Head of Consulting in Reading

Automation Consultants (AC) is a leading Agile and DevOps software and services company, with an ongoing expansion into AI. Its Consultancy team provides advice and hands-on project execution to a wide range of customers in the UK and elsewhere. Its customers range in size from blue-chip companies and government departments to start-ups. Reporting to the Director of Professional Services, this high-profile leadership role leads the Consultancy department to deliver high-quality consulting engagements, develop the consultancy’s capabilities, and support execution of the consultancy strategy. The role is responsible for consultancy delivery excellence, operational management of the team, and developing the consulting capability required to support new services and areas of expertise.

Responsibilities and Duties

• Leadership & People Management
  • Lead and manage a team of consultants to maintain a high standard of delivery, capability, and performance.
  • Develop the consulting capability of the team, including consulting practices, delivery frameworks and emerging service areas, aligned with the consultancy strategy.
  • Be accountable for ensuring the general welfare of members of the Consultancy team.
  • Foster the team’s culture of excellence.
• Consultancy Operations
  • Own consultancy resource planning and assignment, ensuring new and existing engagements are effectively staffed in line with skills, availability, and commercial priorities.
  • Oversee consultancy capacity and workload distribution across the team, ensuring effective utilisation and balanced allocation through senior consultants and team leads.
  • Maintain oversight of consultancy delivery, ensuring effective governance, appropriate escalation of risks, and accurate and timely recording and invoicing of work.
  • Own and manage the operational performance of the consultancy team including utilisation, delivery forecasting, and project health.
  • Provide regular reporting on consultancy performance, capacity, and delivery metrics.
  • Represent the Consultancy team within the AC business and work collaboratively with peers across departments, particularly the Head of Managed Services.
• Commercial Work
  • Support pre-sales and proposal development with the sales team.
  • Contribute delivery insight to proposal design and solution shaping.
  • Enable and guide the consultancy team to identify and support account expansion opportunities during delivery engagements.
  • Work with the AC marketing team to ensure consultancy services are marketed as effectively as possible.
  • Build and maintain strong customer relationships with key and strategic customer accounts.
  • Lead and support the execution of consultancy strategic initiatives defined by the Director of Professional Services.
  • Contribute operational insight to consultancy strategy discussions.
  • Lead or support initiatives aimed at improving consultancy capability, services, and operational effectiveness.
• Delivery Excellence
  • Own the overall quality of consultancy delivery, ensuring engagements meet high professional and technical standards across engagements.
  • Own and evolve delivery frameworks, consulting practices, and quality standards to ensure consistent and effective delivery across the team.

Qualifications and Skills

• Understanding of the elements required to manage a commercially successful Consultancy department.
• The ability to build and lead a team and to create and nurture a successful team culture and ethos.
• A commercial mindset with the ability to develop strong customer relationships.
• 5 years + in technology and management of technology teams.
• Experience of the Atlassian ecosystem.

Nice to have

• Budgeting and financial management skills.
• Understanding of current computing and project management concepts, including DevOps, Agile, ITSM and AI.

Salary and Benefits

• 33 days holiday (including bank holidays).
• Enhanced Maternity & Paternity plans.
• Pension Scheme.
• Dedicated ongoing training plan and budget.
• Flexible working hours and environment.
• Access to the Electric Car Scheme.
• Automation Consultant’s Cycle to Work Scheme.
• Top Spec Machine and access to virtual test lab.
• Onsite gym, showers, yoga lessons and more.
• Regular company-wide events, team social events, including Hackathons and competitions.