What Does A Strategic Do?

WHAT DOES A STRATEGIC DO?

Published: Dec 29, 2025 - The Strategic Professional drives organizational direction by analyzing complex business environments, shaping long-term objectives, and aligning cross-functional teams toward measurable outcomes. This position applies data-informed decision-making, market intelligence, and structured planning frameworks to optimize performance and guide critical strategic initiatives. The individual also cultivates stakeholder alignment, anticipates risks, and ensures that strategic plans translate into sustainable, scalable results.

A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Strategic

1. Strategic Account Director Responsibilities

Relationship Management: Establish, build, and maintain relationships within accounts, from executive level to field personnel, ultimately building stakeholder profiles and analyses.
Strategic Planning: Build, maintain, and execute strategic close plans for opportunities utilizing expertise in care transitions and the post-acute care market sector.
Solution Positioning: Position post-acute care solutions that meet and exceed clients’ needs, utilizing a working knowledge of Medicare.
Cross-Functional Collaboration: Collaborate with marketing, field operations, clinical operations, and other internal personnel to drive demand.
Sales Forecasting: Maintain a current and accurate forecast in Salesforce, log activity, and enter contact information.
Industry Engagement: Participate in webinars, conferences, and other market events.
Internal Communication: Maintain communication with the sales team, management, and relevant internal personnel to ensure account close plans are understood.
Contract Support: Assist in coordinating all contract negotiations.
Organizational Values: Work by the values of the organization.

2. Strategic Account Executive Key Accountabilities

Account Management: Close business within existing accounts, identify and close small wins quickly while managing longer, complex sales cycles.
Territory Planning: Present a thorough territory plan within the first 90 days.
Executive Engagement: Meet with managers, directors, C-level executives, and other key stakeholders.
Sales Performance: Exceed activity, pipeline, and revenue targets.
CRM Management: Track all customer details, including use cases, purchase timeframes, next steps, and forecasting in Salesforce, with the required use of call tracking systems.
Solution Selling: Utilize a solution-based approach to selling and creating value for customers.
Customer Satisfaction: Ensure 100% satisfaction among all customers.
Opportunity Prioritization: Prioritize opportunities and apply appropriate resources.

3. Strategic Account Manager General Responsibilities

Customer Acquisition: Generate new customers within the assigned territory.
Account Growth: Service and expand the business of the existing customer base.
Product Selection: Determine, organize, and select product mix based on customers’ needs.
Bid Management: Write and submit timely, accurate, and professional bid proposals.
Sales Presentations: Prepare and present sales presentations.
Market Analysis: Determine strategic efforts based on competitive analysis and market trends to maximize sales efforts.
Pipeline Management: Maintain accurate pipelines using customer relationship management software.
Product Knowledge: Develop and maintain strong product and industry knowledge.
Professional Development: Attend job-related training offered by the company and through self-driven learning efforts.
Technical Support: Support the local engineering and architectural community by providing customer needs analysis, system layouts, and designs.
Partner Relations: Develop and maintain professional relationships with manufacturer representatives.

4. Strategic Alliances Manager Roles and Responsibilities

Partner Relations: Grow, maintain, and navigate relationships with strategic partners.
Stakeholder Coordination: Coordinate internal stakeholders and resources to fulfill partner program requirements.
Pipeline Management: Conduct weekly pipeline reviews across the U.S., EMEA, and APJ with field sales.
Reporting Accuracy: Ensure all reporting is correct, up to date, and meets submission goals.
Marketplace Management: Manage and launch apps and solutions in partner marketplaces.
Channel Sales: Work with the sales team to drive sales opportunities that come through the partner channel and require partner support.
Alliance Strategy: Collaborate with the Director of Strategic Alliances to create go-to-market strategies and joint offerings with partners.
Marketing Collaboration: Work with the marketing team to develop thought leadership, joint collateral, and events.
Event Participation: Attend conferences and sales events to demonstrate commitment and generate new sales opportunities.
Partner Strategy: Assist with overall partner strategy.

