Oxford Policy Management seeks to appoint a Director of Consulting on a permanent basis. The position can be located in our Nairobi, New Delhi, or Oxford offices.  We are an international development consultancy that improves lives through sustainable policy change in low- and middle-income countries. Our vision is for fair public policy that benefits both people and the planet.   

Through our global network of offices, we partner with national stakeholders and decision makers to research, design, implement, and evaluate public policy. We draw on our local and international sector experts to provide the very best evidence-based support. We deliver projects with expert knowledge and experience and can be relied upon for excellence in all aspects of project delivery. 

In a changing development landscape, we have a strong reputation as a trusted and collaborative partner in developing policy and reform that delivers positive outcomes. Our analytical rigour, technical excellence, and market-leading innovation enables us to address some of the world’s most complex problems. 

Working across the full policy cycle and multiple thematic areas, we drive innovation not just in the projects we deliver but, in the way international development is done. We combine in-house capabilities and global presence to partner locally, bridging analysis and social change while advancing localisation beyond traditional aid models.  

Reporting to OPM’s CEO, as a key and highly visible member of the business’ Senior Management Team (SMT), as Director of Consulting you play a pivotal role in shaping, leading, and delivering our strategic priorities by taking overall responsibility for the wide range of international development projects undertaken by our business.  

Creating opportunities for effective engagement between our thematic practice areas, you will leverage diverse capability within our global network of offices to ensure that OPM remains the international development consulting firm of choice for our existing clients and partners, whilst fostering new opportunities that allow our business to create meaningful impact.  

Our consultant community are experts in their fields. They impart technical excellence, commitment and a genuine passion for positive change in all projects and programmes that we undertake. It is this in-house capability that allows us to develop cutting-edge solutions for complex challenges, it is what distinguishes us from other development consultancies and what makes us unique. In conjunction with SMT colleagues, you will shape the strategy through which we deploy this technical excellence in the development of new products and services for a diverse client mix. You will work closely with colleagues across our global business to ensure that opportunities which can deliver impact and add value are effectively identified and seized, and that we have the right people, with the right skills, to create thought leadership and cutting-edge solutions to tackle the international development challenges of today and of tomorrow.  

You will combine a significant understanding of international development clients and markets, with well-honed strategic leadership experience, to lead our consulting colleagues operating from 14 global office locations, mostly in Africa and Asia. You will work closely with other SMT colleagues to ensure that we have the best practices and procedures in place to support collaborative ways of working within a matrixed, global organisation. Augmenting a deep understanding of best practices in business development and project delivery, you will enable our ability to develop services that our clients require now and for the future, ensuring that we deliver those services in line with regulatory frameworks, with appropriate risk controls and to the highest ethical standards.  

The Director of Consulting plays a key role in assuring competent management of our business development and project delivery; helping ensure systems, people and processes are well aligned for commercial success. As we continue to transform the way we work – in particular, with the implementation of new enterprise-wide systems that empower colleagues to do their best work – you bring a high-level understanding of organisational transformation that you’ll use to help staff feel engaged, empowered, and motivated by the change journey.  

As OPM’s Director of Consulting you will:  

• Contribute to the development of OPM’s corporate strategy, and delivery of our strategic priorities, as part of the Senior Management Team (SMT).  

• Lead, steer, and be accountable, for the performance of OPM’s global consulting teams, currently approximately 250 staff, with a primary focus on the delivery of OPM’s project portfolio.  

• Work in close collaboration with Strategy and Growth and Business Development functions to secure new business from a diverse stream of clients whilst applying a high level of commercial acumen.  

• Drive leadership in the effective management of commercially astute service delivery.  

• Sustain the focus on the policy impact of our project portfolio – maintaining our brand distinctiveness for work with positive consequence and hence the delivery to our purpose. 

• Ensure the technical rigour of our projects remains consistently high, enabling agility in ways of working that are consistently useful and purposeful for our clients’ needs.  

• Drive innovation in our Practice teams to ensure they are continuously developing insights and capabilities to support our clients as their development challenges evolve.  

