Chief Operating and Commercial Officer
Carnall Farrar (CF) is a growing consultancy which works across all aspects of the health sector from supporting the NHS to serving major life science companies. We are passionate about, and experts in, health and healthcare.
Founded in 2013 we have grown to a core staff base of management consultants, technical consultants, a data operations team and corporate functions. We have a strong reputation with the NHS, and our actively seeking to spread awareness of our brand and offers across the health sector more broadly. We are highly regarded both internally and externally for the level of support and development we give our people. As a professional services business, CF has three primary assets – its people, its knowledge and its data and associated products.
Our purpose
To have enduring positive impact on health and healthcare
Our mission
To be invaluable to our clients, supporting them to innovate and make lasting improvements and to build an exceptional company that attracts, develops, and retains a trusted and uniquely talented team.
Our strategic intent
We are focussed on building the leading consulting company dedicated to the health sector. We serve the entire sector including healthcare systems (providers, payors, regulators), life sciences (pharma, biotech, devices, and diagnostics), health investing, health tech (data, digital and apps) and the wider suppliers to the sector (infrastructure, consumables and supporting services). Our clients include public sector organisations, private sector companies and investors.
We provide consultancy across a broad spectrum of services, which reflect the expertise of the CF leadership team and their ability to act as trusted advisors to chief executives, directors, and boards on the most important issues they face. We help organisations to improve population health and the effectiveness of life sciences and healthcare through understanding their aspirations, helping them to identify the opportunities to create value, spotting and applying innovation in practice, adopting best-in-class management approaches and providing hands-on support to deliver improvements.
Our consulting is renowned for its use of data and the insights this creates. We have access to more UK healthcare data than any other company and are expert it its safe use for delivering healthcare, improving health, managing services, supporting uptake of innovation, undertaking research, and generating evidence. Our access to data and our engineering and data science capabilities supports our consulting, and they are also available for direct client services including in multidisciplinary teams.
We are growing a team of expert consultants who want to be at the leading edge of the profession and who have a passion for health. With structured career development from Analyst to Partner in a model of apprenticeship, mentorship, and formal training alongside opportunities to work in industry we are cultivating the leaders of the future. We support future leaders to grow and develop their own unique focus that builds on their expertise, our capabilities and creates value for our clients.
Role summary
The Chief Operating and Commercial Officer (COCO) is a senior executive responsible for the strategic oversight and operational delivery of our firm’s commercial and corporate functions. This very important role bridges the gap between business strategy and execution, ensuring that the consultancy operates efficiently, delivers value to clients, and achieves sustainable growth. The COCO is a key member of the Senior Leadership Team and reports directly to the CEO, working closely with Partners, and Heads of Practice and has direct reports of finance, people, operations and marketing.
The COCO will oversee the end-to-end effectiveness of CF’s operating model, including people, process, technology, and financial management while driving commercial innovation, operational excellence, and a culture of continuous improvement.
Requirements, responsibilities and duties
The requirements, responsibilities and duties of the role will include, but are not limited to:
Strategic Leadership
* Serve as a key member of the Senior Leadership Team, contributing to overall business strategy and effective operations.
* Lead corporate functions including; finance, people, operations and marketing, ensuring seamless support across the organisation to support our delivery teams.
* Drive internal strategic initatives and transformational programmes for CF to remain at the leading edge for our clients, including our use of AI internally.
* Foster cross-functional collaboration across our corporate functions, breaking down operational silos for us to remain agile and efficient.
* Support strategic partnerships both within country and supporting international growth.
Operational Leadership
* Design and lead CFs operating model across multiple practices and geographies, ensuring alignment with strategic goals and the local market needs.
* Design and implement scalable operational frameworks, processes, and systems to support our growth plans over the next 5 years.
* Oversee project delivery infrastructure, resource allocation, and capacity planning to meet clients needs effectively and efficiently.
* Drive operational excellence through process optimisation, resource planning, and performance management systems (including; Sage HR, CMap).
* Establish and monitor KPIs for operational performance, quality, finance and client satisfaction.
* Lead our technology strategy and tools implementation for operational systems and tools within our corporate functions.
* Define and track key company Objective Key Results (OKRs) across the corporate functions ensuring that the Board and leadership have a clear understanding of progress towards objectives.
Financial Leadership
* Partner with the CEO on financial strategy, planning and business performance.
* Oversee financial operations including budgeting, forecasting and management reporting supported by the Head of Finance.
* Manage cash flow, working capital and financial risk, especially important given our growth strategy.
* Drive our pricing strategies and margin optimisation across our practices and as we expand into new territories.
* Lead annual budgeting and monthly business reviews on performance.
* Ensure robust financial controls are in place and compliance frameworks are adhered to.
Commercial Strategy & Business Management
* Develop and execute commercial strategy to drive revenue growth and market expansion across our practices and into new international markets.
* Oversee marketing strategy, brand positioning and go-to-market activities.
* Ensuring we secure and maintain access to relevant procurement frameworks through compelling offers and commercial terms for our clients.
* Providing commercial leadership on client terms and pricing frameworks to maximise profitability.
People and talent management
* Partner with the Chief People Officer, to shape and scale the people strategy to attract, develop and retain top talent.
* Oversee recruitment, onboarding, and talent development across CF.
* Champion a performance drivern, inclusive and learning-orientated culture.
* Ensure organisational structure and workforce planning adapts to support scaling across practices and new geographies.
* Support performance management systems and our career progression frameworks to ensure our people are fully supported.
* Lead compensation and benefits strategy.
Marketing and Brand Leadership
* Working with the Marketing manager, support the creation of a comprehensive marketing strategy.