5. Client Strategic Analyst Luxury Duties

Market Research: Conduct research and develop deep knowledge of the luxury industry in Asia, collecting trends, tracking collectors and their activities, and drawing insights relevant to global luxury auctions and private sales.
Prospect Identification: Conduct research to identify high-potential consignors and bidders in Asia for global luxury sales.
Stakeholder Briefing: Debrief specialists and business-getters on client and object intelligence.
Data Governance: Ensure relevant information is properly entered, maintained, and updated in databases while adhering to the corporate data governance framework and guidelines.
Data Analysis: Analyze data in databases, files, and catalogues to support luxury sales campaigns, consignment, and selling efforts.
Sales Support: Support specialists and business-getters in client outreach for sales.
Client Reporting: Prepare client transaction analyses and reports for the regional client strategy director and luxury departments, and ensure timely availability.
Review Coordination: Help organize and conduct client reviews, pre-sale and post-sale debriefs.
Meeting Documentation: Generate analyses and client reports used in client reviews, record meeting minutes, and help follow up on action points.

6. Strategic Communications Manager Overview

Strategic Communications: Collaborate with leadership and staff to develop and implement an integrated strategic communications plan that supports the mission and strategic plan.
Brand Management: Develop and manage branding, visual identity, and messaging that reflect values, resonate with community stakeholders, and effectively speak to unique contributions.
Executive Support: Provide executive director communications support, including speech writing, presentation support, and development of materials.
Media Relations: Maintain and develop a media contacts database and track media coverage.
Public Relations: Produce compelling press releases, media kits, and other PR and media materials.
Media Response: Exercise judgment to prioritize and quickly respond to media opportunities.
Stakeholder Communications: Work with staff to write and design direct communications and collateral materials to members, funders, and stakeholders.
Social Media: Create content, grow followers, and increase engagement on social media channels.
Web Management: Manage the design and development of the website, update, and publish website content.

7. Strategic Communications Specialist Essential Functions

Communications Strategy: Create and implement an end-to-end communications strategy informed by customer experience, data strategy, and data management assessments.
Team Oversight: Oversee the development of communications products and deliverables of team members.
Leadership Collaboration: Collaborate with leadership to identify communications products that help propel strategic priorities and mission.
Tool Development: Identify new communication tools to support the strategy’s needs.
Stakeholder Engagement: Identify the information required to support stakeholder decision-making and develop an engagement strategy in collaboration with leadership for identified persona groups.
Communications Planning: Oversee the development of a communications plan to ensure efforts are socialized across FEMA entities, programs, and personnel.
Visual Design: Lead the development of visual designs and graphics that communicate and simplify complex findings.
Internal Outreach: Develop and conduct internal outreach activities for diverse audiences to promote recommendations.
Executive Support: Support leadership and stakeholder-directed requests for letters, reports, and other communications-related activities.
Process Compliance: Ensure adherence to the client’s internal communications clearance process and recommend refinements as needed.
Project Tracking: Assist in managing and tracking actions, deliverables, due dates, and packaging for various audiences.

8. Strategic Marketing Manager Roles

Market Analysis: Analyze markets, products, applications, trends, and needs.
Customer Insight: Understand customer needs through the voice of the customer.
Product Strategy: Contribute to product roadmaps from input to product definition and launch.
Competitive Analysis: Conduct competitor analysis and benchmarking.
Technology Opportunities: Identify customer-driven and defined technology opportunities.
Investment Planning: Contribute to determining investment opportunities to grow the product and business unit through analysis of the market, critical success factors, key segments, and technologies.
Growth Strategy: Engage with external companies to determine and execute long-term growth plans, including partnerships and acquisitions.
Team Leadership: Manage the application engineering team and technical content development.
Customer Support: Ensure positive and proactive customer engineering support.
Sales Enablement: Develop materials to support sales initiatives.

9. Strategic Partner Manager Role Purpose

Partnership Strategy: Manage strategy, implementation, and optimization of partnerships with sports teams and their league counterparts in the United States.
Account Management: Serve as the primary point of contact to help teams and leagues utilize and prioritize platforms to grow and engage their fanbase and drive business objectives.
Innovation Development: Explore how team and league partners can contribute to building the future of the metaverse in alignment with existing and new business objectives.
Cross-Vertical Alignment: Work closely with news, entertainment, and public figures verticals to ensure alignment on product rollout initiatives and representation of sports talent.
Partnership Execution: Collaborate with partners to develop innovative, high-impact social integrations and manage partnership operations.
Best Practices Sharing: Identify and share partner best practices and case studies to support global sports partners.
Strategic Support: Support broader strategic initiatives for global sports cross-functional teams and the organization.
Internal Collaboration: Work with internal teams to ensure partner input is considered in product and policy decisions.
Performance Analysis: Track, analyze, and communicate quantitative metrics and business trends related to partners.

