Principal Consultant

Role: Principal Consultant

Job type: Full time, Permanent – Hybrid

This position offers a hybrid work model, allowing flexibility between working from home and our office.

Typically, employees are expected to work 2 days in the office per week.

Why QS?

At QS, we believe that work should empower you. That’s why we foster a flexible working environment that encourages every employee to own their career whilst flourishing personally and professionally. Our company values underpin everything we do – we collaborate, respect and support each other.

It’s our mission to empower motivated people around the world to fulfil their potential through higher education, ensuring that everyone has access to opportunities that change lives.

Our diversity makes us stronger. By sharing our experiences, we learn from one another and achieve more together, driving progress across the sector.

At QS, you’ll be responsible for implementing real change in the international higher education landscape. You’ll take on meaningful challenges that see a positive impact across the business and the wider sector.

We’re confident you’ll feel right at home here. QS was named as one of Newsweek’s Top 100 Most Loved Workplaces® in the UK (October 2023), recognising the respect, trust and appreciation that drive our culture every day. And as a gold-accredited Investors in People organisation – putting us among the top 28% of workplaces globally – it’s official: QS is a place where everyone can thrive.

As a Principal Consultant, this is what you’ll be doing:

QS is seeking an enthusiastic, imaginative, and effective seasoned Principal to join its established and fast-growing higher education performance consulting practice. The practice comprises a vibrant, diverse, and skilled team of experienced and passionate higher education experts delivering high quality strategic insight and advice to education institutions and policy makers worldwide.

The position will be focused on: taking a leading role in the practice’s global engagement in terms of development and delivery; engaging in the identification of market needs and matching it with a new service offering spanning capabilities from different parts of the business; and taking a very active part in terms of executive representation -thought-leadership/professional commentary- to help universities and their stakeholders best maximise their positive impact.

The successful candidate will bring proven leadership in driving institutional performance across the UK and European Higher Education sector, either within the sector itself or through a consulting organisation, combining a strong transferable skill set with demonstrable strategic impact.

QS Expertise

As one of a small and elite group of Principals at QS the successful candidate will take on responsibility for a key practice development area, centred on building customer-needs centric capability and/or market opportunity for QS. This will enable them to draw maximum impact from their experience, geographic location and existing network.

Role responsibilities

• Consulting Engagement - leading on and taking ownership of international consulting projects: planning, managing, and delivering; ensuring high expectations for quality in all assigned projects and deliverables.
• Thought leadership – harnessing and developing QS insights assets to raise the external profile of the practice and the business as experts in institutional performance and student engagement and higher education trends.
• Customer experience – enhancing the customer experience to convert one-time satisfied customers to long-term partners and champions.
• Ambassadorship – be a credible and inspiring face of the practice, contribute to identify key platforms to profile QS insights and the capabilities of the team through high-impact content delivery.
• Product development – channel insights surfaced through close working with HE leaders and influencers into evidence-based feature recommendations for products and services across the QS portfolio.
• Leadership in Consulting Delivery: Lead the execution of complex, high stakes consulting projects, delivering actionable strategic recommendations that align with client objectives and ensure measurable impact.
• Client Relationship Building: Serve as a trusted advisor and key point of contact for clients, fostering long-term partnerships and ensuring ongoing client satisfaction.
• Strategic Contribution: Actively contribute to the development of QS’s consulting services, helping refine and expand our offerings to meet the evolving needs of higher education institutions and governmental clients.
• Business Development and Client Acquisition: Proactively support business development efforts by identifying potential opportunities, crafting proposals, and contributing to pitches and presentations to senior executives.
• Operational and Financial Performance: Ensure successful management of project timelines, resources, and budgets, supporting the team’s revenue growth and margin targets.
• Insight Generation and Thought Leadership: Leverage data-driven insights and industry expertise to shape the direction of client strategies and provide thought leadership on key trends and challenges within the sector.
• Manage and mentor a team of consultants: fostering professional growth, ensuring performance excellence, and facilitating cross-collaboration within the team.
• Support the professional development of junior consultants: provide structured feedback, coaching, and opportunities for skill-building;
• Sectoral Expertise Development: Develop in-depth expertise in specific higher education sectors or thematic areas (e.g., employability, internationalisation, online learning). Use this expertise to guide project strategies and enhance the organisation’s offerings in those domains, positioning QS as a thought leader in the space.
• And any other duties that fall within the scope and purpose of the role.

