Chief Executive Officer (CEO) - City Science Consulting

City Science; United Kingdom; Remote; GBP 80,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading sustainability consultancy in the UK is seeking a visionary Chief Executive Officer to lead its consultancy arm. The role requires exceptional leadership and business development skills, with a focus on decarbonisation and client relationship management. The ideal candidate will have an MBA and proven success in achieving sales and operational targets. This position includes flexible working arrangements and competitive compensation.

Benefits

Performance-related bonus

Flexible working arrangements

25 days annual leave plus bank holidays

Cycle to work scheme

Employee assistance program

Qualifications

• Demonstrable experience of P&L and pipeline ownership with at least £5m revenue.
• Exceptional communication and presentation skills.
• Strong understanding of urban planning and smart city technologies.

Responsibilities

• Lead and inspire a team of over 35 consultants.
• Ensure operational excellence and risk management.
• Drive business growth through strategic planning and client positioning.

Skills

Leadership

Business Development

Decarbonisation

Client Relationship Management

Strategic Planning

Problem-solving

Education

Master of Business Administration (MBA)

Degree in a technical or scientific field

Job description

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) - City Science Consulting

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Location: Remote with flexible working arrangements, all UK based locations considered. Our flexible office collaboration spaces, for those wishing to use them, are in Birmingham, London and Exeter

Term/Hours: Permanent. 32-40 hours per week, with flexibility over working pattern - please state in your application.

Salary: Competitve with Peformance Related Bonus

CLOSING DATE FOR APPLICATIONS - FRIDAY 15TH AUGUST 2025 AT 09:00

CVS FROM RECRUITERS (INCLUDING THOSE ON OUR PSL) WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED - DIRECT APPLICATION ONLY

We are excited to announce an exceptional opportunity for a talented individual to join our team as the CEO of City Science Consulting. In this key leadership role, you will be the driving force in the future growth, thought-leadership, customer satisfaction and overall success of our consultancy business.

As the CEO of City Science Consulting, you will lead and inspire a team of over 35 engineering and environmental consultants with specialisms in Energy and Environment, Transport, Retrofit and Carbon Accounting, guiding them to deliver exceptional services that exceed client expectations. Your strategic direction, operational expertise and growth mindset will be crucial in developing and implementing initiatives to expand our consultancy offerings, enhance our market presence and deliver high quality, profitable work.

About Us

City Science is an industry-leading sustainability, engineering, research and planning consultancy, committed to supporting regions and organisations to reach Net Zero. We partner with local authorities, developers, and organisations to deliver sustainable change.

Position Overview

We are seeking a visionary Chief Executive Officer to lead City Science Consulting through its next phase of growth. The ideal candidate will combine strong business acumen and demonstrable people management skills with a passion for sustainability and engineering, and a deep understanding of the intersection between technology, data science, and regional planning.

Role Responsibilities:

Leadership

• Provide strategic leadership by setting and delivering the company's vision, growth ambitions and key targets
• Oversee business operations and ensure operational excellence across all departments
• Cultivate a positive company culture that fosters innovation, collaboration, and excellence
• Ensure staff are bought into the mission and ensure that roles, objectives/targets, progress and personal development plans are clearly defined and communicated through the organisation
• Mentor and support second-tier management to optimise the performance and skills development of staff across the consultancy business
• Overall, you will lead a talented interdisciplinary am, conducting work on high-profile client projects. The ability to provide clear strategic leadership and support in areas such as project management, resource planning, contractual matters, business development, technical delivery and stakeholder management will be essential.
• Risk Management – taking responsibility for identifying, assessing, and mitigating business risks
  
  
  

Thought-Leadership and Quality Assurance

• Ensuring City Science remains at the forefront of technical and policy developments within Net Zero, providing clear thought leadership and motivating and supporting the team to do the same
• Managing and providing quality assurance, technical oversight, advisory and analysis as required as Project Director across a range of decarbonisation projects
  
  
  

Business Growth and Profitability

• Take ownership and responsibility for the overall consultancy pipeline and P&L being accountable to the board
• Strategically plan consultancy business development and client positioning activities, leading the team to ensure a consistent and healthy pipeline of work
• Drive business growth through a systematic approach providing clarity, accountability, transparent progress monitoring and remedial action
• Leading delivery of specific business development activities, including direct client outreach and developing successful tenders and proposals
• Build and maintain relationships with key clients, partners, and stakeholders ensuring successful customer engagements
• Be a key representative of the company externally
• Monitoring industry trends, undertaking competitor analysis and strengthening our market intelligence
  
  
  

Project Delivery

• Take overall responsibility for successful project delivery across the portfolio of consultancy projects ensuring:
• Clear monitoring against milestones, budget and quality
• Clarity and forward planning around resourcing needs
• Quality control across all projects
• Ensure the highest-levels of customer satisfaction
• Initiate remedial action as required to keep projects on track to deliver high quality, profitable projects delivered to agreed timescales
• Provide clear, expertly-considered frameworks to drive profitability and enhanced project processes to increase delivery efficiency
• Provide leadership as Project Director on selected high-profile projects that sit within your areas of technical expertise
  
  
  

What We Need

You will lead from the front. You will be strategic, but you need to be able to demonstrate delivery – not just strategy.

You will provide clarity and consistency, demonstrating systematic, logical and methodical decision-making processes supporting the team to work within structured frameworks.

You will successfully manage upward, bringing the board with you on all decisions.

We are looking for an exemplary candidate to lead this unique business. The ideal candidate will meet the following requirements:

• A Master of Business Administration (MBA) qualification, or equivalent, demonstrating Director-level knowledge of commercial matters (contracts, legal, compliance, budgeting, planning and profitability)
• Demonstrable direct delivery of business development / sales success (demonstration of personal ability to secure at least £2m of revenue annually)
• Demonstrable experience of P&L and pipeline ownership (at least £5m revenue and profitable project delivery)
• Demonstrable experience in leading award-winning / high-profile consultancy projects
• Growth mindset
• Strong background in decarbonisation (e.g. Energy, Sustainable Transport, Net Zero Finance)
• Strong understanding of urban planning, smart city technologies, or related fields
• Excellent leadership and team management skills. Demonstration of a structured and logical approach.
• Experience monitoring and driving success, including leading and developing staff within a high-performance environment
• Experience in budget management and financial planning
• Demonstratable ability of developing and maintaining client relationships
• Exceptional analytical and problem-solving skills
• Exceptional communication and presentation skills (including exceptional written and grammatical skills)
• Experience reporting to a board of directors or equivalent
• Degree educated in a technical or scientific field
• Experience with software development teams and projects desirable
  
  
  

Further Information

We are building a team who are motivated by collaboration with the desire to solve problems for our customers. We want people to own their field of responsibility, take decisions, be pro-active and have pride in everything they do. Our team of experts includes prize-winning consultants, experienced technologists and distinguished academics.

Rewards & Benefits

• Opportunity to oversee considerable business growth
• Performance-related bonus
• Flexible and remote working arrangements
• 25 days annual leave entitlement, plus bank holidays
• Buy/Sell annual leave policy
• Membership of our group pension scheme
• Enhanced maternity and paternity policy
• Eye care policy
• Cycle to work scheme
• Employee assistance program
• Opportunity to work on a diverse range of projects across the consultancy business
• Ongoing mentoring, training and support from board members from across the wider business

Seniority level

• Seniority level

  Not Applicable

Employment type

• Employment type

  Full-time

Job function

• Job function

  Consulting

• Industries

  Business Consulting and Services

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