Director - Japan

Who are we

dss+ is a leading operations management consulting firm that is in the business of saving lives and improving operational performance of our clients. We partner with our clients to develop and implement solutions to improve the technical, behavioural and cultural aspects of its operations and to establish a framework to maximize existing assets, mitigate risk and sustain continuous innovation.

dss+ offers advisory and implementation transformational services in 3 key areas - Operational Risk, Operational Excellence and Sustainability. These are enabled by our Learning & Development and Digital Technologies to drive innovation.

dss+ has employees across the globe offering services primarily in the Metals & Mining, Chemicals, Oil & Gas, Power and Utilities, Agriculture, Food and Beverage, Industrial and Manufacturing, and Financial Services industries.

What will we offer

As a fast-growing business, we offer an unprecedented career opportunity for highly motivated candidates to play a key role in shaping the blueprint for dss+ Japan. This role is highly entrepreneurial and will be at the forefront of delivering sustainable, industry specific solutions to clients in Japan. You will have the opportunity to influence the way we work and our go-to-market strategy as well as contributing to DSS Japan’s growth and profitability.

You will work with and learn from our seasoned experts include operations executives, technical and project managers, experienced line managers, qualified coaches and digital natives that have a problem-solving mindset and a passion for what they do. Combining industry best practices, the latest thinking in operations management and proven methodologies developed within dss+, our experts optimize outcomes across a wide range of industries. Additionally, as a firm that both advises and implements, you will be able to see the positive impact and value that your work delivers for the client. Coupled with our mission-driven culture, this position offers an ideal platform to positively impact critical outcomes.

At dss+ we embrace and celebrate diversity. We have established an inclusive culture, where everyone contributes, has the chance to develop and display their talents in solving challenging client problems.

What will you do

As a leader for our Japan Business, you will be responsible for managing and growing the business with a focus on delivering excellence to new and existing clients at the C-suite level, achieving annual revenue targets, defining and implementing strategies for growth.

You will leverage your strong consulting experience and knowledge of the Japan market to contribute to driving growth of the firm in Japan and in the region. You will develop and engage a team of Principals, Managers and Consultants with a strong focus on capability development and a high-performance work culture. In addition to facilitating consulting services, IP generation and overseeing program delivery and execution of client initiatives, you will build long-term relationships with key internal and external stakeholders, lead significant cross-team initiatives and develop DSS talent. In this role, you would focus on increasing revenue, delivering profitable margins and building brand awareness.

More specifically, you would be contributing to the following areas:

Values and Behaviors:

• Living and breathing the DSS Core Values and Mission Critical Behaviors and encouraging others to do the same through decisions, policies, actions, etc. More information about our core values can be found here: https://www.consultdss.com/content/assets/documents/DSS-Code-of-Conduct.pdf

Financial Performance and Business Development:

• Developing and implementing commercial strategies according to company goals and objectives aiming to accelerate growth.
• Conducting market research and analysis to create detailed business plans on commercial opportunities (expansion, business development etc.).
• Continually growing a diversified engagement pipeline within target accounts.
• Proactively participating in expanding DSS business in new service offering, industries and markets.
• Maintaining good financial discipline supported by monthly, quarterly and annual reporting and financial analysis to drive relevant proactive commercial decisions.
• Organizing highly-visible external communication initiatives that promote DSS and build our brand.
• Achieving and exceeding financial performance in line with strategic business plan for the relevant fiscal year.

Building the Firm: (Knowledge Management and Continuous Improvement)

• Developing new concepts and approaches to improve client capture, delivery, and improve dss+ competitiveness in the market.
• Developing and publishing thought leadership and new perspectives, including dss+ Points of View, and educating key stakeholders internally and externally.
• Leading, participating and contributing to the firm’s intellectual property, functional and/or industry networks with the aim of developing and sharing best practices and enhancing dss+ IP.
• Ensuring team’s project work is leveraged to create high quality knowledge pieces with transferable, reference cases to dss+.
• Leading updates and redefinition of existing internal processes and materials by proactively leveraging material s/he is developing on existing engagements and seeking out material from other regional and global engagements.

People Leadership and Team Management:

• Providing feedback and coaching to the team / junior colleagues to support their development and career progression within the organization through the use of appropriate channels such as coaching, mentoring, counselling and guiding development in relevant disciplines.
• Leveraging the strengths and the development needs of each team member to enable collaboration and development while ensuring clear roles and responsibilities are set to all team members to avoid situations of conflict.
• Setting the right example throughout the firm in term of work ethic, personal conduct and crisis management.
• Effectively delivering company objectives through others by executing excellence in effective communication, delegation, negotiation, conflict resolution, influence, appropriate use of authority and engagement with business leaders.

Client, Delivery and Stakeholder Management:

• Managing and enhancing relationship with clients, with the objective of positioning the company as a trusted partner and self as a trusted advisor to senior client executives.
• Building strong coaching relationships with key clients on improvement initiatives and leadership team.
• Providing expertise as part of business development in client, industry, or functional BD strategies, including client capture, proposal development and support other team members in meetings and presentations with clients to actively contribute to revenue and elevate firm profile.
• Achieving sustained value by originating (or playing a key part in originating) clients of the firm, including cross-selling and introducing clients and referrers to others in the firm.
• Participating in strategic projects and with key clients to support positioning of dss+ as trusted advisor, focusing on the outcomes and on the creation of additional business opportunities.
• Managing the execution of multiple co-current complex consulting engagements to ensure the project and deliverables meet or exceed the client’s requirements and expectations, delivering superior value to clients.
• Driving excellence in delivery/execution and continuous improvement to produce new solutions which deliver ongoing value and streamlined cost-effective services to dss+ clients.

To be successful in this position, you would bring the following qualifications:

• A relevant post-graduate engineering Degree with commercial or technical focus;
• An MBA from leading business school preferred;
• 15+ years of professional experience preferably with a mix of both in house and management consulting experience;
• Recent experience at Partner level with a top tier Consulting firm, with strong focus on complex operational consulting across existing or expanding industrial sectors in dss+ portfolio;
• Network of regional contacts and experience leading teams commercially;
• Proven experience in a particular domain, be it an relevant industry (i.e. Chemical industry, a functional area (i.e. Operational Excellence) and geography (Japan in particular);
• Recent experience at Partner level with a top tier Consulting firm, with strong focus on complex operational consulting across existing or expanding industrial sectors in DSS portfolio;
• Network of regional contacts, particularly in Japan;
• Experience leading commercial teams and/or in his/her domain of expertise;
• Technical knowledge and expertise in relevant field of experience is preferred;
• Strategic Planning and Commercial Acumen;
• Strong external and internal Stakeholder engagement / relationship management.
• Ability to lead a highly motivated team, P&L Accountability Market penetration, new business development and proven management capabilities is a must.
• Speak English and Japanese fluently;
• Thrive in a fast-paced, rapidly growing consulting environment.