Key skills and experience

We’d love to hear from you if you have most, or all of the following:

• Demonstrated experience in managing complex, high-value consulting projects within the higher education sector, with a focus on strategic delivery and client satisfaction.
• Deep and broad expertise in higher education in the UK and Mainland Europe, with the ability to draw on sectoral knowledge to inform strategies, anticipate trends, and provide high-value insights to clients.
• Expertise in institutional performance evaluation and strategy, with the ability to design and implement frameworks that drive measurable impact.
• Strong ability to build deep sectoral expertise in specific areas of higher education, driving insights that shape client outcomes and strengthen QS’s offerings.
• Excellent problem-solving and critical thinking skills, with the capacity to devise and implement tailored, strategic solutions for clients.
• Highly developed communication and presentation skills, both written and verbal, with the ability to articulate complex ideas clearly and persuasively.
• Proven track record of delivering high-quality results under pressure, ensuring projects are completed on time and within scope.
• Proficiency in data-driven analysis, Interpretation and visualisation, with experience in tools like PowerPoint, Excel, Tableau, or R being beneficial.
• A strong sense of ambassadorship, capable of representing QS in client engagements, industry events, and internal leadership discussions with professionalism and authority.
• Fluent in English; proficiency in additional languages (such as Arabic, Spanish, Mandarin, Portuguese, or French) is an asset.
• A collaborative, team-oriented mindset with strong interpersonal skills to work effectively across internal teams and external stakeholders.

Please note, if you don't meet all the criteria but believe you have the skills and passion to thrive in this role, we encourage you to apply.

So, who are we and what do we do?

QS is the world leader in higher education services, analytics, insights and intelligence. From consultancy to student mobility, academic partnerships to branding solutions, our services power both institutional and individual success.

We’re behind the world’s most widely read university rankings (Meltwater 2023). Our QS World University Rankings® reach hundreds of millions, shaping decisions and guiding futures.

Since launching in 1990, our impact and influence have only grown. Today, we work with more than 2,000 of the world’s leading higher education institutions, over 12,000 employers, and governments seeking change and socioeconomic development through higher education.

Join QS and you’ll join an 800-strong community of problem-solvers, creators, collaborators and change-makers based in 40+ countries and 11 international offices, including Australia, Malaysia, India, Romania, Singapore, France, Germany, the USA and our headquarters in London.

With every talented new hire, business acquisition and bold initiative, we’re strengthening our reach and delivering even greater value to institutions and learners worldwide. Are you ready to shape the future of higher education?

We take investing in our people very seriously.

As standard you will have:

• Competitive base salary
• Access to an annual bonus scheme (for qualifying roles only)
• 25 days annual leave, plus bank holidays – increasing to 27 days after 5 years’
• Access to a Buy Holiday scheme allowing you to buy up to 5 additional holiday days per year
• Enhanced maternity and paternity leave
• Generous pension through Royal London
• Comprehensive private medical insurance and wellness scheme through Vitality
• Access to QSmiles – a discount scheme that actually makes a significant difference
• Cycle to work scheme
• A vibrant social environment and multicultural and multinational culture

But that’s not all. Outside of these standard benefits we also offer resources to allow professional growth and wellness initiatives to nurture a healthy mindset:

• Free subscription to the Calm App – the #1 app for sleep, meditation, and relaxation
• A focus on welfare which is led by our global wellness team, with mental health first aiders globally
• Access to a variety of diversity and inclusion initiatives and groups
• Strong recognition and reward programs – including a peer-to-peer recognition platform, quarterly and annual QS Applaud Awards, Connect with your Career annual PD event
• Support for volunteering and study leave
• Free subscription to LinkedIn learning – with over 5000 courses and programmes at your fingertips
• Options to join our outstanding global Mentorship programme

Like what you’ve heard? Great, apply now!

As a candidate, we know the application and interview process can be daunting and so it’s important that you have a great experience with us. Our dedicated Talent Team will work hard to ensure you are fully informed at all stages and you are really excited by this opportunity to do meaningful work in the education space.

Equal opportunities

QS Quacquarelli Symonds is proud to be a fair and equal organisation where everyone has the same opportunity to achieve their full potential, irrespective of their background or personal attributes. We celebrate our diversity and believe through sharing our experiences we can learn from one another, be stronger together, and enable our business to thrive.