Senior Associate – Corporate Strategy

Sr. Associate – Corporate Strategy: JD &Recruiter Brief

Oct 17 2026 .

@TSK

1. Job Description (ready to post)Job Title: Senior Associate – Corporate Strategy

Location: Hyderabad (work from office 6 days a week 10:00 AM – 7:00 PM)

Experience: 2–6 years

Employment Type: Full-time

Notice Period: Immediate to 30 days preferred

About the Role

We are hiring a Senior Associate – Corporate Strategy to work directly with the leadershipteam on investments acquisitions market entry and growth projects. You will evaluatebusinesses build financial models size markets and turn analysis into clearrecommendations that leadership acts on.

This is a hands-on role for someone who has done real analytical work in investmentbanking private equity venture capital management consulting or corporate strategyand now wants to sit closer to the decision-makers.

Key Responsibilities

Investments and acquisitions

Evaluate strategic opportunities investments and potential acquisitions.

Support due diligence on target companies: business model financials risks andvaluation.

Build investment cases and recommendations for senior leadership.

Financial analysis and modelling

Build and maintain financial models to evaluate opportunities and investments.

Analyse company financials: revenue potential cost structure profitability andreturns.

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Run scenario and sensitivity analyses to test different business outcomes.

Market and growth strategy

Conduct market research industry analysis and competitive benchmarking.

Size markets and assess growth opportunities.

Support new product new market entry and growth strategy initiatives.

Leadership communication

Prepare board- and leadership-level presentations and reports.

Work with cross-functional teams to gather data and build recommendations.

What We Are Looking For

Must have

2–6 years in Investment Banking (buy-side preferred) Private Equity Venture CapitalManagement / Strategy Consulting or Corporate Strategy.

Hands-on financial modelling and valuation experience built by you not only reviewed.

Strong market sizing and market research skills.

Solid understanding of financial statements and business fundamentals.

Advanced Excel and PowerPoint.

Excellent written and spoken English; able to present to senior leadership.

Good to have

Exposure to buy-side investment or acquisition transactions; at least one completedbuy-side deal is a strong advantage.

Experience with valuation models scenario analysis and investment presentations.

Education: Graduates from IITs BITS or other top-tier institutions preferred. A strongfinance or analytical academic background (e.g. MBA Finance CA CFA progress) is anadvantage.

Why Join

Direct exposure to leadership and real strategic and investment decisions.

Breadth across M&A investments market entry and growth strategy.

High-ownership role where your analysis shapes outcomes.

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2. Role Snapshot for RecruitersThe ideal hire is a 2–4 year analyst or associate from IB PE VC consulting or corporatestrategy with hands-on models and at least some deal exposure who will relocate toHyderabad for a 6-day office role within 15 LPA. Internal use only do not put budget orthe persona filters below in any job post.

3. What to CheckA profile goes to the client only if all must-haves are verified on the call not just presentas keywords on the CV.

Parameter Client requirement What it means for sourcing

Location Hyderabad work from office Local first; relocation only ifconfirmed on the call

Working days 6 days 10 AM – 7 PM Ask upfront; this alone will dropmany consulting and VCcandidates

Experience 2–6 yrs (JD); 2 yrs (persona) Realistic sweet spot is 2–4 yrs atthis budget

Budget Up to 15 LPA Hard ceiling unless the clientconfirms flexibility

Notice period 1 month Prefer 30 days or a buyout option

Designations Analyst Associate SeniorAssociate Manager

Managers will usually be abovebudget

Averagetenure

1 year (as written) Read as: at least 1 year per job;confirm with client

Education IIT BITS or top-tier (must have inpersona preferred in JD)

Treat as strong preference untilclient confirms

Language Fluent English Test on the call not from the CV

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Criterion Priority How to verify Pass looks like

Background in IB PEVC consulting orcorporate strategy

Must have Ask what the team didand who theclients/portfolio were

Core deal orstrategy team not asupport or opsfunction

Hands-on financialmodelling

Must have Walk me through thelast model you built fromscratch

Names the modeltype (3-statementDCF LBO uniteconomics) andtheir own role inbuilding it