10. Strategic Planning Analyst Accountabilities

S&OP Forecasting: Prepare and present the S&OP forecast to support the monthly management business reviews.
Performance Metrics: Create, monitor, and maintain S&OP metrics and key performance indicators, identifying resulting risks and opportunities.
Demand Planning: Consolidate and analyze demand and supply information for the operational, tactical, and strategic plans.
Advanced Analytics: Develop advanced analytical tools and reporting to support the entire S&OP process.
Production Planning: Drive objectives for production planning, on-time delivery, lead times, and inventory turns.
Cross-Functional Collaboration: Produce a weekly S&OP model by collaborating cross-functionally and leveraging various forecasting departments to ensure supply and demand balance and drive financial and operational alignment.
Supply Planning: Manage mid- and long-term supply planning to support strategic decision-making and major financial forecasting processes.
Forecast Accuracy: Monitor and report on forecast accuracy metrics.
Executive Reporting: Assist in developing the monthly sales and operations planning executive review presentation.

11. Strategic Planning Manager Duties and Roles

Financial Analysis: Provide the executive team and board of directors with the possible financial implications of different strategies, initiatives, acquisitions, and expansions.
Financial Modeling: Design processes, financial models, and frameworks to ensure business ideas are accountable for driving optimal return.
Business Partnership: Act as a trusted manager working closely with finance and operational teams.
Regulatory Awareness: Understand the regulatory and legal landscape in which the business operates.
Unit Economics: Own customer-level unit economics and net present value analysis and integrate them into business decision-making.
Zero-Based Planning: Own the zero-based planning process and the portfolio review process.
Strategic Collaboration: Collaborate with the executive team on ongoing strategy development to deliver agreed business goals.
Performance Reporting: Provide data and scorecards to track progress, assess return on investment, and report outcomes.
Budget Planning: Contribute to the annual budget planning process and partner with business leaders to ensure fiscal objectives are clear and monitored.
Financial Reporting: Contribute to financial management reporting, including weekly KPIs, monthly management accounts and KPIs, and the board financial package.

12. Strategic Pricing Manager Tasks

Pricing Strategy: Drive the adoption of new pricing initiatives through the organization, acting as a change agent to promote a strategic pricing culture.
Pricing Reporting: Provide insightful reporting to sales and product management to help improve pricing performance and process compliance.
Financial Reporting: Develop reporting for finance to demonstrate improvement in the pricing function.
Pricing Analysis: Analyze pricing data, including competitor pricing strategies and market trends, to provide management with information and policy or price change recommendations.
Opportunity Execution: Identify, prioritize, and execute pricing opportunities and initiatives together with key stakeholders from sales, finance, and product line.
Product Pricing: Develop pricing strategies for new product introductions and advise product management on setting list prices.
Account Guidance: Guide key account management and project teams on improvement opportunities for establishing global contracts and project proposals.
Process Deployment: Ensure the deployment and adoption of pricing and quoting processes and tools.
Team Leadership: Lead a team of pricing analysts and systems administrators.

13. Strategic Program Manager Details

Program Management: Program manage large-scale, cross-functional initiatives from inception to completion.
Launch Management: Program manage market and product launches, including country-specific launches.
IPO Support: Support program management of the IPO.
Stakeholder Collaboration: Cultivate relationships and drive collaboration to achieve milestones and metrics.
Strategic Initiatives: Create strategic initiatives that accurately execute the strategy.
Executive Support: Provide ad hoc project management support at the direction of the executive staff.
PM Training: Shape the future of project management by creating and implementing a project management training program.
Team Development: Support the hiring of new program managers and help shape the team culture.
Continuous Improvement: Help make the organization 1% better every day.

