Senior Consultant (Rail Delivery)
Fixed Term - Part Time £51,000 - £60,000 / yearJob Overview
Contract type/Duration: Fixed Term (until Feb 2027), Part Time
Working hours: 24hrs p/w
Band: 3.1
Salary: £51, 500 - £62,000 (depending on office location and proven ability)
Reports to: Head of Rail Delivery
Location: Milton Keynes/London (minimum of two days a week in the office. You can do more than two days if preferable)
Internal Job Code: RC284F
Closing date: 9am on the 12th January 2026.
Recruiter Interviews: week commencing 12th January 2026
Panel Final Stage: 20th January 2026
The Role
Based within the Rail Directorate of the Connected Places Catapult, this role is for someone with a strong background in design thinking, human-centred design, and qualitative research or related field. The role is to be a key part of our ability to understand requirements and opportunities for innovation, and by working as part of a matrix team to help deliver innovation within UK transport sector, primarily rail.
Candidate will be required to:
- Conduct robust qualitative research, and delivering research outcomes to stakeholders for onward use.
- Work with SMEs to help assess and understand their value propositions, market readiness and trial plans from a human-centred perspective.
- Deliver human-centred expertise when working together with commercial/business and technology-centric professionals so collectively innovation can be progressed.
- Design and facilitate workshops to help stakeholders assess and progress innovation related situations
Overall this is an excellent opportunity for someone who can work independently as well as within a team, someone who can organise and facilitate workshops, stepping up to work at pace when required, all whilst leveraging their human-centric and transport experience.
Key Responsibilities
Responsibilities
- Meet revenue targets.
- Spot opportunities.
- Contribute to bids and proposals.
- Increase client confidence in and credibility of CPC, manage sell ons and 2nd phase wins.
- Ensure CRM system is updated stakeholder contact and any account information including opportunity management.
- Scope and lead streams of work.
- Shape the planning and budgeting of work.
- Shape and design the deliverables.
- Manage the PMO and commercial control.
- Organise the work stream for the core and virtual team members.
- Provide excellence in delivery.
- Meet (or exceed) utilisation targets.
- Design and plan innovative and professional delivery.
- Develop senior client buy in across a range of stakeholders.
- Hold face off accountability at senior management levels.
- Update CRM system with contact of client information.
- Contribute profession/specialism into delivery and proposal development.
- Provide thought leadership.
- Work in profession virtual community.
- Provide learning opportunities.
- Maintain own professional development.
- Ensure an ethos of equity, inclusivity and diversity underpin your work activity, contribute to inclusive innovation across all Catapult activities.
- You may be required to undertake any other reasonable duties to support the Catapult in achieving its strategic outcomes and ensure effective business operations.
Skills, Knowledge and Expertise
Required Competencies
- Spark creative thinking across all tasks.
- Apply systems thinking to problem solving.
- Create effective networks.
- Use personal influence to progress beyond challenges and blockers.
- Use experience to provide the voice of the customer in all activities.
- Effectively manage communication across teams and stakeholders, lead meetings and contribute to publications and events.
- Co-ordinate plans across activities.
- Role model agility and adaptation.
- Champion and promote inclusion and sustainability.