Independent Consultant

About REAL Consulting

• REAL Consulting ) is a boutique management consultancy built for one thing: delivering measurable commercial growth for direct-to-consumer businesses. It is built from a network of top-tiers ex-consultants (e.g., BCG, McKinsey, Bain) and senior industry operators (e.g., CCO, CDO, CMO)
• We operate almost exclusively with retail, consumer goods, fashion, luxury, travel, and leisure players, and relevant private equity and investment funds on value creation plans, commercial due diligence, and transformation programmes.
• Our work is customer-centric, execution and value-delivery focused
  – we embed with client teams, transfer capability, and make change happen from P&L to Org to Tech landscape. We don't hand over a slide deck and walk away.

The Opportunity

• We are building a community of independent commercial transformation consultants to join live projects across the UK.
• You will lead end-to-end commercial transformation initiatives – from defining the growth levers, to enabling the client team to deliver them – across digital, marketing, brand, price & promotion, media, CRM, e-commerce, and beyond.
• You will work closely with senior stakeholders, as well as train and upskill client teams, and ensure that commercial strategy is not just written, but lived in the business.

What You'll Work On

REAL's projects span the full spectrum of commercial levers, including:

• Digital & eCommerce
  : online trade, customer journeys, digital channel optimisation, performance media
• Brand & Marketing
  : brand positioning, customer segmentation, campaign planning, marketing investment effectiveness
• Pricing & Promotion
  : price architecture, promotional strategy, revenue management, design-to-value and gross margin management
• Media & CRM
  : paid media strategy, measurement frameworks, personalised CRM programs, Marketing Mix Modelling
• Go-to-Market, Trade & Omnichannel
  : retail operations, customer experience, merchandising
• Data & Insights
  : marketing mix modelling, customer analytics, decision-support dashboards, Customer Data Platform build
• Organisational Enablers
  : team design, capability building, HR and tech implications of large-scale commercial change

Who We're Looking For

This is
not
for career consultants who have never delivered in industry.

You must have:

• 7–20 years of experience with a mix of top-tier or second-tier consulting (BCG, Bain, McKinsey, OC&C, Simon-Kucher, etc.) and ideally senior client-side commercial roles
• Proven hands-on leadership of commercial transformation programmes – from strategy through to measurable delivery
• Direct-to-consumer experience (retail/consumer preferred, but travel, leisure, and other D2C industries welcome)
• Strong capability in at least one core commercial discipline (digital, brand, pricing, media, CRM, data) with ideally ability to work cross-functionally
• Ability to embed with client teams, build trust quickly, and upskill them while delivering results
• UK-based (or EU with UK work rights) with willingness to work hybrid and travel to client sites

Why Join REAL's Network

• Access to live, high-profile projects with notorious clients
• Work alongside former top-tier consultants and senior industry leaders
• Be part of a network built for execution – same calibre as big firms, but with real impact and client immersion
• Flexible engagement models, competitive day rates, and opportunities for longer-term roles with clients or REAL
• Minimal bureaucracy – focus on delivery, not admin

How to Apply

If you meet the criteria and want to deliver commercial transformation that sticks, please send your CV and a short summary of your most relevant project experience to -