About GPB

Grant Pearson Brown Consulting Ltd (GPB) is a specialist, London-based management consultancy, founded in 1993. We advise, coach and train senior and top management in presentation skills, business development, pitching, negotiating, media interviews, telephone skills and writing skills. Examples include the London 2012 bid, a Treasury Enquiry and a host of fundraisings for Private Equity firms through and since the global financial crisis.  Our work is supported by a unique set of scientific analyses covering content, voice and visual communication. We mainly advise large companies, legal and accountancy firms, and financial services business such as private equity and fund management firms.

Most of our work is in London. However, many clients have overseas businesses in Europe, North and South America, and Asia, which means we often travel to deliver our work. We are a team of six highly skilled people in the UK and overseas; most form our associate team of advisers and coaches. We now want to build our full time staff as we grow this business over the coming years with the aim of becoming an acknowledged leader in our field. This is an opportunity to get in at a new start.

GPB’s simple defining purpose is to be exceptional at helping each individual among our clients to ensure that they are “themselves at their best, even in the toughest situations”. This means taking individuals from average to good, from good to great, or from great to exceptional.

Our purpose for our staff is to offer a rewarding, challenging and developing role that becomes a long-term career as well as a life-long passion, working for an organisation that is outstanding in its field.

Job Profile

• We offer the chance to become a GPB Consultant, via a six-month training scheme working alongside the MD.  The role comprises three main activities:
• First, using high level skills and knowledge in the field to advise senior clients of large and prestigious organisations on their most important presentations, business development, and public speaking activities, such as pitches for business, fundraising roadshows annual shareholder events.
• Second, coaching individuals and groups on how to improve their general skills mainly in the areas of presenting, business development and pitching.
• Third, creating, growing and maintaining good relationships with clients, colleagues and associates.

This job would ideally suit someone who likes and is able to:

• Give high-quality professional advice to others
• Build a client base via successful business development both as a team member and individually
• Manage a set of senior client relationships really well over a long period of time.

For this role, a consultative yet persuasive style of communication and advisory work is required. It will suit a faster-than-average pace worker, as this will be the norm for this role. Attention to detail and accuracy are important. The role will suit you if you like to get the job done on time, as well as correctly.

Job characteristics

The Consultant will work with the MD of the firm and our main clients, growing to become one of our leading fee-earners. Managing client relationships at the most senior level – Chairmen, CEOs and CFOs, and Partners of partnerships – will be the norm. The Consultant will become a leader, managing our client work programmes, deploying their own skills and knowledge, drawing in others where valuable, and ensuring that the clients’ goals are reached, be they a successful communication of vital information, winning a pitch, or raising the target capital.

A number of the skills and competencies required will be taught via our in-house induction and training programmes to those who have great potential. The Consultant will be in charge of the implementation of their own training, which will include elements covering business development for the company, the fee earning work that we do, and the administrative parts of the role.

The Consultant will possess an ability to develop business, will attend client sales and advisory meetings and will develop additional clients for the firm, either from an existing pool of potential clients, or by introducing new ones, while developing their own skills as adviser, coach and trainer. The Consultant will advise intelligently at the most senior levels in business, will have presence, and will be able to manage their own parts of the administration that underpin these aspects. They will have the self-starting and self-driving nature required for such tasks, in addition to being a strong and loyal team member. The Consultant will stimulate and motivate others while being aware of and responsive to their needs and concerns; they must be friendly with a “how can I help you?” attitude and be genuinely interested in the business agenda and needs of the company, its management, the team, and the company’s clients.

It’s an environment where the pace is lively. Each day is different from the next, especially in the interactions. You will have multiple projects going simultaneously. You will enjoy investing time in building and maintaining relationships, especially where helping, not pressuring, others fosters the relationship. You will like the challenge of having a persuasive, “selling” (rather than “telling”) communication style. You will like working in both solo and team environments, so would be keen to jump in and roll up your sleeves to help out when necessary.

The initial term of the appointment will be 6 months with the expectation of extension on qualifying as a Senior Consultant.

Your personal attributes – 

Technical

• A degree, preferably Russell Group or equivalent, and ideally in subject areas related to this role
• A thorough and clear understanding of business, based on experience
• A background in the field of spoken communications is preferable
• A demonstrable ability to engage and operate effectively at the highest business levels
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
• Fluency in English, both spoken and written. Some knowledge of other languages could be useful
• A demonstrable ability to enable and facilitate group workshops.
• PC literacy, especially on MS packages and the use of CRM databases.
• A familiarity with and sensitivity to different cultures, genders, languages and countries.

Practical

• The ability to motivate, coach and manage client groups and individuals
• Proven success in engaging with business leaders at the highest level
• Ability to research, select and target viable and significant business prospects
• The capacity to influence through networking and motivating others (e.g. clients) to bring in business
• Well-developed and effective presentation skills
• A significant and proven track record in selling services and/or ideas
• Significant knowledge of the key aspects of working for a small organisation
• The ability to set priorities, to use judgement and organisational skills to achieve results
• A familiarity with the culture of private and public sectors
• Sensitivity and exposure to dealing with changing markets.

Character and personality

• A strong commitment and loyalty to an organisation
• Possessing potential for leadership
• A cheerful go-getter who can work equally well solo or in a team
• Happy to ‘muck in’ on all tasks with a helpful ‘can do’ attitude