14. Senior Program Manager, Strategic Responsibilities and Key Tasks

Program Planning: Create and manage the program plan with key stakeholders and project managers, and forecast resource requirements to support the project portfolio, including business requirements, scope, budget, schedule, risk registers, mitigation plans, and changes.
Risk Management: Identify and escalate issues and delivery realization risks in advance, with mitigation actions covering plan, portfolio, resources, realization infrastructure, and initiative roles.
Status Reporting: Track and provide project status reports for the steering committee, sponsor, leadership team, and key stakeholders.
Change Management: Support the steering team in integrating change management plans and activities into the program plan.
Project Enablement: Support sub-projects with training and best practices in project management methodologies, tools, and processes.
Process Documentation: Coordinate the development and maintenance of process documentation and communications.
Transformation Delivery: Drive the planning, reporting, and implementation of the transformation plan and strategic initiatives, including program impacts and changes in organizational resource requirements due to project adjustments and milestone shifts.
Executive Reporting: Develop a consistent reporting tool within the identified project methodology to provide updates to senior management and the board on the transformation plan delivery.
Portfolio Risk: Identify and escalate delivery realization risks across the entire portfolio and propose mitigation actions related to plans, resources, infrastructure, and initiative roles.
Strategic Partnership: Partner with and support initiative leads to integrate change management plans into the transformation plan, including sequencing and prioritization of changes.
Budget Integration: Support the integration of strategic initiative resource planning into the annual budget and divisional planning process.
Community Leadership: Lead the project management community of practice by providing training and best practices to support transformation workstreams.
Process Consistency: Ensure consistency across projects by developing and communicating process documentation for all strategic initiatives.

15. Strategic Sourcing Manager Functions

Contract Negotiation: Negotiate contracts with clients and vendors.
Record Management: Update all records of purchased products.
Vendor Research: Research potential products, vendors, and services, comparing price and quality for the best deal.
Cost Analysis: Perform cost analyses and write reports on purchases made.
Vendor Networking: Network with vendors and review new products at events, shows, and exhibitions.
Quality Inspection: Inspect products upon delivery and report any issues on time.
Stakeholder Engagement: Participate in meetings with staff and other stakeholders.
Logistics Coordination: Coordinate with warehouse and delivery teams to ensure goods are received on time.
Inventory Replenishment: Write orders to refill stock based on inventory monitoring.

16. Strategic Sourcing Specialist Roles and Details

Sourcing Strategy: Analyze data from suppliers and internal sources to develop, implement, and monitor current and future sourcing strategies and savings opportunities.
Market Research: Conduct market research for products and services relevant to departmental operations.
RFP Management: Work with departmental contacts to develop and issue requests for proposals.
Contract Negotiation: Proactively request and negotiate new and renewal contracts, ensuring the best possible terms for the organization.
Legal Review: Collaborate with internal contacts to review and negotiate contract legal terms.
Price Monitoring: Monitor product pricing and ensure contracts are kept current.
Stakeholder Management: Manage meetings with department stakeholders and executive management.
Product Expertise: Develop expert-level knowledge of products and services used in supported departments.
Project Management: Manage cross-functional projects related to the implementation and conversion of products and services.
Project Communication: Ensure timely communication related to project status.
Professional Development: Participate in mandatory in-services and continuing education programs as required by policies, procedures, and external agencies.
Policy Compliance: Follow and understand the mission, vision, core values, employee standards of behavior, and organizational policies and procedures.

17. Senior Strategic Sourcing Specialist Additional Details

Spend Analysis: Analyze and understand the spend and supply base and apply this knowledge to develop commodity management strategies to improve leverage of spend.
Cost Reduction: Identify and implement cost reduction and process improvement initiatives within assigned commodities and categories.
Supplier Negotiation: Negotiate agreements with suppliers to improve key business terms, including inventory, price, payment terms, and regulatory responsibilities.
Risk Management: Establish strategies to minimize supplier risk within assigned commodities.
Stakeholder Collaboration: Collaborate with internal and external stakeholders to understand needs and ensure maximum business value delivery.
Market Analysis: Conduct analysis of market conditions and trends to support commodity strategy development.
Commodity Strategy: Develop strategies for assigned commodities or categories to improve leverage of spend.
Cost Projects: Identify and implement cost reduction projects within assigned commodities and categories.
Project Leadership: Lead projects supporting cost reduction or process improvement initiatives.
MCO Management: Draft and submit MCOs.
Part Optimization: Identify and suggest potential alternative parts to the engineering team.
Quality Support: Support quality and regulatory teams in addressing supplier quality performance and registration requirements.
Tactical Purchasing: Support tactical purchasing related to supply issues.