About the job
The Strategic Generalist plays a pivotal role within the Department of Special Projects, acting as a key execution partner to the CEO. This position is designed to convert high-level strategic visions into actionable, risk-mitigated initiatives. You will oversee unique, pioneering, and sometimes ambiguous strategic projects until they are sufficiently developed for a seamless transition to core operational teams.
In this role, operational tasks are intentionally minimized. The true value lies in creating clarity, establishing a sequence of actions, enforcing governance principles, and preparing decisions for initiatives that do not yet conform to existing organizational frameworks.
Key Responsibilities
A. Strategic Framing & Initiative Design
- Articulate CEO directives and strategic concepts into comprehensive Initiative One-Pagers that delineate objectives, context, scope, success criteria, assumptions, and associated risks.
- Formulate problem statements, hypotheses, and decision pathways for initiatives without internal precedents.
- Establish governance frameworks and execution timelines in the early stages before operational ownership is established.
B. Execution Under Ambiguity & Pilot Management
- Guide initiatives through Build & Pilot phases, assessing assumptions in real-world scenarios.
- Propel progress while upholding governance, documentation standards, and institutional integrity.
- Produce evidence that meets decision-making criteria necessary for approvals, scaling, or project termination.
C. Cross-Functional & External Stakeholder Coordination
- Serve as the principal liaison between Special Projects and internal stakeholders such as Finance, Legal, HR, Operations, and PMO.
- Engage with external parties including ministries, regulatory bodies, international partners, and consultants.
- Ensure stakeholder alignment amidst varying incentives and timelines.
D. SME Engagement & Resource Orchestration
- Identify the need for specialized expertise and delineate clear, time-bound scopes for SMEs.
- Oversee SMEs while retaining ownership of initiative logic and strategic direction.
- Optimize the balance of speed, cost, and quality in the utilization of external resources.
E. Governance, Handover & Exit Discipline
- Develop Transition Packs that encompass SOPs, governance frameworks, role definitions, and decision histories.
- Prepare initiatives for smooth handover to operational departments or new structures.
- Ensure Special Projects exits initiatives in a deliberate manner, rather than a gradual transition.
F. Reputation, Discretion & CEO Protection
- Manage sensitive initiatives and relationships with utmost confidentiality.
- Exhibit sound professional judgment and discretion.