Valuation andfinancial statementanalysis

Must have Ask how they valued arecent company andwhich method they used

Explains methods(DCF comparablesprecedents) andwhy they chose one

Market research andmarket sizing

Must have How did you size amarket in a recentproject

Describes a top-down or bottom-upapproach with realassumptions

Investment or dealevaluation

Must have Ask for deals worked onstage reached and theirrole

Clear exposure todue diligenceinvestment memosor acquisitionevaluation

Top-tier education (IITBITS or similar)

Must have(persona) /Preferred (JD)

Check CV and LinkedIn Confirm with clienthow strict this is(see Section 7)

Completed buy-sidedeal

Good to have Have you worked on adeal that closed on thebuy side

At least one closedacquisition orinvestment withtheir specificworkstream

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4. Where to Find ThemThe best-converting pool is likely 2–4 year analysts and associates from boutique IB mid-size VC/PE funds and corporate strategy teams already in Hyderabad or open to movingthere. Big-firm consultants and large-fund associates will often be above 15 LPA; screenbudget first.

Target backgrounds (in order of fit)

1. Corporate strategy or M&A teams inside companies (startups mid-size firms businessgroups).

2. Boutique and mid-market investment banks especially M&A and buy-side advisory.

3. VC and PE funds analysts and associates who screened deals and built models.

4. Transaction advisory / due diligence / valuation teams at Big 4 and similar firms(confirm with client if acceptable).

5. Management consulting only if they did strategy and financial work not operationsor implementation.

Designations to search: Analyst Investment Analyst Associate Senior AssociateCorporate Strategy Associate M&A Analyst/Associate Strategy Analyst Founder's Office(only with real finance and deal work).

Naukri / LinkedIn keyword strings (starting point refine as results come in):

Criterion Priority How to verify Pass looks like

Advanced Excel andPowerPoint

Good to have Ask aboutscenario/sensitivitytables and leadershipdecks they made

Built decks andsensitivity analysesthemselves

Communication Must have Judge the whole call Structured conciseanswers; canexplain a modelsimply

Fit on logistics Must have Ask first before thetechnical questions

Yes to Hyderabad 6days WFO within 15LPA 30 daysnotice

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(corporate strategy OR M&A OR mergers and acquisitions OR investmentbanking OR private equity OR venture capital) AND (financial modelling ORfinancial modeling OR valuation OR DCF)

(due diligence OR buy-side OR investment memo) AND (market sizing ORmarket research)

Education filter: IIT BITS IIM ISB SRCC and similar top-tier institutes (once clientconfirms how strict)

Filters: Location Hyderabad first then Bengaluru Pune Mumbai Delhi NCR for relocation.

Experience 2–6 yrs .

Current CTC roughly 8–13 LPA (approximate band so a jump to 15LPA is attractive adjust once you see real CTCs).

5. What to AvoidThe client left the Red Flag rows blank so these are R3's proposed red flags use themnow and confirm with the client. The biggest waste on this role will be look-alike profiles:CVs with financial modelling and valuation keywords from jobs that are not actuallystrategy or deal work.

Look-alike profiles reject unless there is clear deal or strategy work

FP&A MIS budgeting or corporate finance reporting roles (they report numbers; theydon't evaluate investments).

Equity research or KPO research analysts who only update sell-side models or writereports.

Credit analysts loan underwriting or rating agency analysts.

Accounting audit and tax profiles (including CAs) with no transaction or valuationwork.

Founder's Office or Chief of Staff titles that were mainly coordination oroperations.

Consulting profiles from operations IT process or implementation practices.

Business analysts or data analysts (SQL dashboards) with no financial modelling.

Red flags on the CV or call

Cannot explain a model they claim to have built or only supported every deal.

Lists deals but cannot name their own workstream or the outcome.

Average tenure under 1 year across several jobs.

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Unsure about Hyderabad 6-day office or salary but wants to discuss later. Closethese on the first call.

Current CTC already near or above 15 LPA or expecting more than 15 LPA.

Notice period over 30 days with no buyout option.

Holding multiple offers or interviewing actively without clear reasons to choose thisrole.

Weak spoken English or unstructured answers this role presents to leadership.

Do not use these as filters: gender and age. The persona sheet lists Male preferred andBelow 30. Recruiters should not screen out candidates on either until R3 has discussedthis with the client (see Section 7).

6. Screening Call QuestionsRun the call in this order: knock-outs first so no time goes into a technical screen forsomeone who won't move to Hyderabad or fit the budget.

