Who are we
Category Growth is a growth consultancy specialising in consumer goods & services. We operate as a growth accelerator for our clients — partnering closely with senior teams to rapidly identify, prioritise and unlock compelling growth opportunities.
We combine human expertise with AI-enabled tools, including our proprietary Pulse AI capability, to help clients go faster, think broader, and make clearer choices on where to play and how to win.
We deliberately don’t operate a traditional pyramid consulting model. Instead, we work in small, senior partner teams, closely integrated with our clients. This allows us not only to deliver robust strategy, but to help teams translate it into rapid, practical action.
Why work with us
We believe great consultants don’t need to be in the office - or online - 24/7. We’re outcome-focused, remote-based and offer genuine work-life flexibility around clearly defined project engagements and deliverables.
As a small and growing business, there’s a strong sense of ownership, trust and shared ambition. You’ll work directly with other senior practitioners, contribute to shaping how Category Growth evolves, and be part of a collaborative, low-ego team.
This is a chance to help build something — not just deliver projects.
What you'll do
As an Associate Director, you’ll play a senior, hands-on role in delivering high-quality client work and building long-term client relationships.
You will:
* Work directly with clients to identify, shape and unlock growth opportunities
* Contribute across futures, strategy and innovation engagements — from early opportunity framing through to actionable recommendations
* Bridge consumer insight, commercial reality and strategic direction
* Operate comfortably in fast-paced, hypothesis-led projects, often with imperfect information
* Build trusted, long-term relationships with client teams
* Actively contribute to the wider Category Growth community, culture and capability
What we’re looking for
Core experience
* Typically 6–10+ years’ relevant experience with a minimum 3 years in Strategy / Growth consulting.
* Strong background in consumer goods, ideally across multiple categories
* A broad skill set spanning at least two of strategy, commercial, marketing or innovation
* Strong hands on core consulting skills: you need to be willing and able to do the excel analysis, session design, powerpoint slides etc… yourself (not managing someone else to do it)
* Experience working with senior client stakeholders and owning workstreams or engagements
Approach and values
The right Associate Director will be:
* Low ego, high ownership — confident but humble
* Pragmatic and action-oriented — focused on what really matters
* Comfortable working at pace, with ambiguity and evolving briefs
* Commercially strong, able to own analysis and translate it into clear recommendations
* Brand- and consumer-literate, with polished, senior-ready communication skills
* Curious about how AI and new tools can enhance strategy and innovation
* A natural relationship builder with a client-first mindset
* Willing to roll sleeves up and get hands-on
Practical requirements
* A minimum commitment of 3 days per week
* Legal right to work in the UK (we are unable to offer visa sponsorship)
* Flexibility to join client calls across the week
* Willingness to attend occasional in-person client sessions
* Ability to join Category Growth team sessions regularly in London
What you’ll get from us
* Freedom to work from anywhere in the UK, provided you can travel to London for in-person sessions when needed
* Flexible working hours, around defined client deliverables and engagements
* Interesting, senior-level client work across consumer goods & services
* A flat structure with no hierarchy or internal politics
* Competitive, transparent project-based remuneration (not PAYE) of up to £800 day initially, with potential to move to project revenue share model over time
* Additional incentives available for new client introductions
* A collaborative team that values diversity of thought and experience
* Ongoing development through peer mentoring and shared learning
* The opportunity to help shape a growing consultancy and community
* Access to an established client base and a proven, evolving proposition
If this sounds interesting, please get in touch with us at john@categorygrowth.com with your CV and brief message on why you're interested in the role (no long cover letters required)
No recruitment firms please