Value Creation Director at Grant Thornton, Philadelphia, PA

Value Creation Director at Grant Thornton in Philadelphia, PA. $223,514 to $289,171 a year. Apply with swipeandhired.

As a Value Creation Director, you’ll focus on high-impact engagements with our private equity, strategic and financial clients across industries, including manufacturing (e.g. consumer, industrials), retail, business services, healthcare, and software/technology. You will work with experienced professionals who bring a full range of advisory services to validate, optimize and create value for Grant Thornton | Stax Transactions Practice – all with the resources, environment, and support to help you excel.

Directors will play a pivotal role in establishing and advancing the group's value proposition, aligning with our global growth strategy and working closely with Partners leading our value creation efforts. The Director will actively shape strategy, bringing a client-centric approach to engagements that drive tangible, strategic value creation recommendations for clients.

From day one, you’ll be empowered to help clients make the moves that will help them achieve their vision and help you achieve more, confidently.

Your day-to-day may include:

Value Creation Practice Growth:

• Help build and advance the practices’ operational offering — methodology, diagnostic tooling, benchmark libraries, and the analytical standards that make our work repeatable across engagements.

• Develop thought leadership that establishes credibility with sponsors and differentiates our operational point of view in the market.

• Embed Value Creation insights into broader deal advisory engagements so that operational perspective reaches clients earlier in the transaction process.

• Contribute to the growth strategy for the practice, including capability gaps, hiring priorities, and where we should be investing to win.

Diligence Delivery:

• Demonstrate a strong ability to analyze, assess and improve cost structure durability, particularly for manufacturing and business services value chains.

• Assess whether a target's operating model can deliver the sponsor's thesis — capacity to support the growth case, cost structure durability, and the operational risks that could impair the entry multiple.

• Quantify value creation opportunity in an EBITDA bridge — sourcing and direct material savings, footprint and network rationalization, labor productivity, indirect and G&A rationalization, freight and logistics — with sizing, phasing, one-time cost to achieve, and confidence bands.

• Evaluate capital requirements and working capital opportunity: deferred maintenance, capacity constraints, automation readiness, inventory turns, DSO, DPO, and cash conversion cycle.

• Advise on carve-out operational readiness, including standalone cost estimation, TSA scoping, and separation of shared manufacturing, sourcing, and distribution infrastructure.

• Support integration of bolt-on acquisitions, including sourcing synergy capture, footprint consolidation, and back-office integration.

• Deliver findings under deal timelines, present directly to deal teams and operating partners, and interface with the QoE, commercial, and IT workstreams so the operational view reconciles to the financial one.

Project Oversight and Team Leadership:

• Oversee engagements, providing strong delivery leadership and hands-on project management.

• Guide project teams to ensure engagements meet client expectations and drive timely, measurable value creation.

• Align project outcomes with broader practice objectives and support team development goals.

• Mentor and develop consultants and managers in diligence methodology, client presence, and analytical rigor.

Business Development and Client Growth:

• Deliver memorable client results while developing strong client relationships to convert diligence engagements into post-close and portfolio-wide work.

• Lead and support pitch activity, including scoping, proposals, budgets, and work plans, and participate in fund-level and management meetings with prospective clients.

• Collaborate across the firm to bring the full range of advisory capabilities to sponsor clients.

• Meeting or exceeding targeted billing hours (utilization)

• Other duties as assigned

You have the following technical skills and qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in business, finance, engineering, supply chain, operations, or a related field required. MBA or advanced degree preferred.

• 10+ years of total experience, including a minimum of 5 years in a management consulting environment with progression to project and commercial leadership required. Relevant industry experience also highly valued.

• Industry recognized professional certification required.

• Private equity exposure, including familiarity with standard operating practices of portfolio operations and value creation playbooks.

• Transaction experience, either buy-side and/or sell-side, preferably with a focus on supply chain, manufacturing, procurement, or operations improvement delivery — not exclusively corporate or market strategy.

• Demonstrated experience in managing, coaching and developing consulting staff.

• Comfort operating in a low-data, fast-turn environment with direct exposure to deal partners and portfolio company executives.

• Willingness to travel to client sites, estimated at 25–50%.

The base salary range for this position is between $223,514 and $289,171. Placement within the pay range is at Grant Thornton’s discretion, and it is based on multiple factors, including but not limited to, job -related knowledge/skills, experience, business needs, progression within the role, geographic location, and internal equity. At Grant Thornton, compensation decisions are dependent upon the facts and circumstances of each position and candidate.