How to Become a Strategy Manager

About Strategy Manager

Strategy Manager is a person who manages and prepares all the strategic plans of any organisation to meet the long term as well as short term goals. He is responsible for monitoring and developing the strategies of the company along with strengthing the business core in order to provide profit to the company. Candidates who are looking for career as a strategy manager should be good in Analytical as well as organizational skills. A good and skilled strategy manager reviews the company and determines its weakness, opportunities, strength and operational effectiveness. He prepares the strategy as per the strength of the company.
Strategy manager works on preparing strategies and plans to minimize the risks and maximise the companies profit. Companies hire the strategy manager to handle their projects and create strategy to complete the task in a better way. Some of the major tasks and responsibilities of the strategy managers are Identifying threats and opportunities, Monitoring and reporting on projects, Conducting research, Assessing market trends, Analysing competitors and market. He also works on improving the existing strategic planning process. Besides this, candidates who are aiming for a career as a strategy manager may enrol for any relevant management degree. 

Eligibility to become Strategy Manager

Candidates should fulfil the minimum eligibility requirements decided below
Education: Candidates must have cleared master degree in economics, business administration, finance, Industrial management or any other relevant field may apply for a job as a strategy manager. Candidates must have cleared bachelor in any relevant discipline.

Experience: Candidates applying for this profile must have some work experience of around 2-3 years in a corporate company. Candidates with some experience will be given priority in comparison to others who are new to the industry, Those candidates who have just started their career as a strategy manager can aim for any startup company to gain some experience. 

Skills: All the candidates who are looking for a job as a strategy manager should own some relevant skills to gain an advantage over their competitors. Companies will give priorities to the candidates who own some additional skills and experience. Some of the major skills required in the field are listed below.

• Project management skills
• Mathematical and statistical knowledge
• Ability to multitask
• Quick decision-making skills
• Organizational Skills
• Knowledge of various financial structures
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
• Analytical skills

Besides this, candidates must have a good understanding of some tools and techniques such as Microsoft Office applications, SWOT Analysis, BCG Matrix and VRIO Analysis. 
 

Types of Job Roles Strategy Manager

There are many job roles available for a Strategy Manager. Candidates may select any role that suits their interest and skills.

• Financial Analyst 
• Business Analyst 
• Research Investigator 
• Product Strategist 
• Project Management Coordinator 
• Strategic Initiatives Associate 
• Project Analyst 
• Process Coordinator 
• Business Development Coordinator 
• Marketing Consultant 
• Compliance Officer 
• Consumer Insight Analyst 

Employment Opportunities for Strategy Manager

Companies from many sectors hire strategy manager to prepare strategies to handle their tasks and services in an effective way. Some of the major areas where the candidates may apply are provided below.

• Finance and Insurance
• Professional, Scientific and Technical Services
• Public Administration  Mining, Oil and Gas Extraction 
• Management of Companies and Enterprises
• Manufacturing
• Health Care and Social Assistance
• Accommodation and Food Services

Top Recruiting Agencies for Strategy Manager

Some of the major recruiting companies hiring Strategy Managers are

• Universal Collateral Management Pvt. Ltd.
• Laundryfie
• Amazon
• Efftronics Systems Pvt Ltd
• JPMorgan
• Accenture
• Mphasis
• Cognizant
• Reliance Industries
• Xerox
• Deloitte
• ICICI Lombard
• IBM India
• Novell
• Capgemini

Pay Scale/Salary of Strategy Manager

Salary of the Strategy Manager will depend on the qualifications and experience of the candidate. Salary for all the profiles of strategy managers is provided in the table below. 

Books & Study Material to Become Strategy Manager

There no are particular exam related books for strategy manager available in the market. However, strategy managers may look at some of the recommendations provided below. 

• Business Strategy: Managing Uncertainty, Opportunity, and Enterprise by J.C. Spender
• Return On Influence: The Revolutionary Power of Klout, Social Scoring, and Influence Marketing by Mark Schaefer
• Tilt: Shifting Your Strategy from Products to Customers by Niraj Dawar
• Blue Ocean Strategy, Expanded Edition: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant by W. Chan Kim
• Fewer, Bigger, Bolder: From Mindless Expansion to Focused by Sanjay Khosla
• Hiring for Attitude: A Revolutionary Approach to Recruiting and Selecting People with Both Tremendous Skills and Superb Attitude by Mark Murphy
• The Plugged-In Manager: Get in Tune with Your People, Technology, and Organization to Thrive by Terri L. Griffith
• The Strategy-Focused Organization: How Balanced Scorecard Companies Thrive in the New Business Environment by Robert Kaplan and David Norton
• The Lords of Strategy: The Secret Intellectual History of the New Corporate World by Walter Kiechel
• Breaking the Fear Barrier: How Fear Destroys Companies From the Inside Out and What to Do About It by Tom Rieger
• Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...And Others Don't by Jim Collins

Pros of becoming a Strategy Manager

• Working on different projects allows you to think critically
• Being, a strategy manager you will handle all the decisions. You do not have to depend upon the approval of others.
• The salary of the strategy manager is good
•  You will be able to measure the progress of a company’s projects and analysing the weakness and strengths as well.

Cons of becoming a Strategy Manager

• Strategy manager has to think a lot in order to find a perfect strategy to handle any situation
• Sometimes you may get struct to a task which may result in pressurize situation
• You will have to implement all the available strategies before finalising one which might be more time consuming