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Principal Consultant - Strategy

Do you work in the field of digital, in the broadest sense? We’re looking for both people who consider themselves specialists (such as service designers, delivery managers or software developers) or generalists (playing a key role in making digital change or delivery happen, such as policy makers, strategists or digital team managers).

At Public Digital, we’ll ask you to apply those skills as consultants, but a style of consultancy grounded in lived experience: your lived experience, and the lived experiences of the wider Public Digital team.

Day-to-day, you’ll be an advisor and coach, you’ll facilitate, convene, write and present. If you have specialist skills, you’ll sometimes apply those skills directly as a practitioner-coach - showing by doing, whilst helping our clients learn from the skills and experience you have.

We think Public Digital offers a unique opportunity - allowing those with digital skills and experience to amplify their impact. We think it’s also a unique way to learn, working closely, day-to-day, within teams with rich and broad experience different to your own.

You’ll be asked to be part of multidisciplinary, multi-functional consulting teams, helping our varied clients with a diverse set of challenges and opportunities. From helping them deliver impactful digital services, researching complex new domains, or make tangible progress with large-scale organisational reform and culture change.

We are Public Digital, a digital transformation consultancy. We help global institutions that matter thrive in the internet era. We apply the culture, processes, business models and technologies of the internet era to help teams build and run excellent services. Working with the leaders doing strategy, and the teams doing delivery, we operate globally, advising large organisations and governments on six continents.

We’re values-driven and we articulated them in our ‘positions’ on the Public Digital website.

Attitude as much as skill, is critically important to us as a team and we look for entrepreneurialism, initiative, kindness, and a willingness to pitch in. We fundamentally believe transformation is about people, and that change comes from creating great teams and the conditions to successfully empower them.

Role overview

You will work as part of digital strategy engagements with global development partners. Our clients include UN agencies, multilateral development banks, and major philanthropic foundations. You will start out by leading small multidisciplinary teams to deliver 1-2 engagements at a time, ramping up to leading a portfolio of high-impact strategic advisory and thought leadership work with global development partners.

What you’ll do for us:

  • Deliver client engagements focused on strategy development and thought leadership, with accountability for delivery, impact, our teams, and our commercials.
  • Develop strong, proactive and highly trusted relationships with leaders and their teams. You’ll act as an advisor and coach, helping them to shape their portfolios and deliver measurable value.
  • Apply your expertise in strategy development and advisory to help organisations dramatically increase their digital maturity, and/or improve their digital strategies and investments, in order to improve development outcomes
  • Apply your knowledge and networks in digital development to provide our clients with high-quality intelligence and advice
  • Scope and conduct qualitative and quantitative research and analysis.
  • Help our clients challenge the status quo within their organizations, encouraging them into new ways of thinking.
  • Contribute to the life and growth of Public Digital as a values-led business.

Requirements

What we’re looking for

This role is focused on delivering our strategy work with global development organisations. We partner with UN agencies, multilateral development banks, and philanthropic foundations. We support their own digital strategy journeys, and we advise them on their digital programming and investment portfolios, helping them to achieve sustained impact with their partners and investees across the Global South.

We are searching for an exceptional individual with experience in a top-tier strategy consulting firm, or within strategy within a large organization. You are excellent at what you do, and enjoy the diversity and intellectual challenge that comes with consulting. You want to grow your career in a more entrepreneurial environment, and in a firm that’s passionate about improving lives and transforming global institutions that matter.

  • You will lead and empower teams to deliver excellent work, from start to finish
  • Your demonstrable experience will make you a key part of the team in this role. You’re seen as experienced in digital strategy development, applied in large organisations. You’ve worked on strategy engagements in complex institutional environments and you’re able to confidently communicate the impact of your work.
  • You are experienced in helping clients make strategic decisions, building out their strategic capabilities.
  • You have experience working within the developing world. Ideally, experience working with global funding organisations would be beneficial.
  • You’re excellent at stakeholder management and comfortable working closely with senior leaders, as a trusted advisor and clear communicator.
  • You have a pragmatic and proactive approach to managing and delivering client engagements, including excellent levels of organisation, prioritisation and delivery management
  • You have experience in research, as well as quantitative and qualitative analysis work.
  • You are collaborative, comfortable working in the open, and have an ability to visualise and map concepts and ideas.
  • You are committed to developing a diverse, inclusive team and culture where people thrive and do excellent work.

We especially welcome applicants with experience of working in strategy consulting, in government or in a multilateral development bank, UN agency, or philanthropy – particularly in roles related to strategy development.

Benefits

What’s in it for you:

  • Deliver high-impact work with leading institutions around the world
  • An opportunity to work strategically at a leadership level, helping decision makers to make informed decisions.
  • Grow with us: the opportunity to grow and progress rapidly within an engaged, supportive environment
  • Be empowered to do your best work
  • Home and remote working, flexibility in how you deliver work
  • Focus on learning, development and progression
  • Reach a global audience as a thought leader on service design: publish blog posts and other articles; speak at conferences and events as a representative of Public Digital
  • Buddy system and prioritised mental health
  • Generous holiday allowance (30 days plus public holidays and an additional 5 days of office closure over the festive period).
  • Private healthcare
  • Flexible Benefits allowance.