Principal, fDi Strategies (London/ Belfast/ Berlin)

About Us

The FT has an uncompromising mission: delivering independent, quality information, news and services to individuals and companies around the globe. It’s the cornerstone of our reputation and the heart of our ambitions for the future. But for our people, the FT offers so much more than what we do. FT people come from all kinds of backgrounds and work across a huge range of disciplines and locations, and find an empowering, warm and welcoming culture that values curiosity and rewards smart, ambitious thinking. Those who are willing to unite around our mission and live our values will find plenty to challenge, inspire and interest them. Like the audiences we serve, no two FT people are the same; but together we help our audience be better informed and understand the world around them. It’s a job that’s never mattered more, and a career that can take you anywhere you want to go.

Our commitment to diversity and inclusion in the workplace

At the FT, we give all employees a voice so that diverse perspectives are heard and valued. We believe that a supportive workplace is one where employees feel they can be themselves at work. We'll continue to remove barriers for all, and in particular barriers facing employees from underrepresented groups.

The Role / Position Overview

FT Specialist is a division of the FT Group, providing niche audience groups with must-have information and services that helps them make better decisions and operate more effectively.

We’re excited by the growth potential for the FT Group through a newly invigorated and energised fDi Intelligence portfolio bringing together the unique offerings from fDi, GIS Planning and recently acquired Wavteq Products.

You will be part of the senior management team responsible for the delivery and execution of a strategy to build sustainable long term and recurring revenue growth across this portfolio. We want to stand-out in an increasingly competitive market, and drive collaboration across the portfolio and with the broader FT Group.

The Principal, Strategies will be responsible for the overall performance of the Strategies business as well as the delivery and execution of a strategy to build sustainable long term and recurring revenue growth. You will also be responsible for the leadership and development of a team of talented managers and associates.

The role will draw upon your skills and experience, and we’ll look to you to develop and work with your team and colleagues to realise our shared ambitions to be the leading global player in the market and pull together the various components of the portfolio into a unique and compelling offering supported by a powerful team.

You will report into the Managing Director - fDi Intelligence Portfolio.

Key requirements, responsibilities and outputs

The Principal, Strategies will have specific responsibilities, including:

• Overall performance of the Strategies business, as measured by performance against revenue and contribution targets.
• Working collaboratively with the Managing Director - fDi Intelligence Portfolio on defining a clear strategy for the Strategies business, including developing a more productised offering to create sustainable and scalable long-term growth.
• Playing a leading role in the RFP process for all client work that will be delivered by the Strategies team.
• Managing multiple consulting contracts simultaneously, both on the client and the delivery side.
• Monitoring consulting projects to ensure the profitability of projects and delivery is on schedule.
• Leading weekly full consulting team meetings to review and brainstorm projects with the team.
• Utilising project management software to manage projects, in particular around delivery and invoicing milestones.
• Managing the delivery and output of client work to the highest of standards within the agreed timescale and hours, and to the agreed brief, and then presenting this directly to clients in both face-to-face and virtual meetings. The output should be in the form of high quality reports and client presentations which adhere to the FT’s style guide.
• Working collaboratively with the Managing Director and VP of Global Sales on expanding Training Workshops to cover the wider FDI portfolio in order to build additional revenues, and playing a leading role in the production of the training materials for these.
• Working collaboratively with the Managing Director and VP of Global sales to assist in the pricing of proposals, and helping to train the sales team to understand how to price and package these proposals.
• Working collaboratively with the fDi Intelligence senior management team on reviewing the FDI Rankings, the benefits they bring vs the effort required, and developing an improved strategy and plan with clear and measurable performance metrics.
• Setting performance goals for the team, including appropriate measures for the quality, range and output of their work.
• Ensuring the structure of the team creates opportunities for collaboration, efficiences, and learning and skills development. Tightly defined job specifications and expectations are vital to realise this.
• Working collaboratively with the fDi intelligence senior leadership team to create a ‘one team’ culture for the new combined fDi Intelligence team.
• Working with the Head of Research & Data to help to identify future talent within the data teams and upskill team members to create career progression for the team.
• Setting objectives, evaluating performance, and personal growth and development targets for your direct reports. The FT manages this process through Workday, and places great value on having defined targets and expected results / outcomes set.
• Ensuring all staff working under your direction adhere to the FT’s working practices and policies, Finance, Legal and Compliance requirements and are committed to supporting all the FT’s core values.

What’s in it for you? Our Benefits

Our benefits vary depending on location, but we are committed to providing best in class perks across all our offices as well as an inclusive environment to develop your career. Examples of our benefits include; generous annual leave allowances, flexible working (including working from home), health coverage (medical, dental & vision insurance), 401k and company match, enhanced maternity & paternity packages, and Giving Back opportunities. Full details of our benefits can be found here.

Further Information

The FT is committed to providing an inclusive working environment for all. We are an equal opportunities employer who seeks to recruit and appoint the best talent regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, socio-economic background, religion and/or belief. We also promote flexible working and will consider specific requests around flexibility for all roles where it can be accommodated. Please let us know if you require any adjustments as part of the application process or to enable you to attend an interview. If you would like to discuss your requirements, or have any questions, please contact a member of our HR team who will be happy to help.

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