At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead strategy, growth, and marketing initiatives to drive innovation and market expansion.
- Company: Join Cambridge Design Partnership, a pioneering innovation partner for global brands and start-ups.
- Benefits: Enjoy flexible working, a discretionary bonus, and excellent learning opportunities.
- Other info: Be part of a collaborative culture with a unique employee ownership model.
- Why this job: Shape the future of innovation while making a tangible impact in diverse markets.
- Qualifications: Senior executive experience in strategy, growth, and commercial leadership required.
The predicted salary is between 100000 - 150000 ÂŁ per year.
The CSGO sits on the CDP Board. The role has three main priorities:
- Strategy – stewarding implementation across CDP and managing its ongoing evolution.
- Growth and Innovation - selecting, incubating and growing emerging markets.
- Marketing – ensuring CDP leverages marketing and market insight to strengthen its position.
To help accomplish their goals, the CSGO will have two direct reports - Head of Emerging Markets, and Head of Marketing and Strategy Transformation.
Success Measures (What “Good” Looks Like)
- Clear, differentiated company strategy understood across the organization.
- Tangible revenue and growth impact from new market/business ventures.
- Improved market positioning and credibility with target customers and key stakeholders.
- Strong alignment between client needs, delivery capability, and commercial outcomes.
Job Duties and Responsibilities
Corporate Strategy & Transformation
- Define, own, and evolve CDP’s company-level strategy, ensuring alignment with long-term growth ambitions and market realities.
- Identify and evaluate threats and opportunities posed by emerging technology and industry trends and instigate necessary changes to our strategic direction and/or product/service offer.
- Challenge internal assumptions and provoke our market teams to innovate and evolve offerings.
- Translate foresight into actionable strategic opportunities.
- Ensure CDP remains ahead of shifts in client demand, technology adoption, and competitive dynamics.
- Lead change initiatives, translating strategic intent into operational and organizational transformation.
- Partner with the CEO and Board to define priorities, investment focus, and capability evolution.
- Ensuring strategy is commercially grounded, executable, and measurable.
Sector Expansion & Opportunity Identification
- Identify and evaluate new sectors and markets aligned with CDP’s capabilities and growth ambitions.
- Lead strategic assessment of sector entry, including market attractiveness, capability fit, and commercial potential.
- Support investment and capability-building decisions linked to sector expansion.
- Direct the strategy and trajectory of growth selected emerging market segments and steward their ongoing development.
- Build and manage senior-level strategic partnerships with external organizations (e.g. AWS, Microsoft, and other technology or ecosystem partners) – to extend our service offering, accelerate market access, credibility, and delivery capability and to open up new markets and clients.
- Own the strategic direction, governance, and commercialization of CDP’s knowhow, and capabilities.
Marketing & Corporate Positioning
- Own the marketing function, ensuring it supports strategic positioning, growth priorities, and builds market credibility.
- Lead the adoption of marketing tools and methods to advance CDP’s positioning.
- Champion and facilitate their use to drive growth across our core and emerging market sectors.
- Ensure consistent, compelling articulation of CDP’s value proposition across all channels.
- Represent CDP externally at conferences, industry events, client forums, and executive-level meetings.
- Enable CDP teams to clearly articulate why CDP is uniquely positioned to solve client challenges, based on its knowledge, capabilities, and delivery excellence.
About You
Skills and Attributes
- Deep commercial acumen; understands how ideas become revenue.
- Credible thought leader with the ability to influence senior clients and industry audiences.
- Able to operate across vision, strategy, and execution.
- Comfortable leading ambiguity and driving organizational change.
- Strong communicator who can translate complex capability into compelling client narratives.
- Pragmatic, outcome-focused, and delivery-oriented.
Experience and Education
- Senior executive experience in strategy, growth, commercial leadership, or innovation roles.
- Proven track record of monetizing strategy new capabilities, and/or IP.
- Experience of operating at board or executive committee level.
- Strong background in client-facing, market-led organizations (e.g. consulting, design, technology, innovation, engineering).
- Experience forming and managing strategic partnerships with global technology or ecosystem players.
About Us
Cambridge Design Partnership (CDP) is an end-to-end innovation partner, propelling global brands and ambitious start-ups to success. We build breakthrough products and services – from insight to ideas, prototypes to production – bringing innovation to life. Our teams are multi-disciplinary, uniting scientific rigor, design ingenuity, and engineering excellence for consumer and healthcare clients. People-centred, deeply collaborative, and – above all – expert, we’re uniquely positioned to shape the future for consumers, patients, and industry. Even our ownership model is innovative: We’re 100% owned by our employees, ensuring an open culture and a total commitment to our projects’ success.
As part of our benefits package, we offer:
- flexible working
- a discretionary bonus
- excellent learning and development opportunities
- a 12% non-contributory pension
- private healthcare
- electric vehicle lease salary sacrifice scheme
- share incentive plan
- 33 days holiday inclusive of bank holidays
Chief Strategy & Growth Officer in Cambridge employer: Cambridge Design
Contact Detail:
Cambridge Design Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫
We think this is how you could land Chief Strategy & Growth Officer in Cambridge
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Get out there and connect with industry leaders, attend conferences, and engage in discussions. The more people you know, the better your chances of landing that Chief Strategy & Growth Officer role.
✨Tip Number 2
Showcase your expertise! Create a personal brand online by sharing insights on platforms like LinkedIn. Write articles or post updates about market trends and strategies to demonstrate your thought leadership.
✨Tip Number 3
Prepare for interviews by understanding CDP’s mission and values. Be ready to discuss how your experience aligns with their goals, especially around strategy and growth. Tailor your responses to show you’re the perfect fit!
✨Tip Number 4
Don’t forget to apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets noticed. Plus, it shows you’re genuinely interested in being part of the CDP team.
We think you need these skills to ace Chief Strategy & Growth Officer in Cambridge
Some tips for your application 🫡
Know Your Stuff: Before you start writing, make sure you really understand the role and what we’re all about at CDP. Dive into our mission, values, and recent projects. This will help you tailor your application to show how you fit right in with us.
Be Authentic: We want to hear your unique voice! Don’t just regurgitate your CV; share your story, your passion for strategy and growth, and why you’re excited about this opportunity. Let your personality shine through!
Showcase Your Impact: When detailing your experience, focus on tangible results. Highlight specific examples where you’ve driven growth or innovation. We love numbers and success stories that demonstrate your ability to make a difference.
Keep It Clear and Concise: While we appreciate detail, clarity is key. Make sure your application is well-structured and easy to read. Use bullet points where necessary and avoid jargon unless it’s relevant. We want to get to know you without wading through fluff!
How to prepare for a job interview at Cambridge Design
✨Know Your Strategy Inside Out
Before the interview, make sure you thoroughly understand CDP's current strategy and growth ambitions. Be prepared to discuss how your experience aligns with their goals and how you can contribute to evolving their strategy.
✨Showcase Your Commercial Acumen
Demonstrate your ability to turn ideas into revenue by sharing specific examples from your past roles. Highlight any successful initiatives you've led that resulted in tangible growth or market expansion.
✨Prepare for Change Management Questions
Given the emphasis on leading change initiatives, be ready to discuss your experience with organisational transformation. Share stories that illustrate your comfort with ambiguity and your ability to drive change effectively.
✨Articulate Your Value Proposition
Practice clearly articulating your unique value proposition as a candidate. Think about how your skills and experiences can solve client challenges and enhance CDP's market positioning, and be ready to communicate this confidently.