Commercial Strategy Associate Director, EMEA
4 days ago
London
VDV Search is working on an exciting opportunity with a global strategic transformation consultancy in London. They are experts in innovation, data, insight, strategy, and culture to help leaders make faster, smarter decisions about the future. Positioned at the intersection of strategy, creativity, and execution, they collaborate closely with clients to unlock new possibilities and shape the world around them. Role Overview Commercial Strategy is a core capability within the business — the ability to identify new sources of growth within and beyond their clients’ core business model. As Associate Director, you will be a senior practitioner responsible for leading the strategic content and quality of their work. The role demands a combination of analytical and strategic rigour, deep insight, creativity, and commercial acumen. You’re ‘creating a following’ as a leader — bringing together teams to deliver great work and partnering with clients to both listen and inspire in equal measure. You are deeply insightful and have a perspective on the world around you, using this to craft compelling opinions with clients while also shaping your own voice in the market. This is where you take a stake in shaping a unique offer — creating your own platform to step into the role of Director in due course. You’ll lead strategic projects with client partners, ensuring our approach, thinking, and output are of the highest standard and deliver measurable business impact. You will play a key role in identifying ‘a better way’, evolving methods and tools, shaping new ones, and ensuring we never stand still. The Associate Director translates complex data and strategic insight into clear opportunities for growth and innovation, driving value and impact for their clients. What Craft Skills You Bring • Experienced practitioner in growth, commercial, or innovation strategy, with depth in consulting, startups, scale-ups, client-side, or ventures., • Expert strategic storyteller — using both numbers and narrative to craft stories that instil belief and inspire possibility., • Grounded in methodology and core skills but flexible in working with diverse tools and approaches to deliver great work collaboratively., • A natural border crosser — comfortable shifting between disciplines or industries, thriving on exchanging ideas and methods., • Strong commercial insight — understanding how businesses work and how value is created; fluent in identifying commercial implications and opportunities from innovation and transformation., • Curious about emerging technologies — not necessarily an expert but someone who can think through their implications for clients and strategy., • Blend of deductive and inductive thinking — able to ground ideas in reality while inspiring new choices, equally at home in a VC or innovation environment. Key Responsibilities Leadership & Programme Delivery • Lead, manage, and deliver large-scale strategic programmes from conception to completion., • Ensure projects are prioritised, delivered on time, and within budget., • Guarantee the highest quality of strategic outputs. Strategy Development & Storytelling • Produce insightful, actionable strategies supported by compelling storytelling., • Own and shape the strategic narrative, integrating multiple sources of data and insight., • Create a clear line of sight from insight to implication, opportunity, or strategy Insight & Problem-Solving • Lead the strategic insight process from framing questions to selecting sources and lenses., • Apply diverse perspectives (customer, brand, culture, commercial, capability) to unlock insights., • Use insight and imagination to reframe challenges and create new possibilities., • Facilitate debate and drive fresh avenues of thinking across teams. Client Engagement & Business Growth • Partner with project and programme teams to challenge briefs, set visions, and scope projects., • Collaborate with Creative specialists to ensure ideas align with strategic objectives., • Successfully sell revenue-generating recommendations to new and existing clients., • Support pitching, proposal writing, and converting new business opportunities., • Play a key role in senior client meetings and presentations. Team Management & Development • Line manage and mentor team members, supporting their growth and career progression., • Contribute to a strong culture of collaboration and delivery., • Uphold and embody company values in leadership actions and decisions., • Help to attract, retain, and develop world-class talent through visible, role-model leadership. For interested candidates, please email your CV to