Engagement Director

Marionete is a rapidly growing IT consultancy. Our mission is to innovate at the edge of what is possible. Our vision is to solve today’s business problems using tomorrow’s technology, building bespoke mission-critical software platforms that help our clients pull ahead of their competitors.

Our blue-chip client base is mainly in the Financial Services sector in the UK and Northern Europe. We have 65 staff with offices in London, Lisbon and Dubai, and grew significantly in 2022, with c.£10m revenue; we expect this growth to continue. Our aspiration is to maintain our premium position by developing software assets we can use to complement, accelerate, and differentiate our consulting services.

As you would expect, we provide equal employment opportunities without regard to race, colour, ancestry, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, religion, age, disability, gender identity, results of genetic testing, or service in the military.

To support this growth, we are seeking to recruit an additional Engagement Director to help expand our business, leading client relationship development and facilitating the subsequent delivery of innovative software consulting engagements to clients, primarily in the Financial Services sector. 

This role requires a unique combination of business development and technical skills. You will need to combine strong leadership, communications and client relationship skills with a credible level of technical capability in solutions architecture. You will use this to build relationships CxOs and Technical leadership in our clients’ IT functions, working with them as a trusted advisor to identify opportunities to transform and enhance their technology platforms.  You will then draw on our thought leadership and technical expertise to build compelling proposals for Marionete to execute this work. 

During project delivery, you will provide management oversight of our team’s work, collaborating with our technical leads to overcome facilitate the execution of the programme while identifying new opportunities for Marionete to meet new client needs. You are likely to be overseeing a small portfolio of client relationships, opportunities and engagements, or you may focus on building a deeper relationship with a single, larger, client, where we have a large team deployed, potentially across multiple client projects. In either case you would be expected to be the senior individual accountable for up to £4m of Marionete’s annual revenue.

You will join Marionete’s Executive Committee which is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the business’s operations, where you will work alongside other existing Engagement Directors, our CFO, CMO and Head of HR.

• Work with our Marketing function to help identify and qualify new opportunities that are aligned with our mission and vision. You will then be senior practitioner responsible for leading the team that will pursue these through to completion. Working alongside one of our technical leads, you will mobilise a team with the necessary skills to help you as you lead the sale of new client engagements. You will lead the production of proposals, work with our CFO to determine pricing, and work with our technical leads to develop and deliver client presentations, securing the client’s commitment to proceed.

•  You will then oversee the initiation of the resulting client engagement, working with a technical lead to ensure we promptly mobilise and deploy an appropriately scaled and skilled team while dealing with any client onboarding requirements;

• Once a client project is underway, you will provide commercial management oversight of our team’s work, working with the technical lead to resolve any programme or staffing issues, while also building strong relationships within the client organisation;

• You will support the Marionete team working on the engagement, ensuring that all team members contribute effectively and that we will succeed in delivering an effective solution and an outstanding customer experience;

• Identify opportunities to expand and extend Marionete’s role within your existing client portfolio;

• Support and contribute to our marketing activities and campaigns, promoting Marionete’s mission and vision.

• Play an active role in Marionete’s Communities of Practice, which are cross-organisational groups of individuals with a specific technical or functional focus;

• Provide regular updates on progress with your portfolio of client engagements to the Executive Committee and Board;

• Ensure we achieve the planned level of revenue and profitability from your client engagements, providing the CFO with any required revenue forecasts;

• Provide the CMO with regular updates on new opportunities, ensuring that we are proactive in progressing these to a positive conclusion;

• Work with the other Engagement Directors to coordinate the deployment of Marionete staff onto client engagements, ensuring that we deploy the right skills to meet our clients’ needs and our team members’ personal development goals, while also minimising non-chargeable time;

• Work with other Executive Committee members to manage the day-to-day activities of the business and in developing and delivering our financial plan.

• At least 10 years’ experience as an IT consultant;
• At least 5 years’ experience leading the delivery of consulting engagements;
• A credible level of understanding of Solutions Architecture, with familiarity of cloud native solutions and open source technology
• Experience in leading the sale of consulting engagements;
• Experience in the UK Financial Services sector;
• A good understanding of how to manage successful programmes in an Agile environment
• Demonstrable experience in leading and motivating teams.

• Strong written and verbal communication skills;
• Able to work effectively in a multi-cultural international environment where remote working is the norm;
• Effective relationship skills, including the ability to resolve disputes and manage conflicting stakeholder priorities;
• Strong commercial skills.

A chance to become a member of the Marionete family, where we are differentiated by our deep technical skills and our blue-chip client portfolio. We are successful because of the unique talents of our team.

·      Competitive compensation;

Benefits package, that currently includes:

·      Health insurance and mental health support;

·      Financial support for personal development and training;

·      Company Pension Contribution;

·      EV Scheme and more

·       You may also be entitled to participate in future share option schemes      

·       A relaxed dress code at the Marionete offices

·      A flexible and hybrid work environment.