Forward Deployed Strategist

phData is seeking a Forward Deployed Strategist to join our Advisory team. 

The Forward Deployed Strategist is a business-first consultant who helps clients rapidly identify, shape, and accelerate high-value AI and data opportunities. This role sits at the intersection of consulting, product thinking, value mapping, and technology, working directly with business stakeholders to uncover high-impact use cases, frame them in clear business terms, and turn them into actionable MVPs that deliver measurable value.

At phData, the Forward Deployed Strategist is the primary business-facing lead on a small, nimble activation-style team. They quickly understand and internalize client challenges, build trust with executives, managers, and frontline operators, connect technical possibilities to business priorities, and help clients move from scattered ideas to real AI-enabled workflows, prototypes, and decisions with speed and clarity.

Core Responsibilities

Client Discovery & Opportunity Framing

• Quickly understand and internalize client challenges, constraints, stakeholder dynamics, and workflow realities.
• Identify high-value opportunities by immersing in business operations and uncovering messy, manual, cross-functional workflows that are addressable with AI solutions.
• Translate ambiguous business problems into crisply framed problem statements, use cases, hypotheses, and MVP scopes that can be validated quickly.
• Lead workshops, interviews, working sessions, and art-of-the-possible conversations that create alignment, momentum, and a practical path forward.Bring a user-centered design mindset to the solution identification process.

Business Value, Communication & Executive Storytelling

• Define success in terms of business KPIs and quantify measurable business value to justify investment in MVPs and solutions.
• Maintain a transparent link between use cases, expected outcomes, and the client’s broader technology roadmap.
• Build strong relationships with business executives, functional leaders, and end users by communicating clearly, listening actively, and facilitating productive decisions.Bridge the gap between business needs and technology by developing balanced technical, organizational, and process recommendations, along with compelling narratives and rigorous business cases for AI and data investments.
• Act as a translator between business and technical teams, helping stakeholders understand trade-offs, risks, dependencies, timelines, and the path from MVP to a scaled solution.

Prototype Activation & Scale Readiness

• Prototype and iterate solutions using low/no-code and AI-assisted tools to showcase value early.
• Work hand in hand with phData technologists to bring solutions to life quickly and frame the business value in a way stakeholders can understand.Surface platform, data, workflow, and operating model gaps that must be addressed to scale successful patterns beyond MVP.
• Help clients rethink how work gets done, not just which tools they use, by driving adoption-minded solution design and strong change communication.

Client Leadership & Engagement Ownership

• Serve as the consulting-forward, business-facing lead for the work, helping manage scope and risk while maintaining strong executive-level stakeholder relationships.
• Create alignment around priorities, next steps, and decision points so that discovery, prototyping, and scaling efforts stay focused on measurable outcomes.
• Partner with client and phData teams to move validated ideas toward scalable delivery and broader organizational impact.
• Work alongside clients, in person as needed, to drive business outcomes.

Required Experience

• 5+ years of experience in consulting with a passion for technology-driven process optimization.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, including executive storytelling, workshop leadership, active listening, and business-case development.
• Demonstrated ability to build trust with business executives, functional leaders, and end users in ambiguous, fast-moving environments.
• Strong consulting presence with the ability to facilitate productive conversations, challenge assumptions constructively, and guide clients toward practical decisions.
• Experience translating ambiguous business problems into structured problem statements, use cases, hypotheses, and MVP scopes.
• Ability to connect solution ideas to measurable business value through KPIs, ROI logic, adoption metrics, cycle-time improvements, risk reduction, and time-to-value framing.
• Experience partnering with technical teams to move from business requirements to prototypes, pilots, and scalable solutions.
• Comfort working hands-on with AI copilots, analytics tools, workflow tools, and low/no-code platforms to accelerate discovery, prototyping, and validation.
• Deep empathy for users and a willingness to immerse in how work really gets done, including exceptions, workarounds, and organizational friction.
• High ownership, sound judgment, and comfort making progress without perfect requirements.
• Bachelor’s degree in business, analytics, engineering, information systems, design, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.

Preferred Experience

• Master's degree in business administration (MBA).Exposure to modern data and AI platforms, self-service analytics, workflow automation, or low/no-code tooling.
• Experience building business cases for new technology investments and influencing executive stakeholders.
• Experience working alongside engineers, solution architects, or delivery teams in client-service environments.
• Familiarity with change management, adoption planning, or operating-model design.