Back to jobs

Senior Associate (Corporate Strategy)

Chicago

Senior Associate (Corporate Strategy)

Chicago | Full Time 

____

We are Relish Works, an innovation hub focused on challenging the status quo and pioneering the next evolution of the food industry. Relish Works operates as an independent start-up working with a top wholesale food distributor to identify growth opportunities and create user-centered solutions for the food service industry. We are a scrappy group of passionate practitioners and are looking to add a Senior Associate to our Chicago-based innovation studio.

About the role:

The Senior Associate will focus on developing corporate growth strategies, defining new business opportunities, and bringing new products and solutions to market. You will collaborate with interdisciplinary project teams of strategic thinkers and doers who have skills, experience and expertise across user research, experience design, business strategy, and product development. 

This role is best for someone who is both a creative, strategic thinker and a resourceful, self-driven doer, with experience presenting strategic recommendations to executive teams and a deep curiosity in applying their critical thinking and analytical skills to solving many different types of strategic problems. 

Your day to day could be a combination of any of the following: 

  • Conducting market research on industry trends, customer needs, and competitive landscapes, and developing insights to inform strategic business recommendations
  • Creating compelling, narrative-driven reports about the state of the industry, economic factors, and market analysis, tailored to the firm’s most senior leaders and executives
  • Building and updating financial models, such as revenue forecasts, scenario modeling and performance analyses of our competitors, tailored to the firm’s senior financial leadership
  • Contributing an analytical skillset on strategy project teams, leading creative teams through strategic thinking in order to develop process solutions and business strategies that influence broadline business strategies.
  • Supporting teams with the testing of new business models and service offerings, identifying how these new concepts will work, make money, and solve user problems.
  • Working directly with executive stakeholders, partners, consultants and contractors to drive projects forward
  • Collaborating with teams and leveraging expertise across Relish functional areas (innovation, ventures, investments)
  • Mentoring junior talent in strengthening their analytical mindset and strategic approach to business decisions

 

You should apply if you have:

  • A bachelor's degree or foreign equivalent degree in finance, business, or related field (Pre-MBA) 
  • 3-5 years of experience in corporate strategy, innovation, and/or new business design (cross-industry consulting experience preferred)
  • Ability to frame problems and present results to an executive level audience
  • Expertise in data analysis and financial modeling (using tools such as Excel & Tableau)
  • Comfort with ambiguity and ability to thrive in a self-directed culture
  • Openness to learn from diverse perspectives and collaborate on multidisciplinary teams
  • Motivation to solve end-user challenges, meet stakeholder needs, and deliver on business goals
  • Desire to work on a lot of different types and sizes of projects 
  • Aspiration to work in a startup environment where we move fast
  • Willingness to ask questions
  • A learner mindset - you are always interested in expanding your knowledge and perspective 
  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills

 

You will thrive if you align with our values:

  • Our team is inclusive, passionate, resourceful, and dependable. We are a team of problem solvers who have super powers in strategy, research, design, and communication. We prioritize flexibility and collaboration in our work. We expect our team members to feel accountability for all parts of the business, not just their discipline.

This position is based in Chicago, requiring work in a hybrid office model located in The Loop and typically less than 20% travel.

 

Apply for this job

*

indicates a required field

Resume/CV*

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

Cover Letter

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

Select...

Are you currently eligible to work in the United States of America?

Select...

Do you now or in the future require visa sponsorship to continue working in the United States?

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey. Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiring process or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in a confidential file.

As set forth in Relish Works’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

Select...
Select...
Race & Ethnicity Definitions

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection. As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measure the effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categories is as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.

Select...

Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability

Form CC-305
Page 1 of 1
OMB Control Number 1250-0005
Expires 04/30/2026

Why are you being asked to complete this form?

We are a federal contractor or subcontractor. The law requires us to provide equal employment opportunity to qualified people with disabilities. We have a goal of having at least 7% of our workers as people with disabilities. The law says we must measure our progress towards this goal. To do this, we must ask applicants and employees if they have a disability or have ever had one. People can become disabled, so we need to ask this question at least every five years.

Completing this form is voluntary, and we hope that you will choose to do so. Your answer is confidential. No one who makes hiring decisions will see it. Your decision to complete the form and your answer will not harm you in any way. If you want to learn more about the law or this form, visit the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) website at www.dol.gov/ofccp.

How do you know if you have a disability?

A disability is a condition that substantially limits one or more of your “major life activities.” If you have or have ever had such a condition, you are a person with a disability. Disabilities include, but are not limited to:

  • Alcohol or other substance use disorder (not currently using drugs illegally)
  • Autoimmune disorder, for example, lupus, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV/AIDS
  • Blind or low vision
  • Cancer (past or present)
  • Cardiovascular or heart disease
  • Celiac disease
  • Cerebral palsy
  • Deaf or serious difficulty hearing
  • Diabetes
  • Disfigurement, for example, disfigurement caused by burns, wounds, accidents, or congenital disorders
  • Epilepsy or other seizure disorder
  • Gastrointestinal disorders, for example, Crohn's Disease, irritable bowel syndrome
  • Intellectual or developmental disability
  • Mental health conditions, for example, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, PTSD
  • Missing limbs or partially missing limbs
  • Mobility impairment, benefiting from the use of a wheelchair, scooter, walker, leg brace(s) and/or other supports
  • Nervous system condition, for example, migraine headaches, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis (MS)
  • Neurodivergence, for example, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, dyspraxia, other learning disabilities
  • Partial or complete paralysis (any cause)
  • Pulmonary or respiratory conditions, for example, tuberculosis, asthma, emphysema
  • Short stature (dwarfism)
  • Traumatic brain injury
Select...

PUBLIC BURDEN STATEMENT: According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. This survey should take about 5 minutes to complete.