Consultant jobs in Ashtead, surrey

Closing date for applications: 24th April 2026, 23:59 (BST)   

Organisation: Scriptoria Sustainable Development Solutions

Contract: Full time, permanent 

Location: Flexible (remote or London-based), with regular business travel; preference given to candidates based in the South of England/Midlands, as business travel is predominantly within these regions

Salary: £35,000 – £38,000 – depending on experience 

Start date: ASAP 

Do you have a scientific PhD and postdoc/industry experience? Do you want to apply your scientific skills and research experience to health and sustainable development projects? Are you interested in meeting people, sharing your skills and learning to be a first-class communicator? Then this is the job for you.

Who we are 

Scriptoria is a values-driven, ethically focused consulting company that has a strong international reputation for excellence. We specialise in helping clients around the world to tackle sustainable development, poverty reduction, health, and climate and environmental issues. Our Consulting, Data, Communications and Training Teams focus on knowledge management, data management and communications to help research, international development, government and other organisations better manage information and communicate their findings.

Who we're looking for 

We are looking for a dynamic new team member with a PhD in a science/STEM subject to join our innovative Consulting Team and to contribute to the work of our Data and Training Teams. Agriculture and the health sciences are areas we are particularly interested in.

Specifically, we want an individual with a passion for research and sustainable development, a friendly, outgoing personality and a willingness to learn new skills. We’re looking for someone who wants to engage with international development and research projects to help them work more efficiently and have a greater impact.

This role will offer a range of experiences and the opportunity to contribute to the diverse range of services that Scriptoria provides.

Approximately half of your time will be spent working with our exceptionally experienced team of knowledge management and data consultants to help us develop and deliver cutting-edge data-management/analytics solutions and project-management software systems to our clients.

Your work will also involve working to help us manage and organise the projects we deliver to clients. The other half of your time will involve meeting with and training clients (to pass on your skills in research communications), both online and through face-to-face courses. Finally, you will be encouraged to contribute to company-wide strategy and business development.

Your role will include:

• Helping sustainable development and research programs to develop and implement digital tools and analytics systems to better manage their workflows and use their data 

• Working with projects in Africa and Asia to provide technical advisory and consulting services to help them to better manage and share information, knowledge and data

• Training and mentoring international researchers by delivering courses, workshops, and individual support in areas including journal article/report writing, grant writing, project management and communications for non-specialists 

• Contributing to business development across the company, including marketing and client outreach.

Working with Scriptoria 

Our senior team has an exceptional skill set, and we recognise that candidates with all the skills we need simply may not exist. But don’t worry, if you have some of the skills we want but lack others – we will train you to fill those gaps. This will include thorough training in the delivery of our well-respected training courses.

Our staff have the choice to work wholly or partly from home or from our office in Tooting, SW London, during regular operational hours (08:30–17:30). If working from home, staff must have a working environment suitable for holding video-call meetings/training sessions with clients.

Wherever you work, you will interact regularly with senior team members to gain new skills and exchange ideas. 

This role requires regular business travel and overnight stays to deliver training courses (mostly in the UK, estimated 2 to 8 days per month). Most in-person training is delivered across the South of England and the Midlands (typically within around 2 hours’ travel of London). The role may also involve international travel, including to developing countries (in line with UK government guidance). Applicants must be willing to travel and stay overnight as required and be based in a location with good transport links to key training locations such as London, Birmingham and Cambridge.

Key skills and experience 

Essential 

Qualifications and skills 

• A PhD in a quantitative STEM research subject 

• 2 years minimum of postdoc/industry experience (in a research or research-support role) 

• A strong understanding of research processes and data analysis and management 

• A demonstrated talent for writing - including writing journal articles and writing for non-specialists 

• At least one first-author paper in a peer-reviewed journal 

• Experience delivering live training/teaching courses 

• An excellent, practical knowledge of MS Excel and MS PowerPoint 

• Excellent English language skills, to the standard of a native speaker 

• The right to work in the UK.

Characteristics and interests 

• A friendly, open personality (bright, resilient, cheerful, confident) 

• A passion for international development and building researchers’ skills 

• An interest in information management and technology, data systems and analytics and in helping create new IT systems and software (programming skills are not required for this role) 

• A willingness to travel and to take a flexible approach to working hours when travelling 

• The confidence required to give presentations and training courses and to lead (facilitate) meetings, online and in person 

• The ability to work very well under pressure and self-manage 

• The ability to juggle multiple tasks and work alongside the company Directors. 

Desirable 

• Experience working on collaborative research projects with international partners 

• Experience working with programs such as Microsoft SharePoint, Power BI, or other knowledge management tools

• Experience with statistical analysis in R 

• Experience in grant writing and/or grant management 

• Experience writing communications materials that translate science for non-specialists and encourage engagement. 

Salary and annual leave 

Salary will depend on qualifications and experience but is expected to be between £35,000 and £38,000 p/a (depending on experience). Annual leave is 25 days per year plus public holidays (33 days).

Your new company
We are seeking an experienced HR Change Consultant to support a major organisational change programme at a leading London university. This role will play a key part in shaping and delivering people-related change activities across academic and professional services functions.The ideal candidate will bring proven experience operating within highly unionised environments, strong knowledge of higher education structures and academic frameworks, and hands-on expertise in managing restructures and redundancy processes in a compliant, sensitive, and collaborative manner.

Your new role

• Partner with senior HR leaders, change leads and faculty/department heads to design and implement people-focused change interventions.
• Lead on end-to-end organisational change activities, including consultation planning, restructuring, selection processes, and redundancy management.
• Develop and deliver change plans, impact assessments, communications, and engagement strategies aligned to university policies and employment legislation.
• Build strong working relationships with recognised trade unions; manage formal and informal consultations, negotiate where required, and support constructive dialogue.
• Provide expert advice to senior stakeholders on academic structures, grading frameworks, career pathways, workload models and associated policy implications.
• Ensure all change activities follow best practice, employment law, and university governance processes.
• Support managers through change conversations, capability building, and HR decision-making to ensure consistent and fair outcomes.
• Analyse workforce data, organisational design proposals, and role profiles to identify risks, opportunities, and areas requiring further refinement.
• Prepare documentation including consultation packs, FAQs, meeting notes, business cases, and outcome letters.
• Support post-implementation activities such as transition planning, embedding new structures, and capturing lessons learned.

Essential Experience & Skills

• Extensive experience as an HR Change Consultant, HR Business Partner, or similar HR role delivering large-scale organisational change.
• Strong background working within unionised environments, with proven ability to navigate complex industrial relations.
• Understanding of higher education or academic settings, including academic frameworks, career pathways, and governance structures.
• Demonstrable experience managing redundancies, restructures, and consultation processes in compliance with UK employment law.
• Skilled at stakeholder management, particularly with senior leaders, academic governance groups, and employee representatives.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret data, organisational design proposals, and role requirements.
• Excellent communication, facilitation, and negotiation skills.
• Ability to work at pace on multiple workstreams within a large, evolving change programme.

If this job isn't quite right for you, but you are looking for a new position, please contact us for a confidential discussion about your career.

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