AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, with a membership of nearly 38 million that helps people turn their goals and dreams into 'Real Possibilities' by changing the way America defines aging. With staffed offices in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, AARP works to strengthen communities and promote the issues that matter most to families such as healthcare security, financial security and personal fulfillment. AARP also advocates for individuals in the marketplace by selecting products and services of high quality and value to carry the AARP name. As a trusted source for news and information, AARP produces the world’s largest circulation magazine, AARP The Magazine and AARP Bulletin.
Summary Statement
The VP Futurecasting is focused on inspiring organizational action to effectively address long-term trends.
Reporting to the Senior Vice President, Corporate Strategy & Strategic Impact, the VP, Futurecasting works with the SVP Corporate Strategy & Strategic Impact to define, deploy, and drive enterprise strategy on future-focused priorities. She or he focuses on advancing AARP’s future-forward value proposition, evaluating new and disruptive industry trends, and working across all business units to identify and develop strategic approaches that help AARP respond effectively to external forces. This position takes the lead on steering enterprise response to emergent trends; working with internal and external stakeholders to define new strategic priorities, and the scope and aim of initial actions. This individual also evaluates existing internal programs relative to their future value, readiness and potential; prepares clear, unbiased analyses based on data; and supports building strategic thinking and effective execution across the enterprise.
Responsibilities
Plans, evaluates and develops long-term vision, goals, strategies and action-oriented operational requirements needed to drive sustainable competitive advantage in the future, including growth and industry leadership. Against that framework, prioritizes executional priorities considering immediate needs and opportunities for short-term wins. Personally leads one or more future-facing, high-priority enterprise-wide strategic initiatives.
Responsible for developing and delivering foresight of Social, Technological, Economic, Environmental and Political (STEEP) trends that present threats or opportunities for AARP—its value proposition, strategies or operations. Collaborates actively with AARP’s Research team to maximize enterprise impact and ensure congruent efforts.
Manages a team of Strategic Intelligence experts who define the competitive landscape for AARP and regularly articulate, pressure-test and level-set critical STEEP trends. Drives team to: define an integrated set of critical trends that provides deep insights that substantively inform AARP’s strategy; continually surveil the competitive landscape with an eye towards markets of interest to AARP in “Health, Wealth and Self,” while monitoring for shifts that cut across verticals; draft trend statements, white papers, reports and presentations that are durable and impactful to AARP.
Represents AARP at future-focused / futurecasting events and professional organizations.
Defines emergent strategic priorities and helps steer organizational transformation to meet future needs. Develops strategies and plans that prepare the organization to respond effectively and evolve its business model in anticipation of future opportunities and requirements, working with internal and external stakeholders to define and take concrete steps towards transforming the business, including strategic, operational and behavioral steps.
Regularly engages varied, important stakeholders in the practice of Futurecasting, including Leadership, Executive and Board, to relentlessly position the organization for success. Establish a strong facilitative dialogue and decision-making approach that pushes understanding, fosters engagement with findings and induces senior leadership to action. Work with leadership to frame implications, important but inconvenient truths, critical decision paths and action-oriented recommendations (by expertly empathizing, challenging, reframing their perspectives) and enlist them to take on strategically sufficient action).
Establishes a contemporary, best-practice strategic planning model that anticipates and responds to the challenges of a rapidly changing consumer, industry, technological and socio-political impact environment, understanding that while a strategic plan needs to be established on an annual basis, strategic development to anticipate and respond to future needs is an ongoing process.
Conducts future-focused market analyses and trend forecasting in partnership with the business, providing regular insights for AARP Executive management and Leadership and AARP Issue/Priority Leads on major developments likely to significantly impact association business in the years ahead; links future forecasts to investment decisions, requirements and the harnessing of existing resources and development of new capabilities
Strengthens integration of strategy and innovation, including breakthrough innovation agenda and internalization of innovation-based purpose and values to create stronger capacity to respond to future trends.
Ensures operational alignment between vision, strategy and execution, linking AARP enterprise strategic plans to functional plans and enabling consistency and accountability for action within a unified framework.
Helps to establish enterprise performance goals that align with the strategy.
Analyzes new market opportunities, trends and partnerships; helps identify significant growth opportunities and provides recommended strategic responses.