• Facilitate the efficient resourcing of consultancy practices to ensure high quality work is delivered across short-, mid- and long-term project cycles as the business continues to grow.  

• In conjunction with colleagues on the SMT, develop and apply commercial metrics against which the businesses’ performance can be assessed; promote a culture, and instill drivers, that enable commercial success and growth.  

• Act as an external ambassador for the business, engage as a thought leader with OPM’s clients, partners, and other stakeholders.  

• Facilitate effective collaboration across OPM’s enablement and consulting functions.  

• Champion the adoption of frameworks, systems and processes that optimize business efficiency and growth.  

• Foster the technical and professional capabilities of OPM’s consultants.  

• Lead with empathy, accountability, and humility; bring understanding to managing the needs of colleagues operating within a research-minded environment.  

• Remain respectful of cultural differences and norms within a global organizational context; as a member of the SMT, drive a culture of inclusivity amongst our diverse staff population.  

• Ensure that colleagues working within our consultancy practices and across the business continue to feel valued and proud to be part of our mission.  

• Bachelor’s degree in a field relevant to OPM’s work.  

• Senior leadership experience in an environment with significant exposure to international development actors – including international aid agencies, private donors, governments, and civil society.  

• High-level understanding of the policy cycle, familiarity with political economy trends and development challenges.  

• Experienced contributor to work in the field of social impact at the national, regional or international level, driven by a genuine passion to create positive change. 

• Well-honed stakeholder engagement and management skills, with the ability to build trusted and authentic relationships with a range of key partners. 

• Significant familiarity and experience with the consultancy business model.  

• Experienced in the creation and implementation of organisational strategy, aligning operating models and culture for success. 

• Demonstrable experience of improving commercial outcomes through the adoption of business enablers; proven ability to effectively identify and acquire opportunities for commercial growth.  

• Outstanding business acumen encompassing an understanding of profitability calculations in the acquisition and delivery of new work. 

• Excellent project/programme management skills and a track record of successfully managing project finances and risks.  

• Proven and effective change management experience, ability to identify systems and process improvements at a strategic level coupled with the ability to inspire and encourage coherence across departments.  

• Demonstrable experience of leadership within a global, matrixed organisation.  

• Inspirational leadership style that blends clarity with empathy; ability to nurture and foster a high-performing culture by empowering and enabling people to do their best work.  

Desirable qualifications/experience  

• Relevant post-graduate degree.  

• Experience of having lived and worked within geographies in which OPM operates.  

• Understanding of the interrelation between the policy cycle and government within low -and- middle income economies.  

• Blended experience of having worked within corporate, public and/or non-profit institutions.  

• Interest in the role that disruptive technologies are playing in the field of global development. 

• Experience of working with OPM’s major clients.  

• Crisis management (security, health and safety, systems issues) experience.  

• We enable colleagues’ capacity to grow professionally through enhanced learning resources, opportunities to work cross functionally, and space to engage with a range of internal and external industry events.
• Our non-hierarchical culture values support, collaboration, intellectual curiosity, and a rich diversity of perspectives.
• We provide an exceptionally generous annual leave entitlement and a hybrid working model to encourage and enable healthy work/life balance.
• Wellbeing resources including a global Employee Assistance Programme and access to the UnMind app.
• Competitive salary and contributory pension scheme.

We are strengthened by the diversity of colleagues across our global business and are committed to being an equal opportunities employer, promoting a diverse and inclusive workplace for all.  Our recruitment practices reflect our ambition to make the international development sector more inclusive and firm belief that our work delivers the best outcomes when we actively include a diversity of perspectives and experiences. 

If you share our vision for fair public policy that benefits both people and planet, we would love to hear from you. Please submit your application by way of CV and Cover Letter, detailing your your motivations for applying for the role and how your experience matches the competencies sought, through our careers’ website by the closing date. 

Oxford Policy Management is committed to promoting equity, diversity, and inclusion at every level of the business.  Should you require adjustments to make the application process more accessible please contact us via: recruitment@opml.co.uk