
- Maintain client/project pipeline / internal Facebook/ support with event coordination.
Firm Building Activities:
- Actively seek and support on alumni relations, firm building initiatives events and or firm projects.
- Oversee clerical and temporary help as needed.
Who you are
After nearly 100 years, we know this business is fundamentally about making connections - between facts, figures, insights, strategies, tools, technologies and above all, people. That’s why, we look for proactive, positive, and flexible individuals who are always unapologetically their unique selves.
We want to hear from you if you:
- Have a college degree or equivalent 5 years’ experience in a professional services organization in administrative / operations capacity.
- Have strong leadership and team management skills, with ability to coach, motivate and develop high-performing teams.
- Possess excellent administrative, organizational and prioritization skills with strong attention to detail.
- Have proven ability to manage multiple stakeholders and balance competing priorities in a fast-paced environment.
- Possess a high level of discretion and professionalism in handling sensitive and confidential information.
- Have a strong problem-solving and decision-making capabilities, with ability to work independently and exercise sound judgement.
- Have excellent interpersonal and communication skills, ability to build strong working relationships across all levels of the firm.
- Have advanced technical proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, Windows, SharePoint, and other business systems/software.
- Have ability to work under pressure while maintaining a calm, positive outlook.
- Are flexible and have an adaptable mindset, with a commitment to continuous improvement and service excellence, open to leveraging AI and new technologies to drive smarter ways of working, improve team efficiency and enhanced service delivery.
What we can offer you
Every day, our people work to be the difference for our clients, our communities, and our colleagues. Helping them to make an impact, they are sustained by a competitive remuneration package plus comprehensive benefits and perks, including but not limited to:
- Generous retirement/pension savings contributions
- Comprehensive medical insurance for employees and their families
- Structured and on-the-job learning and development opportunities
- Personalized opportunities to help you chart a unique career journey to pursue your own personal and professional goals
Learn more at Kearney.com/careers.
Apply now. Submit your cover letter, CV (.doc or .pdf format only) via our website.
Equal employment opportunity and non-discrimination
Kearney prides itself on providing a culture where our employees belong and thrive equally, which means our people feel comfort, confidence, and joy as they do great things for our firm, our colleagues, and our clients. That’s why Kearney is committed to building a diverse workforce and inclusive environment. Kearney is an equal opportunity employer; we recruit, hire, train, promote, develop, and provide other conditions of employment without regard to a person’s gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, race or ethnicity, religion, age, national origin, disability, marital status, pregnancy status, veteran status, genetic information, or any other differences consistent with applicable laws. This includes providing reasonable accommodation for disabilities or religious beliefs and practices. We encourage everyone to apply, including those who may not feel historically represented in consulting.