Supports and helps prioritize the association focus areas, resources, solution development, and marketing to drive organic growth against the long-term vision and plan; works closely with the senior managers of those functions.
Brings focus and discipline to decision making to sustain enterprise impact.
Works with AARP cross-enterprise business units to support their strategic initiatives and requirements against the long-term vision and plan.
Actively seeks out, cultivates and helps develop new leaders (high-potential individuals) within the organization.
Requirements
- Completion of an undergraduate degree (MBA preferred) and 15+ years’ experience working in corporate strategy or a leading management consultancy, with broad experience in strategic planning and future-focused consumer research, including fields such as ethnography, data analytics and consumer marketing. Experience in a non-profit is an asset.
- Excellent researching, problem-solving and analytical skills to synthesize large amounts of complex data into meaningful conclusions, sound business judgment, and ability to think conceptually
- Excellent people manager skills with proven ability to lead and develop a high-performing team.
- Excellent interpersonal skills, with the ability to be personable yet persistent and influence multiple decision makers where success was the result of influence without authority
- Ability to communicate comfortably and effectively including ability to educate, present findings in formal and in ad-hoc situations and answer resulting questions from management
- Strong, proven end-to-end project management capabilities with a dedication to delivering high quality project deliverables, an ability to work on several projects simultaneously, and ensuring timely completion of projects.
- Strong sense of teamwork and collaboration, particularly cross-organizationally and cross-functionally. Emphasis on building solid working relationships
- A track record of delivering high impact and successful strategies with the context of a top tier strategic consulting firm or significant strategic planning experience in a corporate environment.
- Ability to work independently and exhibit comfort in ambiguous situations with a proactive and positive attitude, willingness and ability to take on new responsibilities, with the goal of progressively advancing managerial / leadership responsibilities.
Ability and desire to work in an entrepreneurial environment, including: willingness to take on responsibilities outside one’s typical scope of work, resourcefulness in very lean team situations, and drive to work collaboratively with other divisions of the company to leverage internal expertise
This position establishes and manages the standards and guidance for a consistent future-focused strategic vision and growth plan for the organization. Requires the ability to simultaneously manage multiple challenging and extremely complex activities. Additionally, the position is fully responsible for the work of the unit, evaluation of and decisions regarding complex future-focused strategy and business issues across the enterprise.
Responsibilities include developing standards, strategies, measures and systems. Operates independently and with the knowledge of the broad strategic objective of the unit, department and Association. Strong senior management skills, leadership, vision setting, conceptual, business and strategy skills are necessary to set the organization’s short and long-term vision in order to establish AARP’s goals. Individual determines AARP’s overall strategy and supports Executive Management, the Issue Partners and business unit’s strategic planning. The diversity of this challenge is wide-ranging, and many different projects must be carried out in tandem throughout the Association to enact the transformations that will achieve AARP’s future vision and goals.
This position exercises broad strategic latitude (and also advisory and persuasive skills) with strong capabilities to be able to negotiate internally and externally with leadership and business units. This individual primarily interacts with SVPs, VPs & Senior Directors, & other leaders within the Association.
This position has the highest level of impact on AARP’s success today and tomorrow. The unit is responsible for delivering the impact of the enterprise including identifying and shaping the enterprise goals and metrics and contributing to defining the operating budgets.
This job has highest level of responsibility in making recommendations of the enterprise strategy and how to best invest in and grow the Association as well as helping other business units outside of Enterprise Strategy to make the right investment decisions with their funds and resources.
Financial and budgetary responsibility
- This position will have administrative budget responsibility for research and other strategy services providers.
Direction and leadership given to others
- This position will have responsibility to directly manage a team of individual contributors
- This position will have responsibility to direct others through matrix management
Regular requirement of directing, reviewing and assigning others work
- This position will have responsibility to directly manage a team of individual contributors
- This position will regularly direct, review and assign others work in matrix management
Benefits Offered
AARP offers competitive benefits with a 401K, 100% company funded pension plan, health, dental, vision and life insurance, STD/LTD, paid vacation and sick, and other benefits.
Equal Employment Opportunity
AARP is an equal opportunity employer committed to hiring a diverse workforce and sustaining an inclusive culture. AARP does not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, sex, color, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, mental or physical disability, genetic information, veteran status, or on any other basis prohibited by applicable law.