Principal at Robert Walters

A prestigious client is seeking a Principal Consultant to join their forward-thinking team in Sandton. This unique opportunity is tailored for senior professionals who have already achieved significant milestones in their careers but are now searching for greater purpose, meaningful equity, and the chance to build businesses with enduring significance. The role offers you the platform to express your entrepreneurial instincts, operate at the forefront of high-growth ventures.

This organisation stands out as a true partner to its clients—co-investing in every venture it helps create so that success is genuinely shared. Here you’ll find an unwavering commitment to building future-relevant businesses that leave a lasting legacy across industries worldwide. The culture is built on mutual support: everyone is accountable not just for their own results but for uplifting those around them too. Bureaucracy takes a back seat so you can focus on what matters most—creating value alongside some of the brightest minds in the field. With access to meaningful equity participation in each project’s upside potential—and the freedom to pursue bold ideas—you’ll enjoy both professional fulfilment and personal growth. This is more than just another consulting role; it’s an invitation to shape tomorrow’s leading brands while working within an inclusive community defined by excellence—and having fun along the way.
As a Principal Consultant based in Sandton, you will play an instrumental role in shaping future-relevant businesses alongside industry leaders. Your days will be filled with originating executive-level strategy engagements that span multiple workstreams—each requiring your expertise in problem framing and hypothesis design. You will guide clients through complex transactions such as mergers and acquisitions or public-private partnerships while ensuring seamless integration and value realisation. Your entrepreneurial spirit will shine as you identify new venture opportunities, manage investment portfolios, and scale innovative businesses from inception to market leadership. Building trusted relationships with C-suite executives will be second nature as you develop new accounts and shape compelling proposals. Your commercial insight will inform pricing strategies and deal structures that drive sustainable growth. By facilitating executive workshops and aligning diverse stakeholder interests, you will transform strategic visions into reality. Success in this role means balancing big-picture thinking with meticulous attention to detail—all while fostering a supportive team culture that thrives on shared achievement.

• Originate and lead multi-workstream strategy engagements at executive level, acting as a trusted advisor to C-suite and board-level stakeholders across diverse industries.
• Design problem framing and hypothesis development processes, overseeing strategic roadmaps from conception through to implementation oversight.
• Identify, evaluate, and execute mergers, acquisitions, and strategic partnerships while supporting clients throughout the entire transaction lifecycle including opportunity screening, valuation, execution, integration planning, and synergy realisation.
• Structure complex public-private partnerships by navigating regulatory frameworks and governance requirements while raising project finance and managing multi-stakeholder programmes through completion.
• Drive corporate venturing initiatives by identifying investment opportunities, designing mandates, managing portfolios, conducting commercial due diligence, and scaling early-stage ventures with operational support.
• Build and nurture new client relationships by shaping proposals, leading or co-leading pitches, and developing business opportunities that result in successful long-term engagements.
• Demonstrate strong commercial acumen through pricing strategies, deal shaping activities, and a deep understanding of how advisory businesses generate revenue.
• Facilitate executive workshops that align competing interests among stakeholders while crystallising strategic choices into actionable plans.
• Maintain strategic perspective while engaging with granular detail; apply strong organisational discipline combined with a hands-on approach to drive outcomes effectively.
• Lead high-performing teams by coaching, mentoring, and retaining top talent within a collaborative environment focused on excellence.

To excel as a Principal Consultant in this role, your extensive experience in strategy or management consulting—ideally at Associate Director or Partner level—will set you apart. Your established network of C-suite contacts enables you to open doors for new business development while nurturing existing relationships into long-term partnerships. You bring not only technical expertise but also an entrepreneurial mindset that embraces both financial risk and reward. Your commercial awareness ensures every engagement is structured for mutual benefit. As someone who thrives on collaboration within high-performing teams, your interpersonal skills foster trust among colleagues and clients alike. You possess outstanding communication abilities—both written and verbal—that allow you to facilitate workshops where complex ideas become clear strategies. Your capacity for balancing strategic vision with operational discipline ensures no detail is overlooked as you drive projects from concept through execution. Above all else, your passion for building enduring businesses aligns perfectly with an environment where value creation is paramount.

• 10-15+ years’ experience in strategy or management consulting or equivalent corporate strategy/private equity background with a proven track record of leading complex programmes at Associate Director or Partner level within tier-one consulting firms.
• A well-established professional network featuring substantive relationships at C-suite and board levels across various sectors.
• Demonstrated ability to originate new client relationships and develop business opportunities that consistently result in successful engagements.
• Expertise in building and growing client accounts through proposal development and leading/co-leading pitches for major projects.
• Strong commercial acumen encompassing pricing strategies, deal shaping skills, and comprehensive understanding of advisory business models.
• Proven capability as a trusted advisor to senior executives within client organisations—offering guidance on critical decisions underpinned by sound judgement.
• Comfortable with financial risk/reward dynamics including equity-based compensation structures; able to thrive amid the volatility inherent in venture-building environments.
• Entrepreneurial orientation paired with creative disposition; verifiable record of innovative thinking applied to business ownership responsibilities rather than pure advisory roles.
• Exceptional communication skills demonstrated through both verbal presentations and written reports; adept at running executive workshops that align diverse interests toward common goals.
• Ability to maintain strategic perspective whilst engaging deeply with operational details; disciplined organiser willing to take hands-on responsibility for driving outcomes.