Principal

Forward Institute; Greater London; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equal opportunities

Direct exposure to senior leaders

Job summary

Forward Institute seeks a leader to shape and grow its responsible leadership advisory practice, working with senior leaders and partners to identify where to invest, build capability and deepen impact. You will lead major projects end to end, oversee teams, and shape the evolving practice with bold, creative thinking in AI and leadership.

You will operate at leader level, manage key accounts, contribute to strategy, and drive growth through senior relationships and credible propositions.

Qualifications

• 8+ years’ experience in strategy consulting, leadership consulting, programmedesign and implementation, or learning and development
• Experience taking a proposition to market and growing it
• Proven track record of winning work through senior relationships
• 1-2 years’ experience engaging leaders with or working in AI, technology or innovation

Responsibilities

• Responsibility for the leadership and delivery of complex, high value projects with exceptional partner management and delivery of project outcomes
• Lead team development, coaching and supervision across project work including associates
• Oversee project budgets and P&L and manage strategic partnerships material to delivery
• Design creative leadership experiences and support across programmatic interventions and bespoke advisory work
• Evaluate impact of leadership interventions to support partner objectives and FI's mission

Job description

About the Role

We are in an exciting period of growth, and we're looking for somebodytoplay a pivotal role in helping shape the future direction of our work with partners and take on increasing leadership responsibilities in the organisation.Thereis a strong sense of possibility in what we are building. We work with senior leaders on complex, often unresolved challenges. This requires curiosity, creativity, openness and a willingness to engage with difficult questions.

We are looking for someone with strong commercial instinct, intellectual rigour, and a genuine obsession with how some of the biggest leadership challenges of our time, and specifically AI will reshape organisations, leadership and society.

Youmost likely have consulting or leadership development experience, experience building and growing something new, and the confidence to bring bold creative thinking into how senior leaders develop. You are as comfortable designing an experience as you are delivering it.

This is a role for someone ready to operate at the level of the leaders we serve, not just support them.

This is a role designed toshape and grow our responsible leadership advisory practice. We are looking for someone with strong relational instinctsand a deep belief in responsible leadership. You will play an active role in the growth of theorganisationand the direction of our workwith partners, helping identify where we shouldinvest, build capability and deepen our impact. You will hold key accounts and lead impactful projects end to end with our partners, overseeing effective teams and contributing to our shared learning.This isn't a fixed job spec: we'll shape it with you, helping to develop your own craft and impact as you go.

Core responsibilities include

Responsibilityfor the leadership and delivery of complex, high value projects:

This includes being responsible for:

• Exceptional partner management and the delivery of project outcomes that generate high partner value and are reputation-enhancing;
• Team leadership, development and coaching through the delivery of the project work, including team members and Associates;
• Project budgets and P&L, and any strategic partnerships (e.g. digital providers) that are material to the delivery of the work;
• The delivery of the work such that it creates opportunities for cross-project learning and proposition iteration.

Responsibilityfor the design of creative leadership experiences that supportseniorleaders:

This includes being responsible for:

• Being a central player in a core design capability to supportallofour work, providing opportunities to design across programmatic interventions and bespoke advisory work;
• Pioneeringdesign experiences that are trying to do something different with leaders across all sectors,outside of established approaches to leadership development;
• Theevaluation and impact of the leadership interventions that support partner objectives and enhance the integrity of the FI’s mission

About You

Mindset

• Entrepreneurial and can exercise judgement under ambiguity
• Commercially sharp, with a clear instinct for where valuelies
• Deeply curious and about how AI will reshapeorganisationsand leadership
• Ownandengagewithideasofresponsibleleadershipandapplythemacross everythingyoudo
• Deeplyrelational,buildingtrust quickly with senior leaders and teams
• Creative, drawn to designing something new rather than followingconvention

Capabilities

• Ability to lead the full life cycle of complex, high-value projects
• Strong commercial capability, holding multiple partner accounts, leading business development conversations, proposals and pitches, and converting work
• Strong design instinct, creatingimpactful leadershipexperiences
• Peopleleadership and management skills, playing a key leadershiprole,acting as a mentor for more junior members of the team and effectively managing diverse project teams
• Excellent facilitation skills with senior teams
• Ability to translate a strong intellectual framework into clear, compelling partnerpropositions
• Abilityto evaluate the impact of leadership interventions and demonstrate realoutcomes

Mandate

• Not mandatory
• Mandatory

Mandate Mandatory Mandate mandatory

Experience

• ~8+ years’ experience in strategy consulting, leadership consulting,programmedesign and implementation, or learning and development
• Experience taking a proposition to market and growing it
• Proven track record of winning work through senior relationships
• 1 - 2 years’ experience engaging leaders with or working in AI, technology or innovation

About us

Benefits

Every person who joins us shapes our culture and our impact. In return, we accelerate your development - fast. This is a rare opportunity: to work alongside, and get direct exposure to, senior leaders, with a mission that matters.

What we're doing here is genuinely pioneering. We're not following someone else's playbook, we're writing our own, and you'll help write it.

Here you will feel opportunity: small enough that your work matters and is visible, fast-growing enough that the opportunities keep expanding.We will support you develop your mastery, autonomy and purpose at anorganisationthat believes work should enrich your life.

Weare pragmaticidealists

We pair moral ambition with the discipline to follow through, and measure ourselves by outcomes, not intentions.

Wecare

For the work, the people we work with, and the leaders we support. Care without courage is just comfort, so we take the work seriously, in a way that is deeply human.

Webuild from multiple perspectives

We work with leaders from across business, government, and civil society, and from a range of backgrounds, because difference drives better thinking.

Wechallenge assumptions

We ask the questionsother'sdon't. Clarity starts with curiosity, and courage means acting on it; we would rather ask the hard questions.

We are an equal opportunities employer and are committed to fair and inclusive recruitment practices. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, identities, and lived experiences.

We want to make this process as inclusive and accessible as possible. If you have any access needs or specific requirements, please get in touch.

Role closes on Friday 4th Septemberand we will be interviewing on a rolling basis.

You must have the right to work in the UK.