Commercial Principal (Client Services)

CreateFuture is fast becoming the UK’s most recognisable digital consultancy, with years of experience building digital products and services for major organisations whilst putting our people first. We have offices in the centre of Edinburgh, Leeds, Manchester, and London as well as remote employees located throughout the country.

We are a team of creators - whether that’s code, project plans, go to market strategies, culture initiatives, marketing campaigns, large language models or people policies. And together, with our clients, we create the future. This has seen us collaborate and partner across a multitude of industries and sectors, with the likes of PayPal, adidas, Natwest, FanDuel and Money Saving Expert, to name just a few.

Our reputation as a partner determined to deliver high-quality, robust and thoughtful products has enabled us to scale to over 500 people in the last couple of years, and it is our amazing people - along with the safe, supportive and friendly culture we have built - that makes CreateFuture a great place to work. Don’t just take our word for it though, we have been recognised by Best Workplaces UK multiple years in a row - across a number of categories - and our employee exit rate is astonishingly low.

Join us on our journey… Let’s create tomorrow, together, today. 

 

About the team and role

As a Commercial Principal for Client Services, you are a key leader within CreateFuture, responsible for shaping our commercial strategy and driving the growth of our most significant client portfolios. You will be a visible ambassador for the business, leading our response in high-stakes scenarios and setting the standard for commercial excellence. You will be instrumental in not only winning competitive work but also in developing the capabilities of our Client Services team to ensure sustained success.

 

What you’ll be doing

• Commercial & Strategic Leadership: You will shape CreateFuture’s commercial offering at a strategic level. You will oversee significant account portfolios, setting the strategy for growth and ensuring commercial performance through your team. You will be a key figure in winning competitive work and will lead CreateFuture’s response to high-stakes scenarios
• Market Influence & Business Development: You will act as a visible ambassador for the business externally. You will create and oversee marketing initiatives that reinforce our market position and develop team capability in consultative behaviours
• Operational & Functional Excellence: You will influence the operational standards for the Client Services function. You will drive adoption of accurate forecasting and margin accountability practices, enabling consistent performance across the team. You will advise others on pricing, contracting, and planning in complex accounts
• Strategic Planning & Governance: You will evolve Client Partnership Group (CPG) and account planning models in line with business priorities. You will lead annual planning for a business area and contribute to group-wide commercial strategy and reporting
• Client Experience & Advocacy: You will oversee experience quality across a portfolio or practice area, ensuring that strategic client relationships are monitored and nurtured. You will set standards for feedback collection, stakeholder planning, and experience delivery, identifying the client moments that matter and defining how CreateFuture shows up in them

We’d love to talk to you if you have:

Skills & Experience

• Proven Experience: In a senior client-facing or commercial leadership role within a consultancy or technology services environment. You have a proven track record of exceeding targets and have managed and grown a portfolio of accounts with an annual revenue of over £10m
• Commercial Acumen & Strategic Mindset: You are a strategic thinker with deep commercial acumen. You have extensive experience in shaping commercial strategy, leading large-scale bids, and managing the P&L for a significant business area
• Leadership & Influence: You are an inspirational leader with the ability to influence at all levels, both internally and externally. You have a demonstrable ability to build and develop high-performing teams
• Industry & Market Expertise: You have a deep understanding of the digital and technology landscape and are seen as a thought leader in your field. You have a strong network and are adept at building and maintaining relationships with C-level executives
• Technical & Delivery Insight: While this is a commercial role, you have a strong understanding of the technologies and delivery methodologies that underpin our work. You are able to hold credible conversations with technical and non-technical stakeholders alike

 

What we’ll offer you

At CreateFuture, we challenge ourselves to go beyond the obvious and we care deeply about our craft and customers. With us, you’ll have ambitious projects to sink your teeth into and plenty of opportunities to learn and grow. You’ll be part of our safe, supportive and friendly culture - that looks after you - and join our team of genuinely great people.

Our benefits include:

• Total 35 days holiday (we have flexible bank holidays)
• Comprehensive private medical insurance
• Enhanced parental and adoption leave
• Pension - matched up to 5%

As this is a hybrid role, we’re looking for people within a commuting distance of our hub locations (Edinburgh, Leeds, Manchester or London) and who are flexible to travel to client sites and CreateFuture regional offices. We're very flexible and trust you to manage your own schedule to balance face-to-face time with clients, colleagues and working from home.

We create and reinforce a culture that rewards employees’ impact, not just activity. We trust our employees to work autonomously and promote ownership across all levels.

 

Next steps

Our TA team aims to respond to all applications within a reasonable timeframe, regardless of if we are progressing with your application.

Our process:

1. 30-minute call with our Talent Acquisition Team
2. 1-hour Competency-based interview
3. 1-hour Panel Interview & Presentation
4. 1-hour Values-led interview

 

We believe that representative teams made up of people with different backgrounds, skills, and points of view help us build the best workplace possible, and enable us to create genuinely innovative, broadly useful products. We are committed to our goal of creating the most inclusive workplace possible. As we strive to build an environment where everyone can thrive and be themselves, we will continue to investigate and challenge biases, while working to identify and remove obstacles to inclusion. If you need additional support or accommodation during the application process, please don’t hesitate to let us know.