Strategy & Business Planning Advisor - EV Charging - Manchester - 3 Month Contract

Our client has an ambitious vision to become the UK's most respected and reputable electric vehicle charging network. To achieve this, they are seeking an experienced Strategy & Business Planning Advisor who can work alongside the CEO and Executive Leadership Team to capture the vision of the business, challenge and refine strategic thinking, and translate it into a clear, actionable strategy.

You will engage with key stakeholders across every business function to understand their objectives, align them behind a common vision, and develop a board-ready strategic plan that will shape future investment decisions, organisational design, budgeting and long-term business growth.

Our client is one of the UK's fastest-growing businesses within the electric vehicle charging and infrastructure sector, operating one of the country's largest and most rapidly expanding public charging networks. Following a period of exceptional growth, the business is entering a pivotal planning phase that will define its strategic priorities over the coming years. This is a highly visible engagement where you'll work directly with the CEO and Executive Leadership Team, helping align the organisation behind a clear vision while producing the strategic outputs that will underpin future growth.

This role requires someone who is equally comfortable operating in the boardroom as they are engaging with operational teams. You'll bring structure to ambiguity, challenge thinking where appropriate and ensure strategic ambitions are translated into practical, deliverable plans.

Reporting directly to the CEO, you will lead the organisation's strategic planning process, engaging with Executive Leaders and Functional Heads across the business to understand their priorities, opportunities, challenges and future ambitions. You'll be responsible for transforming these discussions into a cohesive corporate strategy, producing board-ready presentations, departmental strategic plans and organisational recommendations that will guide investment, budgeting and operational priorities.

This is an ideal opportunity for someone with a background in strategy consulting, business transformation or corporate planning who enjoys influencing senior stakeholders and delivering meaningful business change.

• Lead the end-to-end strategic planning process across the organisation.
• Conduct structured workshops and one-to-one interviews with Executive Leaders and Functional Heads.
• Capture, challenge and refine strategic priorities across every business function.
• Develop a board-ready corporate strategy and executive presentation.
• Produce concise strategic plans for each business function, ensuring alignment with the overall company vision.
• Build cross-functional capability and dependency maps across the organisation.
• Translate strategic objectives into practical operational initiatives and measurable outcomes.
• Coordinate executive planning sessions and maintain momentum across multiple workstreams.
• Produce high-quality PowerPoint presentations and executive reports for Board and Investor audiences.
• Develop strategic headcount and organisational recommendations based on future business objectives.
• Support annual budgeting and financial planning by aligning resource requirements with strategic priorities.
• Drive accountability across functional leaders, ensuring agreed actions and milestones are delivered.
• Challenge assumptions constructively while building consensus across the Executive Leadership Team.

• Board-ready corporate strategy presentation.
• Executive-approved strategic roadmap.
• Functional strategic plans across all business areas.
• Cross-functional capability and dependency mapping.
• Strategic headcount and organisational recommendations.
• Budget and resource planning recommendations aligned to business strategy.
• A clear roadmap supporting the company's next phase of growth.

You'll be an experienced strategy, business planning or transformation professional who enjoys solving complex business challenges and influencing senior decision-makers. You're comfortable working autonomously, can quickly understand how organisations operate, and excel at converting complex discussions into clear, commercially focused strategic outputs. You'll have exceptional communication skills, strong commercial awareness and the credibility to engage confidently with executive stakeholders while driving accountability across the wider business.

• Proven experience delivering corporate strategy, business planning, organisational transformation or strategic change programmes.
• Previous experience within Management Consulting, Corporate Strategy or Business Transformation.
• Experience working directly with CEOs, Executive Teams and Board-level stakeholders.
• Exceptional PowerPoint and presentation development skills, capable of producing board-quality outputs.
• Strong workshop facilitation and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Excellent commercial awareness with the ability to connect strategy, organisational design and financial planning.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Highly organised, self-sufficient and comfortable operating independently.
• Excellent communication and influencing skills.

• Experience working within high-growth businesses, SMEs or scale-ups.
• Exposure to EV infrastructure, energy, transport, technology or infrastructure sectors.
• Experience supporting mergers, acquisitions or business transformation programmes.
• Familiarity with infrastructure or asset-intensive business models.
• Previous experience preparing Board and Investor presentations.
• Experience developing organisational strategy linked to budgeting, headcount planning and long-term business growth.

This is a unique opportunity to work directly alongside the CEO and Executive Leadership Team during one of the most important stages of the company's growth. Your work will directly influence the strategic direction of the business, helping shape investment decisions, future organisational structure, budgeting and long-term growth. You'll leave a lasting impact by creating the strategic framework that will guide the organisation through its next phase of expansion.