Address The role
We are looking to hire a Director of Consultancy to join our Mindset team in London.
Working at WGSN
Together, we create tomorrow
A career with WGSN is fast-paced, exciting and full of opportunities to grow and develop. We're a team of consumer and design trend forecasters, content creators, designers, data analysts, advisory consultants and much more, united by a common goal: to create tomorrow.
WGSN's trusted consumer and design forecasts power outstanding product design, enabling our customers to create a better future. Our services cover consumer insights, beauty, consumer tech, fashion, interiors, lifestyle, food and drink forecasting, data analytics and expert advisory. If you are an expert in your field, we want to hear from you.
Role overview
The foundation of WGSN is our passionate experts. WGSN seeks talent globally to work within a business that offers a unique blend of specialist problem solvers, data analysts and innovative thinkers who put trends and data together to provide the answers to create tomorrow.
You will be highly commercial, an excellent strategist and creative thought leader with an extensive knowledge of global insight, and the experience to assimilate client needs and challenges into world class consulting.
You will lead, manage and inspire, contributing to the development of the Mindset vision and revenue growth.
You will develop the Mindset business, growing senior client relationships, and overseeing the team(s) to deliver multiple, complex, projects that exceed client expectations.
You will be an excellent communicator who delivers strategic leadership both to the teams you work with at WGSN and to clients. We are looking for someone highly collaborative & commercial.
Key accountabilities
- Own & direct the largest and most senior client relationships, constantly identifying potential revenue growth opportunities for the Mindset business.
- Maintain a close working relationship with the commercial teams to support client needs and future growth opportunities
- Deliver on the financial KPI's and other metrics for your team(s) as set out in annual plans.
- Responsible for implementing the Consultancy strategy for your team(s) and designated parts of the business. Working closely with Snr Directors & VP.
- Deliver ad-hoc business projects that deliver go faster strategies for growth
- Ensure operational excellence and accuracy of reporting of KPIs for team(s).
- Oversee & lead qualitative & quantitative primary and secondary research across a variety of methodologies, and deliver analysis that provides actionable recommendations that will benefit our clients’ future business.
- Identify new methodologies and frameworks that will ensure best in class consulting.
- Accountable for the relevancy and quality of analysis delivered to clients, providing thought leadership to clients & evaluating feedback with the Snr Directors to maintain and improve standards across regions.
- Responsible for signing off teams’ deliveries, ensuring standards of research, analysis and strategy are met and consistent across regions.
- Line management with responsibility for team(s). Responsible for oversight of team’s performance, 1-1s and personal career development plans.
- Responsible for short and long term development needs of team(s), identifying new skills requirements and progression opportunities. Ongoing pipelining and building of a talent network.
- Accountability for leading the recruitment for the department for both freelancers and permanent roles.
- Lead and advocate for diversity and inclusion and demonstrate these values internally and externally.
- Contribute to marketing activity focusing on the promotion of Mindset expertise and capabilities
- Behave as a department & Company Ambassador both internally and externally
This list is not exhaustive and there may be other activities you are required to deliver.
Skills, experience & qualifications required
- Extensive career experience within consulting, strategy, consumer insight, design, data analysis or content creation, familiar with the workings of agency and consulting models.
- Experience implementing strategy for a team/business division, and translating that direction into an actionable plan.
- Understanding of the business and operational models that underpin commercial success for consultancy.
- Familiar with working across cultures and regions. Travel nationally and internationally to deliver high value consulting projects to clients, and work across time zones with a diverse set of clients.
- Proven experience of working in foresight, and confident in translating macro and consumer trends into thought-provoking insight across speculative futures, design strategy, innovation or UI/UX research areas.
- Keen understanding of colour theory and practice, with experience in leading CMF (colour, material, finish) projects for clients across automotive, consumer tech, interiors or lifestyle.
- A keen interest in sustainable futures and circular practices globally.
- A high level of understanding of the role data and analytics plays in commercial success, with an ability to direct data analysis and pinpoint trends that will impact the market.
- Understanding of the global market from macro to micro trends across retail, consumer electronics, food & drink, automotive, interiors and hospitality, and the ability to assimilate client challenges/needs into commercial opportunities.
- A critical thinker and highly skilled verbal and written communicator.
- Ability to lead teams, prioritise workload, manage and support other members of the team. High level of proficiency in leading projects and initiatives across multiple teams and time zones
- Excellent organisation, communication and collaboration skills with the ability to lead and work within an international team to ensure strategy & outputs are of a consistently high standard.
- Ability to build strong working relationships with key stakeholders in the business from Sales, Client Services and Marketing
- Excellent presentation skills with proven experience of presenting to C-Suite level, internal stakeholders, external clients and events
- Technical skills: Microsoft Office, Google Workspace, Adobe Creative Suite, Slack, Social Media platforms. Knowledge of Tableau and Miro are strong positives.
What we offer
Our benefits and wellbeing package offers flexible benefits you can tailor to your own personal needs, including:
- 25 days of holiday per year - with an option to buy/ sell up to 5 days
- Pension, Life Assurance and Income Protection
- Flexible benefits platform with options including Private Medical, Dental Insurance & Critical Illness
- Employee assistance programme, season ticket loans and cycle to work scheme
- Volunteering opportunities and charitable giving options
- Great learning and development opportunities
More about WGSN
WGSN is the global authority on consumer trend forecasting.
We help brands around the world create the right products at the right time for tomorrow’s consumer.
Our values
We Are Everywhere
The future is everything, it happens everywhere. WGSN is the world-leading forecaster because we track and analyse consumer behaviours, product innovation, design and creativity, everywhere.
We Are Future Focused
We utilise our global resources and intelligence to research, source and analyse quantitative and qualitative data to produce our forecasts. Everything we do is focused on working with our customers to create a successful and positive tomorrow.
We Are Rigorous
We source, review and assess quantitative and qualitative data to produce robust, actionable forecasts. To provide credible insights and design solutions for our clients, it is essential that rigour runs through everything we do.
Our culture
An inclusive culture is one of our key priorities. We want our people to truly be themselves and thrive. We love having a diverse team of people who bring new ideas, different strengths and perspectives & reflect the global audience we work with.
Inclusive workforce
We are committed to supporting the environment and sustainability, including ensuring our pension plan defaults to sustainable options and striving to be net zero by 2030.
Recognising great performance is a key part of our culture. Our Awards schemes recognise and reward the brilliant achievements of our people.
We have a truly flexible working environment with a wide range of flexible, hybrid and agile-working arrangements. Conversations about flexible working have always been - and will continue to be - actively encouraged here.
We want to ensure everyone has the opportunity to perform their best when interviewing, so if you require any reasonable adjustments that would make you more comfortable during the process, please let us know so that we can do our best to support you.
