SHM: Business Support Officer
SHM is a small consulting firm based in London. For the last 30 years, we’ve been working with our clients to help them solve complex, human-centred problems. The work we do always connects to people, and it deals often with human motivations and interpersonal relationships. We strongly believe in the uniqueness of what we do – and our clients, which over the years have comprised many of the biggest organisations of the world, tell us time and time again that they bring us their most challenging problems because they believe that only we can solve them. This did not change during the pandemic – in fact, our clients are now turning to us more than ever to help them overcome some of the most fundamental challenges they have ever faced, and to unlock the new opportunities that come from a period of great disruption.
In practice, our work covers four main areas: 1. Developing insights and understanding so that we can influence customer and consumer behaviours; 2. Using insights into motivations and behaviours to change corporate cultures and set new strategies; 3. Working with companies that are in big operational or outsourcing relationships to ensure those relationships stay healthy; 4. Creating clear and compelling stories aimed at repositioning flagship products, services or initiatives.
While our work is very broad, spanning many industries, geographies, and sectors, it also has a clear niche: we focus on the motivations behind behaviours and interpersonal dynamics, and on applying insights from academia to the corporate world. Though we may defy easy categorisation, there’s no denying the success we bring our clients and the quality of our team. And there’s also no denying the challenge and enjoyment we gain from our work.
If you want to work in a fun, fast-paced, stimulating environment and you are ambitious, driven and have a passion for problem-solving, we’d like to meet you.
Overview of Role
Job Title: Business Support Officer
Contract Detail: Full time, permanent
Reporting into Head of Strategic Operations
Location: Bath or nearby in the Wiltshire area, with some days a month required in the London office. The successful candidate may also need to travel internationally on occasion.
Role Summary
· A strategically critical role supporting the delivery of SHM’s operational and organisational objectives, with responsibility for coordinating business operations, monitoring compliance, and providing data-driven insight to inform senior decision-making. The successful candidate will work closely with the Head of Strategic Operations to monitor, evaluate and advise on company-wide compliance with policies, legal regulations and contractual obligations, particularly in relation to client-facing project delivery.
· Collect, analyse and interpret organisational data to produce high-quality reports and insights for senior leadership, including identifying trends, risks and opportunities and making evidence-based recommendations.
· The candidate will act as a central coordination point for the project delivery team, proactively identifying operational bottlenecks, implementing tracking frameworks, and supporting the structured delivery of complex client engagements.
· The candidate will collaborate closely with the CEO, Executive leadership and consultants to provide high-level operational coordination, ensuring effective prioritisation of strategic objectives, alignment across projects, and efficient decision-making processes.
· This is a non-administrative role requiring the application of analytical, organisational and problem-solving skills to support business operations and strategic delivery.
Core Responsibilities
· Work closely with the Head of Strategic Operations to monitor, assess and advise on company policies, legal regulations and contractual obligations across the company, with a particular focus on client-facing project delivery
· Lead the coordination and continuous improvement of compliance processes, including information security, data protection and internal governance frameworks.
· Coordinate internal audit programmes, maintain risk registers, and support the implementation of change management processes across functional teams.
· Work closely with Head of Strategic Operations to monitor contractual compliance across client engagements, including the management of third-party vendors and processors
· Actively identify opportunities for operational efficiencies and enhancements in relation to tools, compliance and certifications
· Acts as a key liaison with the Data Protection Officer, contributing to data governance strategy and acting as a proxy where required
· Take responsibility for coordinating the structured delivery of projects by implementing and maintaining operational tracking tools, workflow systems and reporting frameworks. Identify inefficiencies and recommend process enhancements to improve operational effectiveness and project delivery outcomes
· Coordinate executive-level priorities and strategic scheduling, ensuring alignment with organisational objectives and efficient allocation of leadership time
· Manage and direct high-level communications on behalf of the CEO, including assessing priority, drafting responses, and ensuring alignment with business objectives across internal and external stakeholders
· Act as professional liaison with senior client stakeholders, maintaining strong relationships and ensuring clear and effective communication
· Produce structured reports and briefings for senior leadership, including analysis of operational data and recommendations to support decision-making
Additional Activities (as needed)
· Provide flexible operational support to senior leadership including the CEO, contributing to evolving business priorities and strategic initiatives
Direct Reports
· N/A – but possibility of some junior direct reports as business needs evolve
Relevant Skills
The successful candidate will be:
Quality-driven
You will need to:
· Have the ability to analyse complex information and produce accurate, insightful outputs to inform business decisions
· Have an impeccable attention to detail, working with diligence and accuracy while observing strict confidentiality
· Strong organisational and coordination skills across multiple concurrent workstreams
· Strive for continuous improvement and be open to constructive criticism
An excellent written and verbal communicator
You will need to:
· Bring a high degree of professionalism and accuracy to all written and verbal communications, both internally and externally
· Have exceptionally strong inter-personal skills and the ability to build positive professional relationships with internal and external stakeholders
· Ability to manage sensitive communications with professionalism, judgement and diplomacy
Positive and flexible
You will need to:
· Approach tasks with a proactive, can-do manner, bringing a natural desire to problem-solve
· Respond positively to the fast-paced, ever-changing requirements of client delivery
· Be proactive and flexible, willing to work outside of office hours where necessary
A team player
You will need to:
· Have the ability to work collaboratively in a team and with people at all levels in an organisation
· Work with professionalism and commit to delivering high quality work, always striving to deliver the best for our clients
· Be a highly resourceful team player who can also operate effectively independently
Proficient in basic tools
You will need to:
· Be competent in the Microsoft Office suite, including Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft PowerPoint and Excel in particular
· Be comfortable with or willing to learn how to use Asana and other project management, tracking and compliance tools
Qualifications & Experience
· Bachelor’s Degree and at least 1-2 years’ experience in a fast-paced corporate environment, with exposure to operational, strategic or project-based work
· Master’s Degree; recent experience in working with senior stakeholders and/or directly with clients
· Fluency in French and/or Spanish; knowledge of US business culture and professional practices, supporting effective engagement with US-based clients and stakeholders; ability to travel to the internationally, including to the United States for business purposes where required (subject to immigration eligibility)
Pay: £36,000.00-£39,000.00 per year
Work Location: Hybrid remote in Bath (Somerset)
