External Operations Manager Jobs in Moline, IL (NOW HIRING)

Position summary

Recruiting for this role ends on August 10, 2026 

Work you'll do

Within Deloitte's Research & Insights Centers, we conduct research and develop insights that can help executives better discern risk and reward, capture opportunities, and solve tough challenges amid the rapidly evolving business landscape. The Deployment & Operations Leader is a common, LSHC Center-embedded leadership role accountable for improving speed-to-market, quality, and the credibility of research-based insights; ensuring strategic alignment with firm and industry priorities; and scaling Center research deployment through standard operating cadence, integrated portfolio management, and repeatable activation playbooks. This role also serves as the LSHC Center's primary point of contact for R&I strategic priorities, responsible for driving transformation initiatives, tracking outcomes, and ensuring sustained adoption of new capabilities, tools, and ways of working.

The Deployment & Operations Leader operates as the Center's execution integrator, accountable for:

1. Strategy & operations excellence
2. Thought leadership deployment strategy and execution
3. Priority program leadership

This role reports to the Center Director and exerts influence through indirect leadership, coordinating across Research Leaders, Strategy & Operations (S&O), Publishing, and Brand, Marketing & Communications (BM&C) partners to ensure strategic outcomes are achieved.

This role is accountable for ensuring research programs across their respective centers are executed smoothly, that their centers' research teams consistently hit publishing deadlines, follow project management and compliance best practices, and ensure clear ownership across the project lifecycle.

The Key Responsibilities:

1. Strategy & operations excellence

• Partner with the Center Director in developing research center strategy and execution plans
  • Translate strategic priorities into executable roadmaps
  • Provide fact-based perspectives on tradeoffs, sequencing, and feasibility
  • Act as proxy for the Center Director in select forums, including stakeholders from practice leadership and marketing
• Ensure alignment and compliance with ongoing Thought Leadership Transformation initiatives within centers, including:
  • Incenting and driving innovation within the center with a focus on tech, proprietary AI research tools, and GenAI adoption, in close partnership with the Center's Applied Business Analytics (ABA) team member
  • Serving as the Center's connective tissue to broader R&I operating norms and own cross-center collaboration/connection
  • Supporting cross-R&I transformation and continuous improvement efforts as designated team leads
• Operationalize center strategy and drive cross R&I standardization, including:
  • Manage center research portfolio
    • Maintain a single, integrated portfolio plan and view of all active research efforts
    • Drive prioritization, sequencing, and capacity visibility; ensure clear communication within the center, with DI editorial and publishing, and BM&C and project stakeholders
    • Ensure work is progressing against plan; intervene early when not using PM standards
  • Manage budget
  • Ensure research teams adhere to Research & Insights operating standards and strategic priorities, including:
    • Project and program management practices
    • Standardized workflows and tools
    • Impact and ROI tracking aligned with S&O-defined approach
    • Planning and review cadence
    • AI-enabled processes and platforms
  • Create and sustain an environment of experimentation and growth, encouraging teams to:
    • Pilot new tools, methods, and formats
    • Share learnings and scale best practices across R&I
    • Iterate based on feedback and performance data

1. Thought Leadership Deployment Strategy & Execution

• Drive internal deployment and activation excellence, ensuring research outputs are effectively operationalized across the practice (e.g., enablement, practice leader activation readiness, account integration, internal campaigns)
• Lead the relationship with BM&C and center aligned marketers who will lead external deployment:
• Provide clear deployment inputs, priorities, and requirements to BM&C
• Ensure alignment on timelines, messaging, and campaign objectives
• Document, codify, and maintain activation and collaboration best practices
• Nurture the existing best practice community for activation, engagement, and deployment excellence (coaching, capability building, and knowledge sharing) with a clear connection to the Research & Insights Strategy & Operations team
• Ensure execution against agreed plans, with a primary focus on internal readiness, enablement, and adoption
• Coordinate internal activation across priority channels (practice leader activation, account teams, events, and internal campaigns)
• Track deployment effectiveness (in close collaboration with S&O) and feed insights back into planning
• Represent the Center to proactively position research as a driver of GTM and client impact
• Drive innovation in the creation of internal packaging and enablement (modular content, account-tailored assets, new enablement experiences) to expand usability and adoption

1. Lead Priority Programs
   • Own flagship Center or Cross R&I programs (e.g., strategic initiatives, global or signature research program management)
   • Design and manage integrated plans across research, writing, publishing, and deployment

Required:

• Undergraduate degree
• At least 8 years of professional experience in strategy, operations, and/or thought leadership project management
• Demonstrated LSHC industry experience
• Demonstrated ability to design an AI-enabled workflow to:
• Reduce cycle times (drafting, packaging, repurposing, measurement synthesis):
• Create and implement standard QA gates for deployment packages (message discipline, audience fit, proof points)
• Construct and communicate a measurement plan (what "impact" means, how to attribute, how to apply feedback into planning)
• Excellent business writing skills
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and critical thinking skills; ability to think creatively, utilize technology-assisted applications to build efficiencies and standardization across outputs
• Demonstrated experience in project and team management
• Strong people skills that create credibility to influence executive-level strategic thinking and create demand for new research initiatives
• Ability to prioritize and perform multiple tasks simultaneously
• Limited immigration sponsorship may be available

The wage range for this role takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including but not limited to skill sets; experience and training; licensure and certifications; and other business and organizational needs. The disclosed range estimate has not been adjusted for the applicable geographic differential associated with the location at which the position may be filled. At Deloitte, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the range for their role and compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case. A reasonable estimate of the current range is $113,100 to $208,300.