* Ensure effective brand positioning and messaging including maximising our Thought Leadership impact.
* Ensuring effective marketing analytics and measurement to ensure ROI.
Responsibilities to the Board and Senior Leadership Team
* As Board and Executive Operating Committee member, advise and guide the Board and Senior Leadership Team on our operating model, people, process, technology, and financial management including commercial innovation, operational excellence, and a culture of continuous improvement.
Compliance and governance
* Ensure that the CF complies with all relevant financial regulations and reporting requirements, including tax filings and corporate governance.
* Ensure robust controls and risk management practices are in place and mitigate risks across the business.
Requirements
You are an experienced, authentic, and inspiring leader with a track record of delivering results in a professional services or partner-led environment. You combine commercial acumen, operational discipline, and people leadership with a passion for purpose-driven business.
Mandatory:
* Demonstrable commercial acumen
* Proven senior leadership experience in a similar senior role within a professional services, consultancy or partner led environment.
* Leadership: Inspiring and authentic leader who can build trust and drive performance across the organisation having exceptional people skills able to to translate strategy in to practical execution.
* Strategic thinking: Ability to set direction while remaining agile to market changes and business need.
* Financial literacy: Confident with financial modelling, budgeting and commercials to deliver effectively.
* Operational excellence: Process oriented with strong analytical and problem solving skills.
* Execution focus: Hands on approach with ability to move from strategy to operations to implementation easily.
Preferred Experience:
* Background in consultancy or a fast-paced, dynamic environment.
* Experience with scaling and managing growth in professional services.
* Experience supporting international expansion.
* Familiarity with healthcare or life sciences sectors.
* Professional qualification (such as CIMA/ACCA/CIPD)
The roles and responsibilities of Partners are enacted through our values
These role attributes and responsibilities form part of the four CF values and associated behaviours that apply to all staff and create a point of commonality. Upholding these values and behaviours is critical to our being the diverse and inclusive team that makes CF a great place to work.The four values and associated behaviours are set out below:
Be connected
We are known, we are trusted
What we do
· We meet our clients on their terms, in their environment
· We develop first-hand understanding
· We are reliable
· We socialise with colleagues and clients
· We recognise individual strengths and talents
· We get to know people inside out
· We cultivate a network
Uphold standards
Committed to our clients, professional in our approach
What we do
· We know what consulting excellence looks like
· We adopt and adhere to best-in-class approaches
· We seek diversity and understand its value
· We leverage the talent of the CF team and our clients
· We act with integrity and preserve confidentiality
· We manage client and company resources cost-effectively
· We hold each other to account for the standards we agree
Inspire change
Respected experts, sparking conviction
What we do
· We are knowledge seekers
· We hunt for innovation and translate it into practice
· We deal in solutions
· We collaborate and expect to contribute our point of view
· We understand conflict is essential and we face it
· We are passionate about our impact and the value we create
· We build a positive reputation for ourselves and for CF
Create the future
Embrace fear, aspire to be better
What we do
· We believe we all grow with effort, learning and persistence
· We celebrate success with pride
· We learn and adapt when we lose
· We spot and create opportunities
· We act fast and mobilise others
· We take responsibility for ourselves
· We develop each other through apprenticeship and mentoring
Flexible working
We follow a hybrid working model that balances in person connections and remote work to drive exceptional client impact. We enjoy working in person together with clients and colleagues and work where clients need us to be.
In supporting flexibility and remote working, team members can work from home one day per week as standard. Additionally, we offer 44 remote working days per year which can be used to top up your working from home days and enable you to work from home up to two days per week-subject to client needs. Alternatively, you could use your allowance in blocks to manage school holidays or other commitments. Our core in person working hours are from 10am until 4pm allowing you that extra flexibility to manage your schedule in a way that works for you.
Our commitment to Diversity & Inclusion
We are committed to building an inclusive and supportive culture where diversity thrives, and all our people can excel. We only recruit, promote and reward our people based on their skills and contribution, without regard to gender, race, disability, religion, nationality, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, marital status, or other characteristics.
We are Disability Confident Accredited, and we want you to feel comfortable and able to perform at your best in the recruitment process, if you require any reasonable adjustments for any part of the recruitment process, please let us know.
Benefits
* Holiday entitlement: 30 days year for leadership, increasing by 1 day for every year of service up to a maximum of 35 days of holiday per year
* We contribute 7% of your salary into your pension, while you contribute 3% (or more if you like)
* Access to a flexible benefits programme giving you the chance to increase pension contributions, gain access to a cash plan or benefit from a ClassPass subscription
* Annual leave purchase: employees with less than 35 days annual leave entitlement are able to purchase additional annual leave days
* Income protection: in the event of long-term incapacity and a qualifying claim, 75% of salary will be paid
* Enhanced sick pay benefit beyond Statutory Sick Pay for up to a total 12 weeks in any 12-month period
* Life insurance covering four times your basic salary in a tax-free lump sum payable to your beneficiaries in the event of your death whilst in service
* Enhanced family leave policies: additional pay for parents who have a baby or adopt
* Access to an interest-free season ticket loan, repayable by 12 monthly instalments
* Workplace nursery scheme: access to a scheme to help working parents save tax and NI on the cost of the nursery care
* An employee assistance and wellness Program: including access to telephone counselling, life coaching, interactive tools online and digital content downloadable from Lifeworks
* Seasonal flu jabs: provided by Boots annually
* Eye care tests: vouchers and discounts at Vision Express
* Ride to work scheme, saving up to 42% on bikes and cycling accessories at Evans Cycles