Associate Director- Consumer & Retail (Deal Strategy)

Warner Scott Recruitment; England; On-site; GBP 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading professional services firm in the United Kingdom is seeking an Associate Director to join its rapidly expanding Consumer & Retail Strategy team. In this senior role, you will lead multiple projects, manage teams, and support Directors with business development. The ideal candidate has strong experience in Commercial Due Diligence and a focus on the Consumer or Retail sectors. This position offers the opportunity to shape the team's strategy and mentor junior talent.

Qualifications

• Strong experience delivering Commercial Due Diligence and growth strategy projects.
• Clear focus on Consumer, Retail, FMCG, or Leisure sectors.
• Proven team leadership and stakeholder management skills.
• Exposure to business development and client relationship support.

Responsibilities

• Lead multiple Consumer & Retail CDD and strategy workstreams end-to-end.
• Manage teams and ensure high-quality, insight-led outputs.
• Support Directors and Partners with business development.
• Build trusted relationships with clients, investors and internal stakeholders.
• Contribute to methodology development, innovation and thought leadership.
• Support recruitment, training, mentoring and performance management.
• Take responsibility for risk, compliance and ethical delivery.

Skills

Commercial Due Diligence

Team Leadership

Stakeholder Management

Business Development

Job description

Associate Director - Consumer & Retail (Deal Strategy)

A leading professional services firm is expanding its Consumer & Retail Strategy and Commercial Due Diligence team and is seeking an Associate Director to play a senior role in delivery and team leadership.

The team

The Consumer & Retail team sits within a wider Deals and Strategy platform and advises private equity, corporates and founders across retail, consumer goods, leisure and digitally enabled consumer businesses. The group works closely with M&A, Transaction Services and Value Creation colleagues, delivering integrated support across the deal lifecycle. The practice is growing rapidly, with strong partner sponsorship and a clear ambition to build a market‑leading Consumer & Retail franchise.

The role

As Associate Director, you will lead CDD and growth strategy engagements, acting as a senior day‑to‑day client contact while supporting Directors and Partners on origination, practice development and team growth. You will help shape the Consumer & Retail proposition, contribute to thought leadership, and play a key role in developing junior talent.

Key responsibilities

• Lead multiple Consumer & Retail CDD and strategy workstreams end-to-end
• Manage teams and ensure high-quality, insight‑led outputs
• Support Directors and Partners with business development and market scanning
• Build trusted relationships with clients, investors and internal stakeholders
• Contribute to methodology development, innovation and thought leadership
• Support recruitment, training, mentoring and performance management
• Take responsibility for risk, compliance and ethical delivery

Candidate profile

• Strong experience delivering Commercial Due Diligence and growth strategy projects
• Clear Consumer, Retail, FMCG or Leisure sector focus
• Proven team leadership and stakeholder management skills
• Exposure to business development and client relationship support