Senior Consultant (Insights and Investments) RC372

Application Deadline: 28 September 2026

Department: Growth

Location: London and Milton Keynes

Compensation: £51,395 - £62,013 / year

Description

Location Milton Keynes or London
Working hours Full time
Contracttype/duration: Permanent
Band: 3.1
Salary: £51,395 to £62,013 (Dependent on office location and proven ability)
Reporting to: Head of Enterprise and Investment
Closing date: 10am on the 28th of September

The Role

We are seeking an entrepreneurial and commercially experienced Senior Consultant to join the Enterprise Insights and Investment team.

The team helps innovative businesses strengthen their commercial foundations, overcome barriers to growth, scale successfully and access the relationships, expertise and investment they need to realise their potential.

As a team we support earlier stage businesses to validate their propositions, establish effective business models, route-to-market strategies and prepare for future growth, and growth-stage businesses that have demonstrated early market potential and are seeking to scale.

Drawing on first-hand experience of building, growing or working closely with entrepreneurial businesses, the Senior Consultant will provide practical, evidence-led support to founders and leadership teams. This may include business model development, growth strategy, customer and market validation, go-to-market planning, organisational scaling, partnership development and investment readiness.

As the team's offer develops, they may also be opportunities to contribute to new propositions such as venture-building activity.

Key Activities

SME Commercial Advisory and Growth Support

• Diagnose the commercial, strategic and operational challenges facing SMEs, building trusted relationships with founders and leadership teams to understand business needs, identify barriers to growth and scaling and shape appropriate support approaches.
• Facilitate constructive discussions with founders and leadership teams, helping them evaluate opportunities, challenge assumptions and make informed commercial decisions.
• Deliver targeted, practical commercial support to SMEs through structured analysis, workshops and one-to-one engagement, helping founders and leadership teams address barrier to growth and scaling.
• Support SMEs to validate and refine their value proposition, business models, customer propositions and go-to-market strategies.
• Help growth-stage businesses develop practical plans for scaling.
• Work with earlier-stage businesses, where appropriate to strengthen their commercial foundations and prepare them for future growth.
• Translate evidence and insight into clear, actionable recommendations, supporting businesses to prioritise decisions and implement next steps.
  

Investment Readiness, Market Insight and Growth Planning

• Assess SME investment readiness and provide practical coaching to help founders and leadership teams address gaps.
• Conduct market and industry analysis, including market sizing, customer and competitor assessment, and strategic insight, to inform SME growth plans, commercial decisions and investment propositions.
• Support SMEs to strengthen the commercial narrative, evidence and materials underpinning their growth and potential fundraising plans.
• Work collaboratively with CPCs fund and investment expertise to ensure SMEs receive appropriate aligned specialist support, and where relevant, access to suitable investors or funding partners.
  

Candidate Profile

You will be a founder, former founder, early-stage executive, scale-up operator or deeply embedded entrepreneurial adviser who has helped build and grow businesses, understands the realities of fundraising, and can translate that experience into structured, evidence-led support for other founders. Strong candidates could also have been:

• An early employee or senior operator in a start-up or scale-up
• A venture studio or accelerator lead
• A portfolio support profession with substantial hands-on company-building experience
• A commercial leader who has taken a business through significant growth and fundraising.
  
  

Key Responsibilities

• Meet revenue and utilisation targets, identifying and converting opportunities into follow‑on work.
• Contribute to bids and proposals, supporting sell‑ons and second‑phase wins.
• Scope, plan and lead defined workstreams, including budgeting, resourcing, delivery planning and commercial control.
• Design and oversee high‑quality deliverables, ensuring excellence in delivery across core and virtual teams.
• Maintain accurate and up‑to‑date CRM records for stakeholders, accounts and opportunities.
• Build and maintain senior client confidence in CPC, holding face‑off accountability with senior stakeholders.
• Develop strong client relationships that enhance CPC’s credibility and long‑term impact.
• Contribute specialist expertise, insight and thought leadership into delivery and proposal development.
• Actively participate in the professional community, supporting learning, knowledge‑sharing and capability development.
• Maintain own professional development and uphold CPC values, embedding equity, inclusivity and sustainability in all activities.
  
  

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise

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• Innovative, evidence-led problem solving - identifying and applying new approaches to complex commercial, market and investment challenges.
• Stakeholder engagement and influence - collaborate and communicate effectively across investors, SMEs and internal teams, influencing outcomes with credibility.
• Commercial and customer focus - apply a strong understanding of SME and investor needs to shape advice, propositions and delivery.
• Planning, prioristisation and adaptability - plan and deliver multiple workstreams effectively, responding positively to change.
• Clear and confident communications - be able to use appropriate channels to convey complex insight clearly and persuasively.
• Inclusive and sustainable delivery - embed equity, inclusivity and sustainability considerations into planning, decision-making and delivery.
  
  

Benefits

• 9 day fortnight for everyone, every other Friday.
• 23.5 holiday entitlement for everyone, with pro-rata calculations for part-time employees, along with a Christmas shutdown period for additional days off.
• Competitive pension, up to 10% company contribution to help you save for your future.
• Two paid days of volunteering leave per year (pro-rata for part-time employees) to support charitable activities.
• Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) providing 24/7 confidential work/life support services to you and your immediate family members.
• Cycle to Work Scheme encouraging a healthy and sustainable commute.
• Cash Health Plan, offering reimbursement for a wide range of essential and everyday healthcare expenses, promoting your well-being.
• Payroll Giving scheme, allowing regular charitable contributions from pre-tax income, maximizing the impact of your donations.
• Discounts and offers from a wide variety of retailers, enhancing your purchasing power and providing savings opportunities.
• Mortgage Advice benefit, delivered in partnership with Charles Cameron & Associates – provides employees with free, expert mortgage advice and end-to-end mortgage support from the application process through to completion.

Connected Places Catapult is committed to building a diverse, inclusive and accessible workplace where everyone can thrive. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and experiences and are committed to ensuring a fair and inclusive recruitment process. If you require any adjustments during the application or interview process, please let us know and we will be happy to support you