You may also be eligibletoparticipatein a discretionary annual incentive program, subject to the rules governing the program, whereby an award, if any, depends onvarious factors, including, without limitation, individual and organizational performance.

EA_CMG_ExpHire

EA_ExpHire 

Position summary

Recruiting for this role ends on August 10, 2026 

Work you'll do

Within Deloitte's Research & Insights Centers, we conduct research and develop insights that can help executives better discern risk and reward, capture opportunities, and solve tough challenges amid the rapidly evolving business landscape. The Deployment & Operations Leader is a common, LSHC Center-embedded leadership role accountable for improving speed-to-market, quality, and the credibility of research-based insights; ensuring strategic alignment with firm and industry priorities; and scaling Center research deployment through standard operating cadence, integrated portfolio management, and repeatable activation playbooks. This role also serves as the LSHC Center's primary point of contact for R&I strategic priorities, responsible for driving transformation initiatives, tracking outcomes, and ensuring sustained adoption of new capabilities, tools, and ways of working.

The Deployment & Operations Leader operates as the Center's execution integrator, accountable for:

1. Strategy & operations excellence
2. Thought leadership deployment strategy and execution
3. Priority program leadership

This role reports to the Center Director and exerts influence through indirect leadership, coordinating across Research Leaders, Strategy & Operations (S&O), Publishing, and Brand, Marketing & Communications (BM&C) partners to ensure strategic outcomes are achieved.

This role is accountable for ensuring research programs across their respective centers are executed smoothly, that their centers' research teams consistently hit publishing deadlines, follow project management and compliance best practices, and ensure clear ownership across the project lifecycle.

The Key Responsibilities:

1. Strategy & operations excellence

• Partner with the Center Director in developing research center strategy and execution plans
  • Translate strategic priorities into executable roadmaps
  • Provide fact-based perspectives on tradeoffs, sequencing, and feasibility
  • Act as proxy for the Center Director in select forums, including stakeholders from practice leadership and marketing
• Ensure alignment and compliance with ongoing Thought Leadership Transformation initiatives within centers, including:
  • Incenting and driving innovation within the center with a focus on tech, proprietary AI research tools, and GenAI adoption, in close partnership with the Center's Applied Business Analytics (ABA) team member
  • Serving as the Center's connective tissue to broader R&I operating norms and own cross-center collaboration/connection
  • Supporting cross-R&I transformation and continuous improvement efforts as designated team leads
• Operationalize center strategy and drive cross R&I standardization, including:
  • Manage center research portfolio
    • Maintain a single, integrated portfolio plan and view of all active research efforts
    • Drive prioritization, sequencing, and capacity visibility; ensure clear communication within the center, with DI editorial and publishing, and BM&C and project stakeholders
    • Ensure work is progressing against plan; intervene early when not using PM standards
  • Manage budget
  • Ensure research teams adhere to Research & Insights operating standards and strategic priorities, including:
    • Project and program management practices
    • Standardized workflows and tools
    • Impact and ROI tracking aligned with S&O-defined approach
    • Planning and review cadence
    • AI-enabled processes and platforms
  • Create and sustain an environment of experimentation and growth, encouraging teams to:
    • Pilot new tools, methods, and formats
    • Share learnings and scale best practices across R&I
    • Iterate based on feedback and performance data

1. Thought Leadership Deployment Strategy & Execution

• Drive internal deployment and activation excellence, ensuring research outputs are effectively operationalized across the practice (e.g., enablement, practice leader activation readiness, account integration, internal campaigns)
• Lead the relationship with BM&C and center aligned marketers who will lead external deployment:
• Provide clear deployment inputs, priorities, and requirements to BM&C
• Ensure alignment on timelines, messaging, and campaign objectives
• Document, codify, and maintain activation and collaboration best practices
• Nurture the existing best practice community for activation, engagement, and deployment excellence (coaching, capability building, and knowledge sharing) with a clear connection to the Research & Insights Strategy & Operations team
• Ensure execution against agreed plans, with a primary focus on internal readiness, enablement, and adoption
• Coordinate internal activation across priority channels (practice leader activation, account teams, events, and internal campaigns)
• Track deployment effectiveness (in close collaboration with S&O) and feed insights back into planning
• Represent the Center to proactively position research as a driver of GTM and client impact
• Drive innovation in the creation of internal packaging and enablement (modular content, account-tailored assets, new enablement experiences) to expand usability and adoption

1. Lead Priority Programs
   • Own flagship Center or Cross R&I programs (e.g., strategic initiatives, global or signature research program management)
   • Design and manage integrated plans across research, writing, publishing, and deployment

Required:

• Undergraduate degree
• At least 8 years of professional experience in strategy, operations, and/or thought leadership project management
• Demonstrated LSHC industry experience
• Demonstrated ability to design an AI-enabled workflow to:
• Reduce cycle times (drafting, packaging, repurposing, measurement synthesis):
• Create and implement standard QA gates for deployment packages (message discipline, audience fit, proof points)
• Construct and communicate a measurement plan (what "impact" means, how to attribute, how to apply feedback into planning)
• ...