The Strategic Initiatives Senior Lead plays a central role in shaping how Vanguard identifies, evaluates, and advances inorganic opportunities from early thesis development through execution alignment and value realization.

In this role, you will operate at the intersection of strategy, corporate development, and the business, helping translate enterprise priorities into actionable opportunities, partnering with deal teams and business sponsors to shape and advance opportunities, and ensuring outcomes are realized over time.

Responsibilities:

Opportunity Framing & Market Insights

• Translate enterprise strategy into clear inorganic themes and actionable opportunity spaces across partnerships, M&A, and venture
• Conduct deep market, competitive, and ecosystem analysis to identify where external partnerships and/or venture investments can accelerate Vanguard’s strategic priorities
• Coach less experienced crew in research, analysis, and investment thesis generation based on deep knowledge of emerging trends and industry standards

Strategic Prioritization & Opportunity Development

• Lead structured intake, triage, and prioritization of inorganic opportunities using consistent frameworks
• Partner with business sponsors and deal teams to refine opportunity scope, define strategic objectives, and assess potential partnership or deal structures, including scenario analysis and key value drivers

Deal Shaping, Diligence & Execution

• Partner closely with M&A, partnerships, and venture teams to shape opportunities as they progress through diligence and negotiation
• Contribute to development of partnership constructs, commercial models, and key business terms
• Collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams and clearly communicate in-depth market research, analyses, and detailed models to senior stakeholders
• Work independently, with attention to detail and sensitivity to deadlines. Lead individual workstreams of a deal/portfolio company relationships
• Build and evolve playbooks, standards, and working models that improve speed, rigor, and execution quality

Value Realization & Ongoing Partnership Support

• Define success metrics upfront and establish mechanisms to track performance and value realization across partnerships and investments
• Enable post-deal success through structured engagement (e.g., pilots, commercialization support, executive alignment)
• Capture and feed lessons learned back into future thesis development and prioritization
• Participate in special projects and performs other duties as assigned. 

This role requires strong conceptual thinking, comfort with ambiguity, project management skills, and the ability to operate independently while collaborating across teams. You will lead workstreams, influence senior stakeholders, and help raise the overall bar for how inorganic opportunities are selected and evaluated at Vanguard.

Qualifications:

• 7+ years of related experience, with demonstrated experience leading complex, cross‑functional initiatives in strategy, consulting, corporate development, venture, or adjacent fields
• Prior experience with strategic partnerships and M&A preferred.
• Undergraduate degree or equivalent combination of training and experience (Master's degree preferred).

Special Factors

Sponsorship

About Vanguard

At Vanguard, we don't just have a mission—we're on a mission.

To work for the long-term financial wellbeing of our clients. To lead through product and services that transform our clients' lives. To learn and develop our skills as individuals and as a team. From Malvern to Melbourne, our mission drives us forward and inspires us to be our best.

How We Work

Vanguard has implemented a hybrid working model for the majority of our crew members, designed to capture the benefits of enhanced flexibility while enabling in-person learning, collaboration, and connection. We believe our mission-driven and highly collaborative culture is a critical enabler to support long-term client outcomes and enrich the employee experience.