Job Description

:Location: Worli, Mumbai

• Key Function: Strategic Analysis
• Role Title: Executive Assistant

Job Purpose:The position is required to proactively support the Business Head to realize his vision for the Business and assist him in areas of conducting Business Performance Reviews, Planning & Budgeting Exercise, financial feasibility & Impact Analyses of New Capital Expansion Proposals & Other strategic proposals by collecting relevant data, analyzing the same, discerning the relevant trends, development of possible scenarios and discussing the scenarios in order to zero in on a particular direction.Key focus areas are

• Driving / Coordinating BH Officer, BRC & PNB Reviews, UH/SBU Head Reviews, Monthly Reviews & Board Meetings
• Daily tracking of KVDs for achieving top line and bottom-line numbers.
• Competitor analysis: SWOT, market segment and financial performance.
• Collate Action Points from ExCom
• Follow up on progress of DT 2.0 Transformation Project (AT Kearney)
• Support Apex Committee Meetings and follow up on progress
• Co-ordination with DHs/FHs in driving Initiatives/Projects
• Standardization of marketing MIS
• Support the Business Head in conducting CII Activities, driving the Sustainability Agenda, facilitating periodic Strategic Reviews of the Business to ensure adherence to timelines for various strategic initiatives
• Help the Business Head in external communications with Industry Bodies and academia to maintain and manage external environment. Support the strategy & New Projects Team

Job Context & Major Challenges:Job Context:

• Alignment & engagement with key stakeholders for driving performance of businesses which are each unique and diverse in their operations
• Supporting in driving growth plans to ensure robust follow-up and drive for closure
• Work on specific engagements as may be assigned from time to time
• Standardize Marketing MIS Formats to facilitate timely marketing reviews
• Enabling decision making through in-depth analysis and operational insights
• Follow up to ensure execution of projects within approved budget and business timelines
• To support in matters including review meetings, BRC Review.

Job Challenges:The major challenges in the role can be described as

• Spread of businesses in terms of stakeholder management & coordination, differential product lines, diversity of operations and life cycle stage of business.
• Cross- functional orientation to drive initiatives and best practices across functions
• Prioritization of initiatives/ activities given resource constraints sustenance and change in outlook of traditional businesses to ensure continued growth

Unique Challenges:

• Direct In0the0Line0of0Fire Contact - Interact with the president daily compared to people who meets him as per need basis.
• Indistinct Authority Levels - As an EA, one must always act on behalf of the president. Often, you need to communicate decisions for him. This can be difficult because you, as the EA, are only the messenger; you are not the decision maker. Your authority levels can become blurred because you are the one actively sharing the information with others. You may be tempted to give additional input or make changes that you believe are right, even if they havent been explicitly outlined by the executive. Likewise, others may be tempted to come to you with questions or concerns that should really be directed to the executive. It is critical that you remember your place and remind others as well. The boundaries in this type of work are not always clearly defined so it is up to you to keep them distinct.
• The Mind Reader Expectation - The expectation that the EA is so connected, that he will preempt the needs of the president, effectively acting as a mind reader. It is true that the EA often become incredibly capable of predicting the daily flow of work. Due to the intense one on one relationship, but he is not a mind reader.
• The Role of Intermediary - As an EA, you are the one responsible for what information gets to the executive. You are also often in charge of passing the executives words on to others. Though it may seem like a simple thing it is much more difficult to keep a balancing way.

Unique Opportunities

• Chance to perform nearly unlimited variety of tasks
• Working directly with the top leader in the organization, Provides the opportunity to meet and get0to0know many other top people in the group.
• As part of the Executive committee, involved in all the top level decision making process.

Key Accountabilities & Supporting Actions:AccountabilitySupporting ActionsStrategic Support

• Support for Market Intelligence, Business Analysis required for strategic decisions
• Competition Analysis, Industry Analytics, Data Interpretation, Business Insights etc.
• Bench marking of key financial parameters with competitors
• Analysis of schemes, product launches, brand campaign etc
• P&L analysis of major competitors and player across the category
• Put through white papers which have alignment to business Liaison and manage relationships with various functional heads of the organization for various initiatives
• Develop Market Intelligence report through Sector / Competition Analysis and feedback from market visits

Analysis and Review

• Support in facilitating performance reviews for businesses. It would include - P&B, BRC, BU & Unit Reviews Across Units & Product Lines
• Develop standard formats for tracking progress of new business initiatives with help of respective Business teams
• Inputs on periodic reviews on business performance, for BRC reviews / Business Head reviews etc
• Modify/Prepare new reports/presentation in consultation
• Analysis of presentations meant for BRC and board meetings.
• Quarterly performance report for chairman
• Analyzing monthly marketing reports received from all businesses and highlight key developments

Standardization

• Working with business for process standardization and improvement
• Support in integrating Marketing Communication Plans & also develop Standardized Marketing MIS

Planning and Budgeting

• In depth involvement in P&B cycle through appropriate inputs
• Co-ordinate the yearly process for the three units to support the strategy & projects team in driving the agenda for seamless working
• Analysis of P&L numbers for all the three units and making of summarized reports.

Tracking & Follow up

• Tracking of daily reports of three units
• Follow up and ensure for no deviation in KVDs w.r.t budget

Capacity Expansion & projects

• Part of team that prepares major capacity expansion proposal
• Prepare reports/back-ups w.r.t queries from BRC/Chairman cell
• PMO for critical initiatives / tracking growth plans
• Review all significant expansion projects in terms if CapEx including expansions both Greenfield and Brownfield
• Assisting business in projects

Support

• Support the CEO on specific projects as may be assigned from time to time
• Support in conducting external activities linked to business

Aditya Birla Group