Managing Consultant (Transformation & Delivery team)

About us:

31ten is an agile, independent consultancy and certified B Corp. Trusted by our clients and partners, we’ve been named as one of the UK’s Leading Management Consultancies by the Financial Times every year since 2020.

We work in partnership with the public sector to make places better for the people that live, work, and learn in them.

Integrity, inclusivity, social and environmental awareness are at the heart of what we do, and we collaborate with our clients to deliver sustainable change, meaningful impact, and better outcomes.

Work-life balance is important to us – we recognise that everyone has interests and commitments outside of their work and so we strongly advocate for working in the way that’s best for you. Whether that’s part-time, condensed hours, from home or the London office, flexible working arrangements are actively supported.

31ten works across Local & Central Government, Housing & Development, Education, Health & Social Care and Blue Light Services.

Our services in these sectors typically take the shape of:

• Customer, Digital & Technology;

• Strategy & Transformation;

• People & Change;

• Placemaking & Regeneration;

• Finance & Assets;

• Procurement & Partnerships; and

• Business Cases.

About the role:

Managing Consultants at 31ten are central to successful project delivery. Their work goes beyond delivering high quality advice and outputs - they are responsible for managing delivery teams, quality and commercials, whilst being the face of the project and engaging positively with our clients.

Our Transformation & Delivery practice currently spans the following key areas of work:

• Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) : Supporting councils through the most complex phases of LGR, including option development, service and financial disaggregation, business case production, programme mobilisation, shadow authority preparation and early implementation planning.

• Financial Sustainability: Supporting organisations facing acute financial pressure to stabilise their position, identify credible savings and income opportunities, and put in place sustainable operating and governance arrangements beyond short-term fixes.

• Social Care, SEND and Housing : Leading transformation of critical statutory services, including adults and children’s social care, SEND and housing, through commissioning and market management, service redesign, demand management, and system working with NHS and other partners.

• People-Led Change: Supporting organisations to deliver workforce and cultural change as part of wider transformation programmes, including post-LGR integration, financial recovery, service redesign and technology-enabled change, with a focus on leadership, capacity, ways of working and productivity.

• Digital, Data & Technology : Supporting councils to deliver technology-enabled transformation, including data and insight, AI-enabled service improvement, ERP and core system change, cloud migration, and management of complex technology programmes.

• Operating Models: Redesign of organisations to align with levers of change, including place-based approaches, redesigning how residents access services, and exploring new delivery models, including redesign following LGR or major service reform.

The points above reflect our broad-ranging mission, so we don’t expect relevant experience in them all. In fact, our preferred recruits tend to have a focused CV with strong evidence of experience in some but not all areas.

In this role, we’d expect you to…

• Take responsibility for clarifying scope, planning and delivery of projects, meeting deadlines and flagging risks, tasking and managing the project team

• Have good commercial acumen in a consulting context and strong management of project hygiene factors, including awareness of the impact on the project and wider business performance

• Have a growing client network, develop strong relationships with clients through project work, and effectively influence opposite numbers at a project level

• Be able to design and complete a range of data analysis and convey key insights with a clear understanding of client context, relative strengths, risks and sensitivities

• Be a clear and effective communicator, with the ability to tailor style to the audience and client context

• Be a confident report writer - happy holding the pen – and confidently present your own work / findings externally and facilitate regular client engagement

• Have a strong understanding of the sector and market, and take a proactive approach to further development

• Be able to plan and manage end-to-end proposal and tender response process, preparing well-drafted responses to bid questions for senior review and directing others as required

About you:

A great ‘31tenner’ is a self-starter with drive and ambition. We are looking for people who can build excellent client relationships and work collaboratively within a team environment. But above all else, you must be passionate about social impact and working with the public sector.

We hire the person first, experience second, shaping the role around the individual. We recognise that every candidate's experiences and background will be different. We value a broad, diverse range of perspectives.

We’re keen to hear from values-driven candidates with:

• Previous experience in a consultancy, with a proven track record of managing multiple projects in tandem

• Experience working either for or with local government, directly in a local authority or in a consulting role for local authority clients

• A growth mindset, regularly seeking feedback and continuous self-improvement

• Initiative and ownership, self-managing your time, flagging your availability and clearly communicating updates with project teams

• The ability to engage successfully with clients, client teams and key stakeholders and to work in a relational manner/style

• A demonstrable commitment to improving public sector and local government services

• The ability to deal with ambiguity and to navigate complex or unclear issues

• The ability to think analytically, systematically, and logically, breaking down complex information to enable us and our clients to better understand them

• Be comfortable receiving and delivering clear, constructive feedback (or prepared to embrace the uncomfortable!)

• An active contribution to the development of our company culture, role-modelling our values and engaging with internal initiatives and knowledge-sharing

Benefits:

• 25 days annual leave + bank holidays

• Flexi bank holidays - the option to substitute religious holidays for a date that is meaningful to you

• The option to purchase up to 5 additional annual leave days (per year)

• Private healthcare package with BUPA and the ability to add family members

• Matched pension up to 6% of gross salary

• Enhanced maternity and shared parental leave

• Annual performance-based bonus (discretionary)

• Work-life balance – we recognise that everyone has interests and commitments outside of their work and so we strongly advocate for working in the way that’s best for you. Whether that’s part-time, condensed hours, from home or the office, flexible working arrangements are actively supported

• A friendly and supportive working environment with regular opportunities for collaboration, team socials and modern offices with excellent facilities for staff in a central location

• Annual team away day and Christmas party

• Opportunities to get involved in our social value programme of volunteering and pro-bono support to causes that align with our mission

• Continuous opportunities for career development and training, including support to pursue professional qualifications (that align to our work)

• Unlimited access to our online learning platform, You Can Now

• Salary sacrifice cycle-to-work, tech at home and electric vehicle scheme

• Access to our Payroll Giving scheme, enabling tax‑efficient donations to charities of your choice

Our interview process:

1st stage - Initial phone call with our People Lead

2nd stage - Technical interview - Includes an Excel test and case study / presentation task (2hrs, virtual via Teams) with two members of the hiring team

3rd stage - Values & behaviours interview - Final meeting with two members of our Senior Leadership Team (1hr, in-person)