Applications for this job are now closed
The PSC is a small team of public service consultants united by the belief that better public services are the key to a stronger society.
We work with ambitious leaders in some of the UK’s biggest public service organisations, creating lasting public value and helping to build a sustainable future. Our expertise has been recognised by the Financial Times, The Economist and The Guardian.
What we look for
Our Associate Consultants are a key part of our team and from day one you can expect to get stuck into a client project, working alongside other consultants, senior decision makers and front-line staff. Your work will involve the day-to-day deliverables that have impact and make a real difference to our clients, including data collection and analysis, researching directly with the users affected by public services, collaborative problem solving, and communicating clearly with key clients. Every team member plays their part in designing evidence-based solutions, then implementing them via hands-on performance improvement, agile software development and impactful capability building.
We’re looking for individuals who share our intellectual curiosity, passion, enthusiasm and dedication to solving the knotty problems required to improve public services. We rely on exceptional individuals who adhere to our four core values of optimism, rigour, humility and respect.
Specifically, we look for people who …
- Possess excellent analytical, problem-solving and people skills
- Show potential and a willingness to learn
- Embody entrepreneurial spirit and thought leadership
- Are passionate about achieving lasting change in public services
Like the rest of the team at The PSC, you’ll benefit from a supportive and flexible working environment:
- A variety of training courses including data analytics (e.g. HBS Business Analytics and Python), charisma, how to deliver Fast Effective Projects and equality and diversity – plus a budget for self-selected training
- Merit-based progression
- Healthcare Insurance, flexible options for leave, equal maternity and paternity offer
- Pro bono entitlement of up to 1 day per month
The application process
There are three stages to the online application, so read the details below carefully and prepare your responses before proceeding.
At The PSC, diversity and inclusion is important to our hiring practices and overall firm culture. Therefore, we ask all candidates to fill in this short REALrating form before starting our application process. Whilst your answers are used for monitoring purposes, we may also use the contextual information provided to inform how we measure academic potential. The information produced from REALrating cannot put you at a disadvantage, but it may provide a positive uplift on your academic achievements. You can find out more about REALrating here.
In the first stage of the application you are asked to provide us with your contact information and a copy of your CV.
The second stage is a timed test. This multiple choice 'Problem Solving Test' asks you 20 questions typical of the type of work we do for clients, testing numerical and analytical ability through a case study. It's the best way we've found to help you understand the work we do and to help us to gauge your ability to do the job well. There are a few things to note:
- During the test you cannot use the 'back' and 'forward' navigation in the browser window. If you do, your responses will be lost.
- Some questions are easier than others, most of them require you to look at data in tables and charts, so work through them carefully, but keep an eye on the timer. You can find some example questions on our website at https://thepsc.co.uk/careers/how-to-apply/
- Answers are required to all questions. They are multiple choice, so if you don't know the answer, make your best guess.
- Unfortunately if you lose internet connection during the test, you'll need to start again.
- You may wish to have a pen & paper and a calculator handy.
- You have 60 minutes to complete this test. When the timer runs out your entries will no longer be scored, so you should input your best guess in order to be allowed to continue to the next stage.
The third stage is 3 open ended questions for you to tell us why you would make a great addition to our team.
Finally, we appreciate the time that goes into your application, we will be in touch as soon as we can. If you haven’t heard from us within two weeks of the closing date, do drop us an email to check in: recruitment@thepsc.co.uk.
Our commitment to diversity and inclusion
We welcome candidates from any background and successful applicants will become part of a diverse, high performing team united by the same mission. The PSC is an equal-opportunities employer and operate anonymised recruitment to ensure candidates are judged on their abilities and character alone. We are proud to partner with UpReach, a charity which works to improve social mobility by creating conditions for undergraduates from less advantaged backgrounds to access and sustain top graduate jobs.
Our commitment to sustainability
The PSC is committed to driving positive, sustainable change across the public sector. Our sustainability policy sets out our specific commitments to use sustainable suppliers and expand our positive impact with clients and partners. You can read more about this here: https://thepsc.co.uk/news-insights/entry/the-psc-commits-to-carbon-neutrality-by-2021/
Privacy Policy
In order to process your application we will need to collect some personal data about you - rest assured we will handle your data with care and only use it for the purposes of assessing your application and auditing our recruitment process. For full details, please see our Privacy Policy: https://thepsc.co.uk/privacy-policy/.
