Operations and Improvement Consultant - Process Optimisation in Financial Services

PA Consulting; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 65,000 - 95,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health and lifestyle perks

25 days annual leave + bonus day

Generous pension scheme

Community and charity initiatives

Annual performance bonus

PA share ownership

Tax efficient benefits

Job summary

PA Consulting seeks Operations and Improvement consultants to help clients improve efficiency and capability. The role combines hands-on delivery with workshop facilitation, focusing on financial services and banking client portfolios.

Hybrid working with time split between London Victoria office and client sites, and opportunities to lead multi-disciplinary teams across engagements. Competitive progression and extensive benefits are offered.

Qualifications

• We are seeking experience delivering operational improvement across front, middle and back office service areas.
• Proven leadership of assignment workstreams, assignments and teams.
• Experience in the Financial Services sector and realising business benefits.
• Ability to deploy digital technologies, cost improvement, and change management.
• Leadership across large, diverse project teams with senior stakeholder influence.
• Lean Green or Black Belt certified desirable; Principal grade requires line management experience.

Responsibilities

• Facilitating workshops, providing evidence-based insights, and guiding client discussions.
• Hands-on involvement with clients to solve operational and supply chain challenges.
• Partnering with clients to deliver sustainable value and benefits.

Skills

Lean Six Sigma

Operational improvement

Process optimisation

Service design

Change management

Training delivery

Stakeholder influence

Leadership

Job description

Company Description

We believe in the power of ingenuity to build a positive human future.

Company Description

We believe in the power of ingenuity to build a positive human future.

As strategies, technologies, and innovation collide, we create opportunity from complexity.

Our teams of interdisciplinary experts combine innovative thinking and breakthrough technologies to progress further, faster. Our clients adapt and transform, and together we achieve enduring results.

We are over 4,000 strategists, innovators, designers, consultants, digital experts, scientists, engineers, and technologists. And we have deep expertise in consumer and manufacturing, defence and security, energy and utilities, financial services, government and public services, health and life sciences, and transport.

Our teams operate globally from offices across the UK, Ireland, US, Nordics, and Netherlands.

PA. Bringing Ingenuity to Life.

Job Description

• Hybrid working - our approach is to be in the office or on client site a minimum of 2 days per week. However, the actual time you spend and where you spend it will vary by role or assignment, including up to 5 days per week on a client site.
• This role is based at our London Victoria office

Are you keen to work to build improvement capability and operations excellence?

If so, this Operations and Improvement consultancy role could be for you!

We are actively looking to recruit people at theConsultant, Senior Consultant and Principal Consultantlevel.

In the UK we work across all industries and sectors. This role will primarily be focussed on our Financial Services Sector, specifically our Banking and Wealth and Asset Management Portfolio of clients.

Our primary areas of focus are:

• Operational effectiveness and efficiency through Lean and Six Sigma techniques
• Process optimisation
• Service design
• Change and implementation management
• Training development and delivery

Qualifications

We are seeking a talented individual with Financial Services cost optimisation and operational improvement experience.

We are looking for candidates with skills and experience in the following areas:

• Core experience of delivering operational improvement across front, middle and back office service areas
• Proven experience of leading assignment workstreams, assignments and teams
• Core experience of working and delivering similar projects ideally within the Financial Services sector
• A track record of realising business benefits and outcomes
• Experience deploying advanced techniques such as digital technologies, cost improvement, and change management
• The ability to demonstrate leadership skills in large and diverse project teams
• Confidence to work across multiple levels of an organisation, with the ability to influence senior stakeholders and navigate challenging discussions
• An aptitude for delivering creative as well as innovative solutions

The ideal candidate will also have:

• An interest in developing new business (this activity can take several different forms depending on relative experience and rank)
• It is expected that applicants will be able to work independently, developing excellent relationships with stakeholders internally and externally, and delivering the highest customer service and business standards
• Excellent interpersonal and team working skills; a natural integrator, comfortable navigating across system finance, service design, governance, capacity and workforce modelling and operational excellence
• A drive for personal and professional progression
• Prior consulting experience with a large consultancy firm or internal consultancy function would be highly desirable
• Lean Green or Black Belt certified desirable
• At Principal grade, line management and prior consulting experience required

Facilitating workshops, providing compelling, evidence-based insights and helping to manage complex and senior stakeholders. We pride ourselves on partnering with clients, providing a service that delivers real and long-lasting value.

Our Operations and Improvement consultants are expected to be hands‑on, working together with our clients to bring energy, direction and expertise in helping to solve the most difficult operational and supply chain challenges.

In addition to the formal benefits set out below, we are passionate about the personal and career development of our consultants. Our team is committed to providing the opportunities, support, training and coaching required at all levels to ensure our consultants can all achieve their potential.

We know the skill‑gap and ‘somewhat need to tick every box’ can get in the way of meeting brilliant candidates, so please don’t hesitate to apply – we’d love to hear from you.

Additional Information

Life At PA encompasses our peoples' experience at PA. It's about how we enrich peoples’ working lives by giving them access to unique people and growth opportunities and purpose led meaningful work.

Our purpose guides how we work with our clients and our teams, and support our communities, to deliver insight and impact, solving the world’s most complex challenges. We're focused on building a workplace that values human difference and diverse mindsets, and a culture of inclusion and equality that unlocks the potential in our people so everyone can be their best self.

Find out more about Life at PA here.

We are dedicated to supporting the physical, emotional, social and financial well-being of our people. Check out some of our extensive benefits:

• Health and lifestyle perks accompanying private healthcare
• 25 days annual leave (plus a bonus half day on Christmas Eve) with the opportunity to buy 5 additional days
• Generous company pension scheme
• Opportunity to get involved with community and charity-based initiatives
• Annual performance-based bonus
• PA share ownership
• Tax efficient benefits (cycle to work, give as you earn)

We’re committed to advancing equality. We recruit, retain, reward and develop our people based solely on their abilities and contributions and without reference to their age, background, disability, genetic information, parental or family status, religion or belief, race, ethnicity, nationality, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity (or expression), political belief, veteran status, or any other range of human difference brought about by identity and experience. We welcome applications from underrepresented groups.

Adjustments or accommodations - Should you need any adjustments or accommodations to the recruitment process, at either application or interview, please contact us on [e-mail]