Senior Principal (Houston)

About the role

Senior Principals shape, lead and deliver major client engagements, playing a pivotal role in Q5’s commercial success and strategic direction. They build strong client relationships, create opportunities for growth, and role-model Q5’s values in everything they do.

Responsibilities

• Business & Commercial Acumen

• Exhibits a highly commercial mindset, demonstrating the ability to see the bigger picture and shape decisions that positively impact Q5.
• Manages margin and commercial risk confidently across large and complex accounts.
• Develops commercially sound approaches, understanding resource requirements across multi-stream engagements.
• Ensures account plans and commercials “do the right thing” for both Q5 and clients.

• Gaining & Developing New Business

• Consistently grows large-scale accounts through proactive opportunity spotting and relationship building.
• Shapes client briefs into compelling strategies for new business.
• Architects complex, multi-Offering solutions that demonstrate Q5’s capability and insight.
• Acts as a trusted advisor, creating opportunities to extend, repeat, or expand work through value-adding conversations.

• Relationship Building & Management

• Proactively nurtures senior-level relationships across multiple clients and networks.
• Seen as a highly credible, calm and authoritative partner, even in complex situations.
• Grows networks of senior stakeholders and cultivates new entry points into organizations.
• Role-models relationship-driven leadership, combining soft skills with delivery expertise.

• Critical Thinking & Problem Solving

• Architects solutions that draw on a wide range of Q5 methodological and Offering expertise.
• Analyzes and synthesizes complex information at pace, simplifying concepts and defining clear recommendations.
• Role-models inclusive, open critical thinking that brings others on the journey.

• Influential Communication & Engagement

• Creates clear, compelling narratives that cut through complexity.
• Synthesizes information into digestible messages that drive action.
• Communicates a well-reasoned point of view quickly and effectively.
• Adapts style to engage and influence diverse stakeholders with confidence and care.

• Leading a Room

• Reads the room expertly and knows when to intervene, question or advise.
• Confidently facilitates and leads high-stakes meetings with senior clients.
• Adjusts dynamically to changing session needs while maintaining direction and engagement.
• Creates open, inclusive environments and enables other Q5ers to contribute and lead.

• Programme & Project Management

• Manages large client accounts end-to-end, ensuring delivery is on time, on budget and to a high standard.
• Delegates appropriately while maintaining strong oversight of milestones, risks and quality.
• Creates delivery environments that balance performance expectations with wellbeing.
• Ensures scope, governance and delivery cadence are robust across accounts.

• Analysis & Tooling

• Demonstrates strong analytical skills and applies both qualitative and quantitative approaches.
• Supports and challenges teams in producing robust data-driven insights.
• Enhances project outcomes through rigorous, structured analysis and creative thinking.

• People Leadership

• Leads multiple teams across large engagements, supporting performance, growth and wellbeing.
• Sets clear direction and creates simplicity in ambiguity.
• Buils high-trust, values-driven cultures within project teams.
• Mentors and coaches Consultants, Senior Consultants and Principal Consultants.

• Values & Behaviours

• Exemplifies Q5’s values in all relationships and decisions.
• Creates environments where others can live the values.
• Proactively gives and seeks feedback, investing in development.
• Challenges behaviors—client or internal—that fall below expectations.

Qualifications and experience

• 10 + years relevant professional experience with a significant period within management consulting.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and hit the ground running in new contexts.
• Experience leading complex organization transformation (ideally with experience in operating model and organization design).
• Experience in strategic workforce planning and workforce modeling in large complex organizations.
• Understanding of the end-to-end employee lifecycles and ability to advise clients on the levers to pull to get better operational and commercial outcomes.
• Experience working with large, complex people data and ability to connect with external data sources.
• Good overall understanding of strategy, operating model design, business operations and people analytics.
• Excellent communication skills and facilitation skills with the ability to explain complex results or concepts to non-data audiences.
• Advanced problem-solving and critical thinking skills with experience in producing high-quality, insightful outputs.
• Entrepreneurial mindset to help grow Q5’s analytics practice.
• Qualifications and experience in a relevant discipline.

Benefits

• Finance

• 401K Plan
• Basic Life Insurance and AD&D Plans
• WageWorks Commuter Benefits
• Discretionary Performance related bonus

• Health & Wellbeing

• Health Insurance (Medical, Dental and Vision)
• Short- and Long-Term Disability Insurance
• Employee Assistance Program
• Access to Health Advocate
• Internal Wellbeing Program