Head of Strategy

[axr] Recruitment & Search; Sydney; On-site; AUD 180,000 - 280,000; Full time

Job summary

[axr] Recruitment & Search is seeking a Head of Strategy for a mid-market M&A advisory firm in Sydney CBD. The role blends hands-on client strategy with an AI/marketing mandate and offers a strong package.

You will sit in the leadership group from day one, leading diagnostic work with business owners who are selling, growing, or turning around underperforming units, and presenting recommendations to owners.

Qualifications

• Experience in strategy consulting or advisory is essential.
• Strong numeracy and client-facing presentation skills.
• AI awareness and marketing experience is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Lead or co-lead strategic diagnostic engagements with SMB owner clients, presenting findings to them and to executives.
• Direct the firm's digital marketing function as a defined project, overseeing content and demand generation.
• Join the AI/Tech Development team to rollout AI-enabled workflows across content, data analysis, and reporting.
• Set CRM and email marketing direction to ensure leads and ROI are visible.

Job description

Head of Strategy — a mid-market M&A advisory firm, Sydney CBD. Blend client strategy delivery with an AI/marketing mandate. Strong package.

• Unique internal and external strategy role
• Seat at the table with the Execs
• Broad role in a SMB sell side M&A business

This isn't a strategy role that ends at the slide deck. It's hands-on work with business owners who are actually selling, growing, or fixing what isn't working — plus a real mandate to rebuild how a long-established advisory firm markets itself and puts AI to work.

This is a genuinely blended role at a well-established small to mid-market M&A advisory firm with more than four decades of credibility behind it. Half your time sits with business owner clients and partners — leading strategic diagnostic work, exit and growth planning, and presenting recommendations directly to the people who own the business. The other half is yours to direct: running the firm's marketing function as a defined project and contributing to its AI and productivity agenda, with scope expected to evolve from year two. You'll report to the CEO and sit in the leadership group from day one, shaping decisions well beyond your own patch.

What the role looks like

• Sit in the firm's leadership group from day one, translating its five-year strategy into measurable plans across client work and whatever special projects come next
• Lead or co-lead strategic diagnostic engagements with small business owner clients — market position, value drivers, exit readiness — presenting findings directly to them, not just to partners
• Direct the firm's digital marketing function as a defined project — content calendar, eBook, video and podcast output, demand generation and reporting — engaging freelancers and agencies to deliver execution
• Join the firm's AI/Tech Development team, helping roll out practical AI-enabled workflows across content, research, data analysis, and reporting
• Set the direction for the CRM database and email marketing, so leads, conversion and ROI are always visible, not just reported on request

What you'll need

• A background cut from top- or mid-tier strategy consulting, or a comparable advisory environment — comfortable presenting recommendations directly to senior stakeholders
• Highly numerate, ideally with real experience running a P&L in the private SMB sector — not just advising on someone else's
• A self-starter with real energy and courage — someone who'll troubleshoot and make a call rather than sit on the fence
• Strong project management capability — able to run client engagements and a shifting portfolio of internal projects at once
• Genuinely AI-savvy and comfortable working inside a CRM database — keen to help roll out how the firm uses both
• Sharp writing, analytical and presentation skills; solid B2B marketing experience is a nice-to-have

What makes this worth your time

• A genuine leadership-group seat from day one — real visibility and influence, no politics
• Two distinct mandates in one role — client-facing strategy and a hands-on marketing/AI agenda — built for someone who wants variety, not a lane
• Highly competitive package (base + upside), with real upside once you've proven yourself
• A firm with four decades of credibility and organic growth ahead of it
• Immediate start available for the right person

This one will move fast — the firm's leadership team is actively meeting people, and they've been clear that the right person gets snapped up.