People & Change Consultant | Manchester, UK

People & Change Consultant

Company Description

We believe in the power of ingenuity to build a positive human future.

As strategies, technologies, and innovation collide, we create opportunity from complexity.

Our teams of interdisciplinary experts combine innovative thinking and breakthrough technologies to progress further, faster. Our clients adapt and transform, and together we achieve enduring results.

We are over 4,000 strategists, innovators, designers, consultants, digital experts, scientists, engineers, and technologists. And we have deep expertise in consumer and manufacturing, defence and security, energy and utilities, financial services, government and public services, health and life sciences, and transport.

Our teams operate globally from offices across the UK, Ireland, US, Nordics, and Netherlands.

PA. Bringing Ingenuity to Life.

Job Description

Become part of our People and Change Team!

We create design and deliver workforce and organisational transformation initiatives, responding to changing business needs, digital disruption, and the impact of AI. These roles are about developing solutions across talent, skills, technology, and culture, enabling organisations to build future-ready workforces and drive sustainable change.

Our diverse team advise clients on

• Workforce Transformation Delivery: Support the design and implementation of workforce and skills transformation programmes, including operating model change, workforce planning, and organisational design.
• Career Pathways & Talent Management: Contribute to the development of career frameworks, succession planning approaches, and talent strategies that align workforce capability with business objectives.
• HR & Workforce Technology Advisory: Support the selection, implementation, and optimisation of HR and workforce technologies (e.g., Workday), ensuring alignment with people processes and user needs.
• Skills & AI-Driven Transformation: Analyse workforce skills gaps and contribute to strategies that address emerging capability needs in the context of automation, AI, and digital transformation.
• Workforce & People Analytics: Use data and analytics to generate workforce insights, track performance, and inform strategic decision-making (e.g., retention, performance, diversity).
• Business Change & Adoption: Support change management activities, including stakeholder engagement, communications, and adoption planning to embed new ways of working.
• Leadership & Culture: Contribute to the design and facilitation of leadership and cultural interventions that enable behavioural change and drive organisational performance.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Build strong working relationships with client stakeholders, collaborating across multidisciplinary teams to deliver high-quality outcomes.

Hybrid working - our approach is to be in the office or on client site a minimum of 2 days per week. However, the actual time you spend and where you spend it will vary by role or assignment, including up to 5 days per week on a client site.

Qualifications

We are currently recruiting experienced Consultants (Consultant Analyst, Consultant, Senior Consultant grades) with proven experience in:

• Working in consulting, HR transformation, workforce strategy, or organisational change roles.
• Demonstrated experience in at least two of the following areas:
• Career Pathways & Talent Management
• HR / Workforce Technology (e.g., Workday)
• Skills & Workforce Transformation (incl. AI impact)
• Workforce / People Analytics
• Business Change / Change Management
• Leadership & Culture design or facilitation
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to translate data into actionable insights.
• Ability to support delivery of client-facing projects in complex environments.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills - able to have difficult conversations and to write clearly for different audiences.
• Collaborative mindset with the ability to work across teams and disciplines.

Desirable

• Experience in large-scale transformation programmes (public or private sector).
• Knowledge of workforce planning methodologies and operating model design.
• Familiarity with change management frameworks (e.g., ADKAR, PROSCI).
• Experience using people analytics tools (e.g., Power BI, Excel modelling).
• Professional certifications (e.g., CIPD, PROSCI, PRINCE2, Agile).
• Experience working in government, defence, or regulated environments.

You will bring many of the following attributes

• High levels of emotional intelligence and experience working with a range of stakeholders so that you can adapt your approach to different client and organisational contexts.
• A collaborative and enthusiastic style, with flexibility to work on diverse challenges in small, cross functional, or large teams.
• Strong analytical thinking and problem-solving skills with an ability to delivery practical results.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills which enable you to translate complex digital concepts into clear, human-centred messages.
• The ability to build trusted relationships quickly with colleagues, clients and senior stakeholders.
• A forward-thinking mindset with a strong interest in future of work, AI, digital transformation, workforce strategy and people analytics.

Why you'll enjoy being part of our People and Change Capability:

• A welcoming, inclusive and supportive team with a strong focus on wellbeing.
• Excellent professional development opportunities, including mentoring and supported accreditation.
• Active networks and communities, including Accessibility, Neurodiversity & Disability (AND), RISE (Racial Inclusion & Social Equity), Mental Health & Wellbeing, Women's Network, Women in Tech, PA Pride, MILNET (Military Network), Working Families Network, Social Mobility Network.

If you're curious, enterprising and passionate about combining AI, digital transformation and human-centred change, we'd love to hear from you.

We know the skill-gap and 'somewhat need to tick every box' can get in the way of meeting brilliant candidates, so please don't hesitate to apply - we'd love to hear from you.

Apply today by completing our online application

Please be aware that some of our UK roles at PA Consulting require a UK security clearance.

All PA people are required to undergo background checks and to achieve the Baseline Personnel Security Standard however, some UK roles also require higher levels of National Security Vetting, where applicants must have at least 5 years of continuous residency in the UK.

We therefore ask that you only apply if you meet the residency requirements (i.e. you are a British citizen or have been resident in the UK for the past 5 years), as this is the prerequisite for a security clearance. If you're unsure about your eligibility, we encourage you to review the UK Government's guidance on security vetting before applying.

Additional Information

Life At PA encompasses our peoples' experience at PA. It's about how we enrich peoples' working lives by giving them access to unique people and growth opportunities and purpose led meaningful work.

Our purpose guides how we work with our clients and our teams, and support our communities, to deliver insight and impact, solving the world's most complex challenges. We're focused on building a workplace that values human difference and diverse mindsets, and a culture of inclusion and equality that unlocks the potential in our people so everyone can be their best self.

Find out more about Life at PA here.

We are dedicated to supporting the physical, emotional, social and financial well-being of our people. Check out some of our extensive benefits:

• Health and lifestyle perks accompanying private healthcare
• 25 days annual leave (plus a bonus half day on Christmas Eve) with the opportunity to buy 5 additional days
• Generous company pension scheme
• Opportunity to get involved with community and charity-based initiatives
• Annual performance-based bonus
• PA share ownership
• Tax efficient benefits (cycle to work, give as you earn)

We're committed to advancing equality.

We recruit, retain, reward and develop our people based solely on their abilities and contributions and without reference to their age, background, disability, genetic information, parental or family status, religion or belief, race, ethnicity, nationality, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity (or expression), political belief, veteran status, or any other range of human difference brought about by identity and experience.

We welcome applications from underrepresented groups.

Adjustments or accommodations - Should you need any adjustments or accommodations to the recruitment process, at either application or interview, please contact us.

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