McKinsey & Company

Do you want to work on complex and pressing challenges—the kind that bring together curious, ambitious, and determined leaders who strive to become better every day? If this sounds like you, you’ve come to the right place.

Your Impact

As the Specialist, you will support several priority strategic initiatives for the Japan Office with the ultimate purpose of scaling the positive client impact in Japan.

This unique role as an “internal consultant” requires collaborative thought-partnering with senior internal clients, as well as creative, analytical, and conceptual thinking, project management, and hands-on implementation skills.

In this role, you will independently spearhead strategic initiatives, guiding them from design through piloting to full implementation and operations. You will manage complex, high-priority projects that demand advanced problem-solving and execution skills as an independent contributor. Acting as a thought partner to initiative leaders, you will help shape direction, ensure quality, and drive timely execution.

To maximize the impact of your assigned initiatives, you will collaborate closely with various internal teams (e.g., strategy, event, and CRM) and engage with high-profile stakeholders. Additionally, you will support the local client committee with research and analysis to facilitate strategic decision-making and, as an integral part of the office community, contribute to creating an exceptional working environment.

You will be part of a central team of dedicated professionals with diverse backgrounds who directly support office leaders. Together, you will drive topics such as special executive counseling programs, client experience initiatives, client development acceleration programs, and customer team excellence sessions.

Beyond the Japan Office, you will also work with initiative leaders and team members across geographies globally to exchange best practices and insights for both local initiative acceleration and contributions to global efforts in the spirit of a unified firm partnership.

Your Growth

You are someone who thrives in a high-performance environment, bringing a growth mindset and entrepreneurial spirit to tackle meaningful challenges that have a real impact.

In return for your drive, determination, and curiosity, we’ll provide the resources, mentorship, and opportunities to help you quickly broaden your expertise, grow into a well-rounded professional, and contribute to work that truly makes a difference.

When you join us, you will have:

• Continuous learning: Our learning and apprenticeship culture, backed by structured programs, is all about helping you grow while creating an environment where feedback is clear, actionable, and focused on your development. The real magic happens when you take the input from others to heart and embrace the fast-paced learning experience, owning your journey.
• A voice that matters: From day one, we value your ideas and contributions. You’ll make a tangible impact by offering innovative ideas and practical solutions. We not only encourage diverse perspectives, but they are critical in driving us toward the best possible outcomes.
• Global community: With colleagues across 65+ countries and over 100 different nationalities, our firm’s diversity fuels creativity and helps us come up with the best solutions. Plus, you’ll have the opportunity to learn from exceptional colleagues with diverse backgrounds and experiences.
• Exceptional benefits: In addition to a competitive salary (based on your location, experience, and skills), we offer a comprehensive benefits package, including medical, dental, mental health, and vision coverage for you, your spouse/partner, and children.

Your qualifications and skills

• Strong project management skills to drive and execute multiple initiatives and their workstreams
• Hands-on implementation skills
• Outstanding problem solving and analytical skills, with in-depth experience relevant IT tools
• An entrepreneurial mindset to self-drive, refine and grow our portfolio and pipeline of client strategic initiatives at different levels
• Strong interpersonal, stakeholder management and relationship-building skills – in particular, you need to be comfortable to act as a thought partner to Director-level and Partner-level colleagues
• Strong ability to form and share an own opinion, with flexibility and ability to respect and absorb diverse perspectives to build consensus
• High personal integrity, proven ability to work with high sensitivity, discretion and confidential documentation
• A continuous learner who embraces rapid change with agility and an open mind.
• Willingness to work in a global environment which frequently involves adjustments to other time zones
• Experience in a consulting environment is a plus
• Fluent in Japanese and English

Please review the additional requirements regarding essential job functions of McKinsey colleagues.

FOR U.S. APPLICANTS: McKinsey & Company is an Equal Opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, religion, national origin, disability, protected Veteran status, age, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

FOR NON-U.S. APPLICANTS: McKinsey & Company is an Equal Opportunity employer. For additional details regarding our global EEO policy and diversity initiatives, please visit our McKinsey Careers and Diversity & Inclusion sites.