Director Innovation Consulting - FMCG in London

Location: Remote-first | UK-based (with transatlantic team across London & New York)

Level: Director (strong ADs ready to step up very welcome)

You’re good at what you do. Really good. But you’re ready for more.

Maybe you’re leading projects but not quite owning the client relationship. Maybe you’re writing proposals but not yet winning them. Maybe you’re the person in the room who shapes the thinking — but someone else puts their name on it.

If that sounds familiar, read on.

Why This Role Is Different

This isn’t a traditional consultancy. There are no layers, no account managers, no juniors to pass work down to. It’s a team of around 12 Directors — all specialists, all senior — working remote-first across London and New York. This role is UK-based, working as part of the London team within a transatlantic business.

Everyone leads. Everyone owns. Everyone delivers.

That means more responsibility, more variety and more visibility than most roles at this level can offer. It also means this is the kind of place where a strong Associate Director can make a genuine step up — and be supported to do it.

About the Client

A multi-award-winning innovation consultancy working with some of the world’s most recognised brands across FMCG, tech and manufacturing. End-to-end innovation is their craft: from consumer insight and qual research through to concept development, workshops and product strategy.

The Day-to-Day

• Leading end-to-end innovation projects — from brief to delivery
• Moderating qualitative research: focus groups, in-home interviews, ethnography, concept and product clinics
• Designing and facilitating workshops and sprints with clients and consumers
• Developing concepts, writing product briefs and working with R&D teams
• Using AI tools to sharpen analysis, accelerate synthesis and elevate output
• Building and growing client relationships — and winning new ones

Who You Are

You’re a strategist first and foremost — someone who shapes thinking, drives commercial outcomes and knows how to turn insight into action. But what sets you apart is that you pair that strategic firepower with genuine expertise in qualitative research. You don’t just commission the work — you get in the room, moderate it yourself and know how to draw out what really matters.

You’ve spent time at a consultancy, insight agency or innovation house — and you’ve built real depth in qualitative research and workshop facilitation alongside your strategic chops.

A background in FMCG innovation is essential — you’ll have been classically trained in consumer goods, with a strong grounding in how insight drives product and brand innovation in that world. Experience beyond FMCG is a bonus, but this foundation is non-negotiable.

You know how to run a focus group, lead a sprint and write a concept that actually lands. You’re commercially aware and starting to think about how you grow and win clients, not just serve them.

You’re also practically fluent in AI — not just aware of it, but actively using it to do better, faster work.

You might be a strong Associate Director who’s ready to take the next step. Or a Director looking for a role with real ownership and a team that matches your ambition.

Sound Like You?

Apply here!

Remote-first | UK-based | FMCG, Tech & Manufacturing