Head of Retail and Trading

Our global consulting client's Strategy function continues to grow at pace and they are seeking someone exceptional to take a senior leadership role in their Retail, Consumer and Leisure team. This person will have significant commercial due diligence, deal strategy and private equity experience, however our client also values people with additional experience in propositions such as growth strategy, cost and operational strategy and enterprise wide transformation.

Key responsibilities include:

• Have existing client relationships, particularly with the UK/European Private Equity and M&A community, which reinforce the team’s credibility and generate project opportunities.
• Extensive experience of M&A related projects will be critical, eg Commercial DD, M&A Strategy, Value creation, etc.
• Anticipate, understand and articulate client requirements – in advance of and during projects.
• Design and run large, complex projects, delivering to client requirements whilst acting as primary client liaison and be an 'ambassador' for the firm.
• Support and test/review the design and execution of complex analyses to ensure these are credible and accurate.
• Actively seek out leadership opportunities, take responsibility for a selection of internal processes and generally act as a leader in the S&PT and an inspiration to more junior team members.
• Take overarching responsibility that the firm's risk management frameworks are adhered to, by identifying and reviewing any key judgements – but also consulting with other senior staff members as appropriate.
• Demonstrable experience working in a leading strategy consulting business, Big 4 firm or strategy / Corporate Development team in industry.
• Consumer Goods, Retail & Travel & Leisure businesses – and clear view on how these sectors are likely to evolve going forward.
• Experience of leading mid-sized and large projects: designing work plans, team structures and then managing these to excellent client output and strong project economics.
• Extensive coverage of recent M&A transactions, eg CDD, VDD, M&A Strategy or Value Creation projects in the Consumer sector.
• Ability to independently generate sales opportunities and maintain strong client relationships.
• Initiating marketing and sales efforts, proposals, scopes and pricing for mid-sized and large consulting assignments.
• Strong track record of building followership among more junior staff members.
• Non-client facing roles in taking on internal responsibilities on topics like team management, technical tool insight, liaison with service suppliers, etc.