Step 1 Knock-outs (2 minutes)

1. This role is in Hyderabad work from office 6 days a week 10 AM to 7 PM. Are youcomfortable with that

2. What is your current CTC and expected CTC

3. What is your notice period Is it negotiable or can it be bought out

Step 2 Background (5 minutes)

4. Walk me through your current role. What does your team do and what do youpersonally own

5. Which deals or strategy projects have you worked on in the last two years What wasyour role in each

6. Has any buy-side deal you worked on actually closed What was your workstream

Step 3 Skill check (10 minutes)

7. Tell me about the last financial model you built from scratch. What type was it andwhat were the key drivers

8. How would you value a company Which method do you usually use and why

9. How did you size a market in a recent project Walk me through the approach.

10. Have you made an investment memo or a leadership deck What was therecommendation

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Step 4 Motivation (3 minutes)

11. Why are you looking to move now

12. Why a corporate strategy role rather than staying in banking a fund or consulting

13. Are you interviewing elsewhere or holding any offers

Recruiter tip: if answers to 7–9 are vague (I supported the team I worked on models)probe once more. If still vague the profile is a reject that is exactly the gap the clientwill find.

7. Gaps to Clear With the ClientThe JD and persona sheet disagree in several places; clearing these before sourcing willsave the most rejected submissions.

Experience vs budget. JD says 2–6 yrs and the persona allows Managers but thebudget is 15 LPA and age is below 30. A 5–6 year IIT/BITS banker or PE associate islikely to be well above 15 LPA (I am not certain of current market bands verify with3–4 real candidate CTCs in the first week). Ask: is the true target 2–4 yrs or is thebudget flexible for stronger profiles

Education must have or preferred Persona says Must Have (IIT BITS); JD sayspreferred. Ask: will the client see a strong candidate from a non-IIT/BITS college withthe right deal experience

Which backgrounds count Confirm whether Big 4 transaction advisory/valuationequity research and Founder's Office profiles are acceptable.

Is a closed buy-side deal a filter or a bonus Persona row 1 for Good to Have sayspreferably; JD says advantage. Confirm it is not a hidden must-have.

Average tenure: 1 year does this mean minimum 1 year per company or somethingelse

Red flags the six Red Flag rows are blank. Share Section 5 with the client and askthem to confirm or add.

Notice period is 1 month strict or will they wait for 60 days / support a buyout for astrong profile

Relocation any relocation support for candidates outside Hyderabad

Interview process number of rounds case study or modelling test and expectedturnaround.

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8. Submission FormatShare profiles only in the client's sheet (Formate to share profiles tab) with everycolumn filled. A blank cell is a reason to hold the profile not send it.

Gender and age filters. The persona lists Male preferred and Below R3 does not apply these. Gender-based preference in hiring may conflictwith Indian law I believe the Code on Wages 2019 prohibits gender discrimination inrecruitment for the same or similar work but I am not fully certain of its scope; verifywith a legal advisor before advising the client. Practically both filters also shrink analready narrow pool. Suggest the client judge on skills and the 6-day/WFO fit instead.

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Remarks example: Built the DCF and market-sizing model for a closed acquisition at amid-market bank; strong communicator. Risk: 45-day notice buyout possible.

Before sending check: all knock-outs passed Section 3 must-haves verified on call noSection 5 red flags and the candidate has agreed to be submitted for this role.

Column What to enter

Full Name As on CV

Resume link Working Drive link view access granted

LinkedIn link Profile URL; check it matches the CV

Current Location City

Willing to relocate to Hyderabad (6 days 10–7 WFO)

Yes / No only send Yes

Total / Relevant Experience (M&A PE VCconsulting strategy)

e.g. 3.5 yrs total / 3 yrs relevant

Current Company & Designation As confirmed on call

Current CTC (LPA) Fixed variable if relevant

Expected CTC (LPA) Must be 15 unless client approved

Notice Period / Negotiable Days Yes/No

Highest Qualification Institute & Year e.g. IIT Bombay 2021

Deals worked on / completed buy-side deal 1–2 lines: deal type size if shareable theirrole closed or not

HM Status Leave for client

Remarks R3's 1–2 line pitch: strongest proof point any risk

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