The business We’re building a business fit for the AI era. Over the last eight years, we’ve grown a respected, impactful, consulting practice - providing sector expert, street smart, and hands-on support to clients in and around the public sector. Our differentiation has enabled us to build unusually strong, trusting and recurrent relationships with clients across central Government, the education, and health and social care markets. Over the last 18 months, we’ve been reflecting on what our clients and markets will need from us over the next ten years – as they grapple with an increasingly complex, changing world, including not least coming wave of AI disruption and opportunity. So, this autumn we’ll be rebranding our business – and confirming some exciting evolutions to our propositions and model. We’re building a very different kind of professional services business; one that is more global, more connected, more digital, and more sophisticated than the term ‘consulting’ conveys. One thing that won’t be changing is our expectations of our people. We want the best. We want people with huge ambition for themselves, and their clients – and an appetite for work to match. Ambition without work is dreaming; we’re not dreaming – we’re building something. We want people who are intensely clever – and street-smart, such that they can get business done in complex, real world, client environments. And we want people with imagination and heart. Navigating the foggy road ahead will require both – as will our enjoyment of the journey. To support our growth we’re looking for a practice manager who’ll sit at the heart of the business, leading an efficient combination of support services which enable our consultants to focus relentlessly on our markets and clients. Role specification The post holder will be accountable for successful delivery and incremental transformation of all the firm’s support services - working direct to the firm’s senior management team. Under that flexible banner the role includes e.g. Accountability for management of our governance processes – such that senior leaders are able to take decisions based on robust, current, data; and, that we have open, challenging and supportive, conversations about how we can improve and grow. Accountability for staff engagement and development, including curation of team events and shared learning experiences; identification of learning resources and activities relevant to our markets and propositions; and facilitation of individual learning investment. Accountability for the timely, compliant, application of our people policies and processes, including with respect to recruitment and selection; performance management and promotions; and business as usual operational people processes. Accountability for the firm’s tech stack – including continuous exploration and implementation of improvements that will enhance our consultants’ and clients’ experience. This includes management of our third-party tech support partner relationship. Collaboration with our AI specialist technical development team to identify, test and apply AI and other data and tech practices to our operations – and to support our consulting work. This is substantively a staff engagement and development piece for this role. An evolving slate of projects and improvement actions to optimise our performance, drive growth and support our diversification into new markets and capabilities. This will likely include close collaboration with our founder and finance director on diversification. Accountability for a diverse variety of compliance requirements including e.g. insurance cover, GDPR, and compliance with other public sector client / framework expectations. Leadership of a small team, which we should expect to grow with the firm. Person specification High levels of ambition, energy and resilience, consistent with the firm’s plans for future diversification and growth – and the implications of that trajectory for the role. Experience and enjoyment working in an acutely entrepreneurial, commercial and creative organisational context to drive performance and growth. Experience working directly with / to senior leaders in a dynamic, fast-faced, commercial environment to translate strategic direction into operational action. Experience delivering against substantial, diverse, accountability for support service process, policy and performance – spanning e.g. finance, people, tech support. Domain expertise in either finance, people and / or tech support such that you are confident leading the development of policy, process and implementation in these areas. Strong communication and people management skills – both as a direct manager of colleagues, and working across dynamic, matrix, structures. High levels of precision and presentational pride with respect to work product of all kinds. We presume that how you do one thing is how you do everything. Working location Four days / week based in the firm’s Farringdon office, and one working from home. Package Basic salary £55-£70k depending on expertise of successful candidate Up to 20% bonus based on firm and individual performance. 27 days’ annual leave, rising to 30 within five years. Private medical and dental insurance. 4% pension contributions.