About this role
EY Parthenon
Location
London
Other locations:
Primary
Location
Only
Salary
Competitive
Date:
15 Oct 2026
Job description
Requisition ID:
1687003
Assistant Director (Senior Manager) (Operational Strategy) – Cost Transformation & Operational Restructuring, Strategy and Execution, EY-Parthenon
At EY, we’re all in to shape your future with confidence.
We’ll help you succeed in a globally connected powerhouse of diverse teams and take your career wherever you want it to go.
Join EY and help to build a better working world.
The Opportunity
At EY-Parthenon (EY-P), our unique combination of transformative strategy, transactions, tax and corporate finance delivers real-world value – solutions that work in practice, not just on paper. Benefiting from EY’s full spectrum of services, we’ve reimagined strategic consulting to work in a world of increasing complexity. With deep functional and sector expertise, paired with innovative AI-powered technology and an investor mindset, we partner with CEOs, boards, private equity and governments every step of the way.
The Operational Strategy practice within EY-Parthenon provides clients with pragmatic, results-oriented solutions that drive efficiency and performance improvement, helping solve their most significant financial and operational challenges.
Core pillars of our offering are Cost Transformation and Operational Restructuring, encompassing rapid transformation for organisations requiring strategic or structural change to their cost base or business performance/operations.
We develop strategies that optimise operations and enhance overall business value, leveraging deep sector and functional expertise, including:
- Cost Transformation - including use of ‘Zero based principles’ to optimise Opex and Capex.
- Turnaround / Operational Restructuring - including accelerated cost out, crisis management.
- Fix-Sell-Close - i.e. developing and implementing strategic restructuring options for underperforming subsidiaries, geographies or business areas.
- Value Realisation – i.e. hands-on management of delivery and financial impacts in cost reduction and/or turnaround programmes.
Our teams work closely with executive leadership (across most sectors) to identify impactful performance improvement opportunities (incl. quick wins), develop actionable delivery plans, and lead/support implementation at pace.
Your key responsibilities
As an Assistant Director you'll advise clients across a variety of sectors, supporting key decision makers (e.g. Board, C-suite, lenders, investors) in developing and implementing strategic transformations. This role involves hands-on delivery in fast-moving, high-pressure situations, often working with incomplete information and tight stakeholder timelines.
You will be expected to lead project delivery teams, working with senior client stakeholders within tight timeframes for some of EY’s most demanding clients. As a consultant you’ll advise clients across all sectors, supporting key decision makers in developing and executing strategies for value creation and cost reduction. Given the client-facing nature of the role, strong interpersonal and communication skills are essential to effectively engage with clients and pragmatically address their needs, including the production of clear, concise, executive-ready reports and recommendations.
You will be expected to operate with a high degree of independence, owning cost transformation and operational restructuring workstreams end-to-end and translating operational insights into clear financial outcomes (EBITDA, cash, CAPEX, risk).
We expect Assistant Directors to play a leading role in new business development efforts by supporting on pitches/pursuits and preparing compelling go-to-market collateral.
You will also help shape the Cost Transformation and/or Operational Restructuring value proposition within the wider Operational Strategy team, contributing to thought leadership and practice growth.
We expect you to establish, maintain and strengthen internal and external relationships to help build the profile of our team. As an important member of a small and growing team, you would be expected to take a leading role in practical efforts to grow the practice and in coaching and counselling junior team members to help them develop.
Skills and attributes for success
- Project Delivery – Ability to lead project delivery teams, driving tran