ForgeFront is hiring!
ForgeFront is looking for two exceptional people—based in the UK and willing to travel occasionally to London and the South West—to join our growing team.
1x Futures and Policy Senior Manager
1x Futures and Policy Executive
More details on ForgeFront, the roles, and the recruitment process below. Please send a CV and covering letter to directors@forgefront.co.uk
Closing date: 5pm (GMT), Friday 29 August
About ForgeFront
We are a team of futures, policy and strategy advisers led by Sam Douglas-Bate and Gavin Moore. The company grew out of the Cabinet Office’s Priority Project’s Unit (PPU), an internal team dealing with the UK Government’s most important policy and project challenges. Gavin and Sam have deep experience working on areas related to international relations, the environment, trade and manufacturing, crypto, and the charitable sector. We have worked for the UK Government, the European Union and international governments.
The primary focus of ForgeFront is futures and policy work. Our ‘USP’ is linking futures thinking to tangible public policy delivery. As part of this we are a supplier to the UK Government through the Futures Procurement Framework, a closed list of trusted partners of government. We are also on defence-related frameworks, and a framework for research and innovation. We are members of the Association of Professional Futurists, the Global Futures Society and have many close links with colleagues and institutions across the world. We also have a strong partnership with the American company Good Judgment Inc – founded by Professor Philip Tetlock, author of Superforecasting: The Art and Science of Prediction.
We have developed a bespoke methodology called ‘Future.Ctrl‘ which allows our clients to identify future scenarios, threats and opportunities and then design, implement and track policies and strategies to deliver desired outcomes. We will soon formally launch, our ‘Future.Ctrl’ course that teaches the fundamentals of this methodology.
We are a deliberately small business with a flat structure and entrepreneurial mindset. We love embracing uncertainty, being curious and thinking deeply about our clients’ needs.
Why are we hiring?
We are in the fortunate position that our work has more demand than we can meet. We are therefore hiring two new positions: (i) a Futures and Policy Senior Manager and (ii) a Futures and Policy Executive. You will need to love all the challenges and freedoms that growing a new business can bring.
Who we are looking for
People working in our sector tend to bring their own unique skills, experience and background to the role. We inhabit a very specific industry where there is no rigid career path. There is therefore no ‘one-size-fits-all’ futures and foresight professional. If you’re on the fence about whether you would be right, don’t worry …. apply!
The roles
Futures and Policy Senior Manager (£47,500 per annum)
With our support you will be acting as the conduit between ForgeFront, our existing and future clients. You will form brilliant relationships with those we work with. It’s a role at the beating heart of our company. We are looking for:
- Professional experience working in policy, government or futures thinking.
- Strong knowledge of the UK’s public policy landscape, such as the structure of the UK Government/Whitehall, awareness of think tanks and wider stakeholders.
- Calmness under pressure, and embracing uncertainty. Able to take a step back at frenetic moments and reevaluate.
- An entrepreneurial mindset, able to take the initiative to build something new and exciting.
- Excellent experience managing both upwards and downwards. Comfortable in giving constructive challenge.
- Cutting through the noise and distilling complexity for senior leaders, such as government ministers, C-suite executives and/or company boards.
- Solid data understanding and analytical mindset. Qualitative and quantitative research experience.
- Knowledge of public and private sector procurement (desirable).
With this role you will have the opportunity to progress to a Director-level position, with the potential to take company dividends in the future.
Futures and Policy Executive (£30,000 per annum)
You will be our most important day-to-day implementer, working directly with clients on a range of fascinating futures and policy projects, as well as marketing ForgeFront through e.g. our bespoke ‘Future.Ctrl’ course, our newsletter and our LinkedIn page. We are looking for:
- Previous work in a policy or strategy-related role, with an interest in international public policy and future trends.
- Ability to develop good working relationships with clients, exceeding expectations where you can.
- Flexibility and being okay with uncertainty. Comfortable with taking the initiative.
- Design and communications experience e.g. LinkedIn, Canva, Squarespace, or WordPress, with a proactive ‘can-do’ attitude to marketing and promotion.
- High quality written communication with attention to detail.
The sort of mindset we are looking for
We like working with people who are cautious, humble and non-deterministic. The best in our profession are open-minded about the future and love updating their views when new data or evidence emerges. We think it’s important to be pragmatic, proportional and thoughtful at work.
Other info
- We love flexible working and hope you do too! Work the hours that suit you, provided it’s 35 per week.
- Work from where you want in the UK. We are 95% remote at the moment, but we like to meet up from time to time (usually in the South West or in London).
- We occasionally need to visit clients both in the UK and abroad.
- 28 days annual leave per year (+ birthdays), with an additional two days added in your second year.
- While we have no doubt it’ll work, each role will have a probation period.
Recruitment process
We will be running a quick recruitment process.
Stage 1: nothing fancy, please send a CV and covering letter, outlining why you would be a match for the role, to directors@forgefront.co.uk. Please include your name and the job title you are applying for in the subject heading.
Deadline: 5pm (GMT), Friday 29 August.
Stage 2: a relaxed interview with Gavin and/or Sam in early September.
We would love you to be able to start with us by mid to late September.
Note: ideally, we would give feedback to everyone who applies for a role with us. But we are a small team, and our previous experience of the overwhelming demand to work with us means we will be unable to provide this feedback – if we could, we would!