In a nutshell

Yonder is a ground-breaking consultancy bringing a blend of insight, strategy and imagination to clients across sectors and geographies. Our diverse expert team uses commercial acumen and creative thinking to transform performance in the areas that matter most. We are on the hunt for a multitalented Associate Director who shares our values and wants to help us make a big impact on our clients’ businesses, and the markets and communities they serve.

Your skills & experience

You would have extensive business experience, either client or consultancy side. You would have a strong working knowledge of large-scale rollout of strategy programmes which lead to business transformation or turnaround.

You are fluent in research disciplines, either coming from a research background yourself or adept at integrating research into strategy programmes. You have a strong working knowledge of and experience in brand strategy and associated frameworks. You are used to building strong client relationships, generating revenue and developing business, whilst delivering great work. As well as being a great storyteller, your financial fluency and strong commercial acumen makes you a force to reckon with. Your clients will trust you and you will have the respect of your peers. But you want more.

The role

You will play a key part in proactively supporting the team at Yonder and leading client accounts. Your specialism will be in strategy, but you will have an interest in everything else that we do and offer from market research and insight to data analytics and design. You will be given responsibility from day one, working with the team to set the strategic vision on a project, as well as scoping and selling in new projects (i.e. challenging the brief, setting objectives, defining activities, deliverables, fees and timings). You will have an innovative outlook, finding ways to experiment, develop and test new product offerings, tools and approaches and you will use distilled insights to guide development of original ideas and points of view. You are persuasive and bold, creating compelling narrative arguments to sell in recommendations and you will have a creative flair, working with the Creative team to generate fresh ideas and ensure the creative work supports the strategy and agreed objectives. You will play a key role in kick-off meetings, review sessions and presentations and will aspire to consistently achieve client satisfaction through encouraging yourself and others to produce outstanding work.

Essential skills
Overview:

• Extensive business experience, either on the client or consultancy side
• Genuine passion for brands and branding
• Strong working knowledge of brand strategy programmes
• Track record in leading successful business development, both new and organic
• Versatility to work in management of hybrid roles e.g., copywriting, design direction, insight
• Financial fluency and strong commercial acumen – proven ability to run the commercial side of projects
• Fluent English speaker with persuasive communication skills (oral and written)
• A knack for building and leading valuable long-term client relationships.

Outstanding client work

• Leading strategic programmes of work – with clients and teams
• Scoping and selling in new projects. This covers: challenging the brief, setting objectives, defining activities, deliverables, fees and timings.
• Developing new product offerings, tools or approaches in a client context.
• Using distilled insights to guide development of original ideas and points of view.
• Creating a compelling narrative argument to sell in recommendations.
• Partnering insight colleagues to derive the right data to develop a compelling strategy 
• Partnering design colleagues to generate fresh ideas, establish the creative direction and ensure creative work supports the strategy and agreed objectives.
• Coordinating and playing a key role in client meetings and presentations.
• Ensuring client satisfaction by producing work of an outstanding quality.

New business and long-term relationships

• Leading on pitching, proposal writing and converting new business opportunities.
• Managing projects from conception through to completion.
• Taking time to understand the client’s unique business and challenges in order to add the greatest value and spot potential incremental revenue opportunities.
• Growing the client relationship by acting as the trusted go-to person, ensuring all work meets or exceeds expectations and is delivered on time and on budget.
• Developing additional IP and case studies to reinforce our leading reputation.

What Yonder can offer you

Yonder has a real buzz as we continue to grow. We reward people who help to drive that growth and the company supports and encourages new ideas which will add value. We offer a competitive salary, 25 days holiday (plus your birthday day off!), a 5% employer pension contribution, life assurance and other benefits like flexible working and 4pm finishes on Fridays