Managing Director

A well-established, research and strategy consultancy is seeking a commercially astute, values-led Managing Director to lead its next chapter.Founded over two decades ago, the organisation has built an internationally recognised reputation for high-quality research, evaluation, strategy and policy work across global challenges helping governments, donors, foundations and civil society learn and adapt. Their expertise covers a wide range of issues from governance, climate change and economic development to conflict, inclusion and humanitarian response.

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The successful candidate will bring genuine commercial and turnaround leadership experience, combined with the ability to rebuild trust and re-energise a talented team through a new phase of growth. They will be a people-first leader who has working knowledge across some of their key areas of focus; conflict, climate change, economic development and justice. This role will suit a self-starter who wants to build and lead a business in an autonomous role, with the backing and expertise of a strong heritage and experienced board.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide overall commercial, financial and operational leadership of the business, with full P&L accountability
• Deliver against an agreed strategic plan, driving diversification into new sectors, clients and service lines
• Hold the leadership team to account against clear commercial KPIs, embedding a culture of financial discipline and accountability
• Lead, inspire and rebuild trust across a small, technically expert team following a period of significant organisational change
• Represent the organisation externally, developing and maintaining senior relationships with government departments, multilateral institutions, foundations and other key clients
• Maintain and grow existing high-value client relationships while identifying and securing new business opportunities
• Uphold and champion the organisation's values, employee ownership model and B Corp commitments
• Oversee governance, risk management and compliance in partnership with the Board and Trust Board
• Maintain personal billable/fee-earning delivery capacity alongside executive leadership responsibilities
• Manage the transition to a new hybrid working model and office xwzovoh arrangement

Key Requirements

• Senior executive leadership experience
• A demonstrable track record of leading an organisation through commercial challenge, restructuring or turnaround, ideally with quantifiable outcomes
• Proven ability to win and retain clients, with a credible personal network across government, international development, multilateral institutions, foundations, or adjacent commercial sectors
• Strong commercial and financial management acumen, with full P&L experience
• Experience of building and executing a growth or diversification strategy
• Corporate governance and risk management experience
• Comfort operating within a fee-earning, billable consulting delivery model