Careers at Solve
We Solve Together
Our Culture
We don’t believe that culture is a list of buzzwords posted on our office walls. Rather it is the way we behave together and with our clients.
We hire people we respect and enjoy working with. We work as team and will rely on colleagues to provide a great service for our clients. If one of us is struggling then we will collectively help. We strive to succeed together.
We endeavour to be transparent and pragmatic with each other and with our clients. Through this approach we aim to be trusted advisors for our clients. We don’t “land and expand” nor do we “pitch and switch”.
Company Structure and Career Paths
At Solve we recognize that a single Line Management structure does not suit a modern consultancy. Instead each consultant is supported by 2-3 senior colleagues focusing on capability skills, commercial skills and personal development goals respectively. You will work with them to progress through career paths built around our grade structure of 6 recognisable grades. These grades correspond to varying levels of subject matter expertise, consulting experience, assignment management, business development and industry profile.
We recognise that there is not a single career path through Solve and that some consultants may wish to specialise in business development, some in one of our market segments or in delivering a particular service we offer.
We understand that some candidates may not wish to specialise in a particular topic, rather they are interested in gaining experience of many aspects of our services and sectors. We can facilitate this, and we do not constrain consultants to particular market sector. Conversely, we have some consultants who are deep experts in a particular market sector and accommodate this specialism.
Contrary to how most organisations view their structure, we draw ours with the clients at the top and the CEO at the bottom. The role of our leadership is to support our colleagues and to create an environment in which everyone can perform to their best potential for our clients.
Salary and Benefits
We pay a competitive salary.
We offer a discretionary bonus scheme based on a combination of business and individual achievements and long-term incentive plan based on company EBIT growth hurdles.
We offer private medical and ‘cash plan’ schemes for our employees which can be extended to partners and immediate family.
We offer a contributory group pension scheme with employees contributing 5% which the company matches to 5%.
Recruitment Process
We receive applications through our personal networks, from approved agencies and directly to our website. If your initial application meets our criteria then we will invite you participate in our recruitment process. Our aim is to ensure that this process is as efficient for all parties as possible.
We will endeavour to ensure that you have a single point of contact throughout the process.
We recognise that recruitment is a 2-way process for us to get to you know you and vice versa. Therefore, we encourage you to use the opportunities to find out as much as you need to make your own decision. Our process typically comprises three interviews, which are approximately an hour each.
- A capability / subject matter interview. This can be either in person or via VC.
- A presentation and panel interview. We will ask you to present to a small panel. Depending on the position you are applying for this may be on a pre-prepared presentation or an unsighted topic. We will brief you on this accordingly.
- A final HR interview where we corroborate grade and grade-specific expectation, and any residual points that have arisen during the process.
All offers are subject to a successful interview with a Managing Partner which is as much about you having full access to us for your own due diligence and assessing whether we are right for you.
If your application is successful, we will make an offer to you after the final interview.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, in general we allow our consultants to work from home and manage their own time providing this does not impact their ability to interact with colleagues and deliver for clients.
When working with clients we take our lead from them and endeavor to match their working practices. We find that working with clients at their offices is particularly effective so expect that our consultants maximise time in their clients’ offices where practicable.
When not working on client projects, consultants are able to base themselves at our London office or work from home as they see fit. However, we do encourage colleagues to come to our office as a way to build strong relationships with colleagues, share knowledge and help develop skills and experience. We know that different working practices work for different people, and that by offering a flexible working policies and trust each other to use appropriate judgement, we are able to attract talented consultants that are driven to deliver for our clients.
Most of our projects are based in London. Occasionally, our projects can be further afield, either nationally or internationally. We discuss travel arrangements with our consultants before they are assigned to projects to ensure that it works for all parties.
In short, we are cognizant of personal situations when determining who will work on projects but there is a possibility that occasionally you may be asked to work away from home and anyone considering a career in consulting should be aware of this.
In addition to training on modern business essentials such as cyber security and data protection we offer access to a range of online and course-based training that can be tailored to the needs of each individual.
