Manager, Strategic Initiatives (United States)

Responsibilities

The Manager, Strategic Initiatives is part of the Cordis Spark Program, a rotational leadership development initiative designed to accelerate future leaders through exposure to enterprise-level projects. In this role, the Mangager owns defined strategic workstreams and select projects, translating ambiguous business questions into structured analyses, recommendations, and execution plans. This role is designed for professionals who can operate with limited oversight, coordinate cross-functional contributors, and convert analysis into practical business action.

The Spark Program is Cordis' rotational leadership development program designed to build future enterprise, functional, and regional leaders through high-impact assignments, executive exposure, structured rotations, and deliberate post-program placement into business-critical roles. Spark participants rotate through 2-3 assignments over an expected 2-3 year period. Each rotation is intended to be a chartered assignment with defined business priorities, role expectations, leadership sponsorship, and measurable business outcomes. Each assignment includes a rotation sponsor responsible for day-to-day business direction, with program-level support from Spark leadership to provide development continuity, mentorship, and connectivity across the broader program.

Spark teammates are expected to deliver meaningful business impact while building the leadership capabilities, functional breadth, and enterprise perspective required for future roles at Cordis. Spark assignments are expected to move from problem definition and recommendation development through execution planning, stakeholder alignment, and value realization. At the completion of the program, Spark participants are expected to transition into permanent functional, regional, or enterprise roles aligned to business need and individual trajectory.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Own defined strategic workstreams or smaller-scale initiatives aligned to Cordis business priorities.
• Structure ambiguous business problems, develop workplans, and conduct quantitative and qualitative analyses to support decision-making.
• Build and pressure-test financial models, market assessments, business cases, and operating analyses with limited oversight.
• Develop executive-ready presentations, reports, dashboards, and recommendations for review with senior stakeholders.
• Manage workstream governance, including milestone tracking, risk / issue logs, decision follow-ups, and stakeholder updates.
• Coordinate cross-functional inputs and drive alignment across assigned stakeholders.
• Support implementation planning and change management for approved recommendations, including process design, communications, and adoption tracking.
• Identify and recommend process improvements or emerging opportunities within assigned workstreams.
• Provide guidance to analysts, junior teammates, or project contributors on discrete analyses and deliverables.
• Rotate across 2-3 assignments over an expected 2-3 year period to broaden exposure and build enterprise perspective.

Expected Areas of Competence

• Strong analytical and problem-solving capability, with ability to independently structure and execute workstreams.
• Ability to synthesize complex data into clear recommendations and executive-ready materials.
• Strong project management skills, including planning, execution tracking, risk identification, and stakeholder follow-up.
• Strong communication skills, including the ability to engage senior stakeholders and present recommendations with clarity.
• Ability to operate with limited oversight in ambiguous, cross-functional environments.
• Collaborative working style with the ability to build credibility across functions and levels.
• Developing leadership capability, including the ability to guide analysts or junior teammates on discrete analyses.
• Resilience, adaptability, and strong judgment in a rotational development environment.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications

Requires a minimum 8+ years of relevant experience with a Bachelor's degree; or equivalent education and experience; Or 6+ years and a Master's degree; Or a PhD with 3+ years experience; or equivalent experience.Where required, the role must hold an appropriate degree in the industry (eg. Legal)

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in healthcare, medical device, life sciences, or relevant industrial / operational environments a plus.
• Project / program management experience or certification a plus.
• Experience working in ambiguous, cross-functional environments preferred.