Manager Corporate Strategy

OVERVIEW

Live the experience. From professional empowerment to continual learning opportunities. From ongoing investment in our strategic initiatives to a career of self-determination. At Ulta Beauty, our team is critical to our scalability—and is recognized that way. We’ve been defined as a “mature start-up.” A place where interdepartmental exposure, open doors, and genuine collaboration is ubiquitous. Where challenges come fast and furious, requiring agility, mental dexterity, and creativity. Where our passion for better solutions drives us and is core to who we are.

We’re engineering for the future of retail, and it’s no-holds-barred. But for those motivated by continual change and ambiguity, by superior leadership, by whip smart colleagues who will press you daily for your very best, you’ll find that virtually nothing’s impossible at Ulta Beauty.

THE IMPACT YOU CAN HAVE

The Corporate Strategy team is responsible for developing the enterprise strategy and long-term vision for Ulta and identifying, evaluating and executing new growth opportunities and strategic initiatives.

The Manager, Corporate Strategy will be responsible for working with the team to lead targeted strategic efforts with enterprise and functional leaders. These efforts will include driving the long-term and annual strategic planning processes, supporting problem solving and opportunity evaluation, performing strategic and financial analysis, visioning and creating business cases and executing efforts to develop high potential strategic opportunities with excellence.

Because the work involves close partnership with cross-functional leaders, this individual will also support facilitation and alignment to key strategic decisions and serve as a thought partner to leadership at a senior level, including the C-suite. Further, the individual in this role should have strong ability to structure problems and be comfortable developing approaches to frame ambiguous business issues.

This individual will also drive the beauty market assessment and / or competitive intelligence for the enterprise, including supporting structuring and execution of the comprehensive monitoring and codification of the competitive landscape, tracking and forecasting the beauty market, and assessing dynamics and shifts in competitors’ strategies, connecting it back to our enterprise strategy.

This individual will blend strong analytical capabilities with a strategic mindset and the drive to deliver impact with excellence.

• Position is located at corporate offices in Bolingbrook, IL (Hybrid work schedule – approx. 6 days in office per month)

YOU'LL ACCOMPLISH THESE GOALS BY

Support the long-term and annual strategic planning processes with the Corporate Strategy team, including building the enterprise long-term strategy and new growth opportunities

Collaborate with Corporate Strategy, Finance, and Investor Relations to translate our long-term strategy and build our investor narrative for Investor Day

Structure problems and develop frameworks and approaches to address complex, cross-functional and ambiguous business issues

Work with cross-functional teams including Retail Ops, Digital, Merchandising Strategy and others, on initiatives to assess strategic opportunities, leveraging strategic, analytical, and financial frameworks

Support market and competitive intelligence for both the enterprise and specific functional areas – bring an analytical mindset to strengthen our understanding of the market and competitive landscape through data-driven and forward-looking insights

Develop Board and executive level presentations articulating Ulta Beauty’s strategy and growth opportunities and facilitate Executive Team workshops on strategic topics

Define and bring forward creative, out-of-the-box thinking to identify white space opportunities for new growth – assess and articulate the strategic rationale, grounded in data-driven insights, in support of enterprise-wide strategic plan

Work and expand network and reach cross-functionally to identify strategic priorities throughout the organization

Excel in all areas of strategy development at the Manager level, including problem structuring and solving, business analysis, project management, and verbal and written communication

Facilitate and support discussions with Ulta’s senior leadership, demonstrating subject matter expertise and ability to move work forward effectively

Connect the dots across the organization to ensure effectiveness of work throughout the enterprise, and understand when to seek guidance

Understand Ulta Beauty’s business and possess a deep understanding of the market in which we operate, as well as key competitors

ESSENTIALS FOR SUCCESS

Position is located at corporate offices in Bolingbrook, IL (Hybrid work schedule – approx. 6 days in office per month)

6+ years of professional experience in Strategy, Finance or Marketing

At least 2 years of consulting experience at a top-tier management consulting firm strongly preferred

BA/BS required and MBA from top-tier program preferred

Experience in retail or consumer goods preferred

Strategic mindset with the capability to think broadly, support and facilitate the development and implementation of winning strategies at the enterprise level

Demonstrated ability to structure and solve ambiguous, complex business problems, developing clear hypotheses, frameworks, and recommendations with limited direction

Strong financial and business acumen, including experience developing business cases, evaluating growth opportunities, and assessing strategic and financial trade-offs

Experience developing executive- and Board-level materials, with the ability to synthesize complex analyses into concise, compelling narratives and recommendations

Demonstrated ability to manage multiple high priority workstreams, balancing strategic thinking with attention to detail and high-quality execution

Strong external orientation and intellectual curiosity, with the ability to identify relevant consumer, competitive, technological, and industry shifts and translate them into implications for the enterprise

Experience conducting market sizing, competitive analysis, and/or scenario development to inform strategic decisions

Strong written and verbal communication skills, with strong executive presence and the ability to synthesize and communicate complex information into clear, compelling narratives and recommendations for senior leadership

Highly collaborative and team-oriented with a coachable, positive attitude with the ability to build trusted relationships and contribute effectively across teams and levels of the organization

Innate inquisitiveness and ability to challenge the status-quo – driving the enterprise to think differently, bringing fresh perspectives and encouraging the enterprise to think differently about opportunities, challenges, and potential solutions

Strong results orientation and sense of ownership, with a desire to translate strategic thinking and organizational effort into measurable business impact and bottom-line results

#LI-HYBRID

The pay range for this position is $102,900.00 - $140,192.00 / Year with the opportunity for eligible associates to earn additional compensation pursuant to the Company’s bonus plan. Exact pay will be based on factors including, but not limited to relevant education, qualifications, certifications, experience, level, shift, geographic location, and business and organizational needs. Full-time positions are eligible for paid time off, health, dental, vision, life and disability benefits. Part-time positions are eligible for dental, vision, life, and disability benefits.

For additional information concerning our benefits, visit our Benefits and Career Development page: https://learn.bswift.com/ulta

ABOUT

At Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ: ULTA), the possibilities are beautiful. Ulta Beauty is the largest North American beauty retailer and the premier beauty destination for cosmetics, fragrance, skin care products, hair care products and salon services. We bring possibilities to life through the power of beauty each and every day in our stores and online with more than 25,000 products from approximately 500 well-established and emerging beauty brands across all categories and price points, including Ulta Beauty’s own private label.

Ulta Beauty also offers a full-service salon in every store featuring—hair, skin, brow, and make-up services.

We will consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with arrest records, conviction records, or other criminal histories, in a manner consistent with the requirements of any applicable state and local laws, including the City of Los Angeles’ Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance, the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, and the New York City Fair Chance Act.

AI Notice

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• 6+ years in Strategy, Finance, or Marketing; 2+ years consulting at top-tier firm preferred
• BA/BS required; MBA from top-tier program preferred
• Strong strategic, analytical, financial skills; experience with executive-level presentations and complex problem solving