BU03M5 Senior Director, Strategy & Growth - CAS

About the Role

CAS uses intuitive technology, unparalleled scientific content, and unmatched human expertise to help companies create groundbreaking innovations that benefit the world. As the scientific information solutions division of the American Chemical Society, CAS manages the largest curated reservoir of scientific knowledge. This role provides dedicated, full-time capacity to translate emerging market, customer, technology, data, and AI trends into growth opportunities and a coherent strategic roadmap, while building the alignment and momentum needed to execute against it.

The Senior Director, Strategy & Growth will lead CAS strategy and growth planning, market and competitive intelligence, opportunity development, growth opportunity and business-model strategy, and strategic partnership development. The role will also identify and develop the strategic rationale for potential inorganic growth opportunities, including acquisitions and other transactions, operating within ACS’s enterprise governance framework.

Responsibilities

• Market Intelligence & Opportunity Landscape: Build a formal, analytically rigorous view of CAS’ current and emerging markets, including customer needs, competitors, market and technology trends, and white space opportunities. Translate market intelligence into clearly articulated growth theses and prioritized opportunity areas.
• Product, Services, Technology & AI Growth Strategy: Translate market, customer, competitive, and technology insights into implications for CAS’ product and AI strategy. Partner with Product and Technology leadership to inform priorities and accelerate execution.
• Growth Opportunity & Business Model Strategy: Assess market potential, customer needs, and business-model options for new products and capabilities. Partner with leadership to translate opportunities into customer value propositions, pricing, packaging, go-to-market, and commercialization strategies.
• Strategic Partnerships: Develop a framework for identifying capability gaps and deciding where CAS should build internally versus partner externally. Lead relationship development and partnership strategy, collaborating with Legal, Finance, Product, and Technology teams.
• Inorganic Growth Strategy & Opportunity Development: Translate CAS’ inorganic growth strategy into growth theses; assess build/buy/partner options; develop and maintain a prioritized landscape of potential acquisition, investment, and partnership opportunities. Partner with enterprise ACS Finance to advance potential transactions.
• How the Role Operates:
  • Conduct research (competitive, customer, stakeholder discussions) to inform strategy, product, pricing, and growth priorities.
  • Analyze internal data to quantify opportunity upside, costs, trade-offs, and investment priorities.
  • Develop actionable organic, partnership, and inorganic opportunities with strategic rationale and business cases.
  • Partner with enterprise ACS Finance, Legal, and other functions to ensure consistent evaluation and execution of transactions.
  • Lead execution of approved strategic initiatives while collaborating with relevant enterprise functions.
  • Communicate recommendations clearly to senior stakeholders, the Board, and cross-functional leaders to drive alignment and execution.

Core Competencies

• Strategic analysis: Structuring ambiguous, cross-functional problems into clear frameworks and actionable recommendations.
• Growth strategy & opportunity development: Translating market insights into organic, partnership, and inorganic growth opportunities.
• Build/buy/partner analysis: Evaluating alternative pathways for acquiring capabilities and articulating trade-offs.
• Strategic partnership development: Identifying and evaluating partners and developing partnership models.
• Financial and market modeling: Building business cases, market sizing, and ROI analyses using internal and external data.
• M&A strategy and assessment: Understanding target identification, strategic fit, and transaction economics.
• Commercial and pricing acumen: Understanding packaging, pricing, and go-to-market strategy for data and AI products.
• Executive communication: Synthesizing complex analysis into clear, decision-ready materials for C-suite and Board audiences.
• Cross-functional influence: Aligning Product, Commercial, Technology, Finance, and other leaders without direct authority.
• Program/project leadership: Driving multiple concurrent strategic workstreams to decision and execution.

Traits & Drivers

• Intellectually curious: Energized by tracking market, technology, and AI trends and translating them into business implications.
• Comfortable with ambiguity: Creates structure and momentum in evolving roles.
• Bias for action: Accelerates decisions and execution, not just analysis.
• High executive presence: Credible and persuasive in front of senior leaders and the Board.
• Collaborative influencer: Builds trust and alignment across functions.
• Mission-oriented: Motivated by CAS/ACS's scientific and public-benefit mission.
• Rigorous and detail-oriented: Maintains high analytical standards while moving at the pace of the business.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in strategy consulting, growth strategy, corporate development, investment banking, private equity, or internal strategy roles.
• Experience in information services, scientific/technical publishing, SaaS, or data/AI-driven businesses is a plus.
• Demonstrated track record developing and evaluating inorganic growth opportunities, strategic partnerships, and/or M&A, including target identification and business-case development.
• Experience building strategic roadmaps and business cases adopted by senior leadership.
• Bachelor’s degree required; MBA or equivalent advanced degree preferred.
• Experience operating in or alongside nonprofit, association, or mission-driven organizations is helpful but not required.

Reporting & Scope

Reports to the CAS President (or a designated senior executive). Primary scope is CAS strategy and growth, with potential contributions to broader ACS strategic initiatives. Serves as CAS’ primary strategic partner to enterprise ACS Finance on inorganic growth opportunities. Individual contributor role at launch, with potential to build a small team as the mandate matures.