Principal Consultant - Strategic Infrastructure Advisory

dss+; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive compensation

Performance incentives

Flexible working

International opportunities

Job summary

Infrata, part of dss+, is expanding its strategic advisory practice. The role focuses on developing new consulting services, winning work, and leading projects across infrastructure sectors for investors, lenders, owners and operators.

You will drive service development, lead engagements, and coach teams while collaborating with data and digital specialists to deliver high-impact recommendations.

Qualifications

• Eight+ years in management or strategy consulting with infrastructure focus.
• Experience leading strategy, value creation or climate advisory projects.
• Proven ability to win work: proposals, pitches, scope & fees negotiation.
• Experience launching a new service, product or practice area.
• Experience leading mixed teams of generalists and technical specialists.

Responsibilities

• Develop services with clear scope, team, price and evidence of value.
• Win work by leading proposals, presentations and client engagement.
• Lead delivery, manage client relations, scope, budget and outcomes.
• Build the team's consulting capability and set standards for proposals and deliverables.

Skills

Eight years in consulting

Infrastructure advisory

Proposal writing

Stakeholder management

Education

Degree in engineering, economics, finance, business or related

Tools

AI data tools

Job description

About Infrata

Infrata, part of dss+, is a specialist infrastructure advisory business of around 100 people working with investors, lenders, owners, operators and governments across transport, aviation, maritime, energy, digital infrastructure and the energy transition.

Our reputation is built on technical and commercial due diligence: fast, rigorous, independent work on the assets and businesses our clients are buying, financing or operating. We are now building on that base to offer clients strategic advice across the full life of an asset, not only at the point of transaction.

Why this role

Infrata has strong technical expertise and established client relationships. We are looking for someone who can help us build on these strengths by developing new consulting services, winning work and leading projects.

You will work with our technical specialists to identify where clients need advice beyond due diligence, develop services we are well placed to deliver, and take them to clients. You will also lead the projects you win, bringing in specialists as needed.

Your impact at Infrata

The role has three main responsibilities: developing services, winning work and leading delivery.

• Develop services. Work with clients and colleagues to identify problems we have the expertise to address but do not currently advise on. Develop services we can deliver consistently, with a clear scope, team, price and evidence of their value.

• Win work. Introduce these services to existing and new clients, lead proposals and presentations, and secure new projects.

• Lead delivery. Lead the projects you win, agreeing the approach, managing the client relationship and team, and taking responsibility for the quality of the advice. Our due diligence specialists will contribute their expertise; you will be responsible for the overall engagement.

Key accountabilities

Service development

• Understand the team's expertise and identify opportunities to offer advisory services beyond due diligence.

• Test ideas with clients before investing in their development, and focus on those with genuine demand.

• Define the client need, approach, team, fees and deliverables for each service, supported by evidence of our experience.

• Build the supporting material: credentials, case studies, proposal templates, pitch decks.

• Identify opportunities to sell Infrata's data and analytical tools as products or recurring services, and assess whether they are commercially viable. You will establish what clients would pay for and work with our data and technology colleagues to develop it; you are not expected to build the technology yourself.

Business development

• Carry a personal sales target for new strategic advisory work (target to be agreed at offer).

• Build and maintain relationships with decision-makers at investors, lenders, operators and public bodies.

• Identify opportunities, qualify them, and write or lead proposals and pitches.

• Work with sector leads to extend existing due diligence relationships into advisory work.

• Keep the pipeline and client records in our systems current.

Engagement leadership

• Act as lead consultant on engagements you win: scope, plan, staff, budget, and deliver.

• Define the questions the project needs to answer and the analysis required. Take responsibility for the conclusions and final recommendations.

• Manage the client relationship day to day, including scope changes, difficult messages and sign-off.

• Run the project team, including specialists drawn from across Infrata and dss+, and give them clear briefs and feedback.

• Deliver high-quality work on time and within budget, building client confidence and opportunities for further work.

Building the team's consulting capability

• Coach due diligence staff who work on your engagements in consulting skills: problem structuring, client handling, writing for decision-makers, presenting.

• Set clear standards for strategic advisory proposals, workplans and deliverables, and apply them in your own work.

• Help improve resourcing, time recording, project management and cash collection across Infrata.

Service areas in scope

The role covers four service areas. You should have the experience to lead projects in at least one of these areas and be comfortable selling services across all four.

Strategy

You will advise owners, operators, developers and public bodies on areas including market entry and growth strategy, asset and portfolio strategy, business planning, governance and assurance, policy and regulatory positioning, and investment case development.

Value creation

Working primarily with private equity and infrastructure fund investors and their portfolio companies, you will lead engagements such as full-potential reviews, 100-day plans, operational and commercial improvement programmes, exit readiness and portfolio performance reviews.

Climate advisory

You will support investors, lenders and operators with decarbonisation roadmaps, climate risk and resilience assessments, transition planning, sustainability strategy, and ESG and climate reporting.

Data and digital services

You will help investors, lenders, operators and public bodies get greater value from data. This could include turning existing traffic, asset, transaction and benchmark data into advisory products or subscription services, using AI tools to accelerate analysis and delivery, and helping clients make better use of their own data.

Most projects will combine Infrata's knowledge of aviation, maritime, roads, rail, energy and digital infrastructure with dss+ expertise in operations, safety and sustainability.

Who you are

Essential experience

• At least eight years in management consulting, strategy consulting or advisory, including substantial experience in infrastructure. A background in project finance, lender's or investor's technical advisory, or assurance would help you understand our clients' needs and how our team works.

• Experience leading strategy, value creation or climate advisory projects, with responsibility for the engagement rather than an individual part of the work.

• Direct experience of winning work: writing proposals, pitching, negotiating scope and fees, and converting relationships into revenue.

• Experience developing or launching a new service, product or practice area, including on a small scale.

• Experience leading mixed teams of generalists and technical specialists.

Desirable

• Hands‑on experience of project finance, due diligence or technical assurance on infrastructure transactions, and of the lenders, investors and sponsors involved.

• Experience working with private equity or infrastructure fund investors on portfolio companies.

• Sector depth in one of aviation, maritime, roads, rail, energy or digital infrastructure.

• Climate, decarbonisation or sustainability advisory experience.

• Experience commercialising data, analytics or digital products within a professional services business.

• A second European language, or experience working with teams in Spain, Latin America or Canada.

Capabilities

• Can make sense of complex or poorly defined problems and explain them clearly.

• Writes and presents for senior decision‑makers.

• Exercises sound commercial judgement on project costs, fees and which opportunities to pursue.

• Comfortable with technical detail without needing to be the technical expert.

• Uses AI and data tools confidently and understands when they are useful for clients and when they are not. Technical development skills are not required.

• Works well with technical specialists, including those new to consulting, earning their trust and helping them contribute effectively.

• Takes initiative and is comfortable developing new services and ways of working, particularly in the first year.

Education and languages

• Degree in engineering, economics, finance, business, environmental science or a related discipline. MBA or equivalent is useful but not required.

• Fluent English.

Mobility

• Willing to travel to clients and to Infrata and dss+ offices as the work requires.

What you'll experience at dss+

• Work alongside investors, lenders, operators and governments on live infrastructure decisions.

• The opportunity to help build our strategic advisory practice.

• A values-led organisation and a collaborative, inclusive culture.

• Competitive compensation, performance incentives, flexible working and international opportunities.

dss+ is committed to building a diverse workforce and an inclusive culture where everyone is respected, valued and able to contribute fully.