Key Skills

Job Description

Want to fast-track and accelerate your career while making a significant impact in a PE-backed business? We’re looking for talented individuals to join our Sherpa Programme and work alongside the CEO and management team of the businesses we back. We are interested in speaking to candidates across the UK, DACH, the Nordics, France and the Netherlands. The idea of the Programme is this: We recruit talented, ambitious, commercial all-rounders as Sherpas and embed one into each of our portfolio companies, for up to two years. You will work directly for the CEO, at the heart of value creation for the company's new growth cycle. We call this The Sherpa Programme. Your role will be similar to Tenzing Norgay, who was Sir Edmund Hilary's Sherpa for the summit of Everest; you will support our CEOs as they climb and overcome their own Everest. The Sherpa Programme is a structured, two-year career acceleration programme (more detail on programme mechanics below). During your time in the Programme, you will tap into the knowledge and expertise of other Sherpas, sharing knowledge, practical tips and advice to each other. You'll be supported by the Programme Lead, and benefit from all the resources Tenzing has to offer. Your development journey includes ongoing coaching, training and mentorship, and opportunities for regular engagement, feedback and support from your Sherpa team. The job in two bullets: Every Sherpa’s role is unique given the portfolio company they join but in general, you have two objectives: Support the CEO, and management team, grow the business faster, earlier and bigger by guiding the design and implementation of significant value creation projects Create leverage for the CEO, and the management team, by supporting the transition through this next growth cycle and offering high-quality support so the business can get more done How about some project examples? Your CEO and Board will decide on your projects, not Tenzing. Here are some real examples of projects undertaken by our Sherpa team. Coordinating the first 100 days post-completion with Tenzing: leading the delivery of the Value Creation Plan (VCP), enabling high Board engagement, aligning the leadership team around a business plan, and ensuring the company reaches “Basecamp” with clarity on priorities, a working rhythm with Tenzing, and early tangible wins. Leading the integration of a bolt-on acquisition: from announcing the acquisition to preparing the detailed integration plans, overseeing all workstreams, and tracking synergies in the first year of integration. Leading a strategic pricing review: including analysing the current pricing structure, recommending a new strategy and approach, working with every internal commercial team to gain buy in, conducting customer research, obtaining Board approval, rolling out all pricing changes, and tracking impact. Launching a new product: Ensuring the operational processes, management controls and an effective risk management setup was for launch. Developed and implemented the GTM strategy, developed the financial model and targets, and managed supplier relationships. Job Requirements Who makes a great Sherpa? From our experience, the people who make the best Sherpas are: Low ego, high EQ, capable of flexing their style to suit various contexts and individual working styles Motivated by the opportunity to act as a platform for others’ success; they are not searching for the limelight or desperate to prove they are ‘CEO ready’ themselves Dynamic, hard-working, self-starter A commercial all-rounder: someone with strong commercial acumen who understands how to pull on different levers to enhance business performance Action-oriented, but with the soft skills to bring an existing team along with them and maintain strong relationships Happy working with a little briefing, imperfect information, and significant process or resource gaps Capable of using indirect influence to drive outcomes Motivated by the opportunity / dynamic of this specific two-year programme - committed to making a significant impact in a short amount of time and embrace the unique nature (and ever evolving nature!) of the role From a skills and experience perspective, we are looking for: Ten to twelve years of prior career experience working in a business (not a career consultant) Someone with a proven toolkit for driving and measuring change across an organization, often gained through professional services experience or time spent in large, established companies Experience in transformation, successfully advancing large-scale, cross-functional initiatives, including leading commercial projects such as go-to-market strategies and new market expansion General management experience, including leading teams and/or business units Someone who has experience working in a PE-backed business is a plus We're not looking for... Someone desperate to be a PE investor A career consultant who enjoys giving advice and acting in an advisory capacity or who is most comfortable delivering through teams and within established processes – we need people who can make a recommendation and then make it happen Individuals without experience working in a business that has gone on a similar growth journey to those in our portfolio – Sherpas should intimately understand the opportunities and challenges that come with scale and growth ambitions of our portfolio Someone who wants a long-term career within Tenzing Someone who thinks they are ready to run a PE-backed business already and wants to join to prove it Someone who isn’t clear why operating in a PE-backed business aligns with their career goals Someone still working on their "soft skills" as a future area for improvement. Emotional intelligence and relationship skills are key for us. Programme Mechanics Firstly, it's important we’re clear that the Sherpa Programme is a fixed, two-year programme. This is an opportunity to accelerate your career progression. This isn't a job for life, or an opportunity for a longer-term career with Tenzing. Instead, the Programme is a stepping stone career move. Our shared goal is to enhance your value creation and executive leadership skills over a 24-month period, so that when you graduate, you have the skills, experience, and learnings to take a significant step forward in your career. You will be employed by Tenzing on a fixed contract. While Tenzing is your legal employer, you should think of the portfolio company you are assigned to as your employer. It is that CEO that you need to make happy and that company that you need to deliver for. Upon graduation, you may be offered a role at your portfolio company, or another company within the portfolio. We would be delighted if this happens, and we have a track record of Sherpas being promoted into C Suite roles. That said, there is no expectation set by us to the CEO that by working with a Sherpa, they must make a full-time role available to their Sherpa at the end of the programme. You may also find your best next step is outside of the Tenzing portfolio. Regardless, we offer support to Sherpas in finding their next role and invite Alumni to join a powerful network. We want to continue to maintain and nurture our relationship with you, as well as track your great progress. Hybrid Working Sherpas work between home and the portfolio businesses they support; they do not work from Tenzing’s offices. All final workplace arrangements, including the regularity you’re expected to be at your portfolio company’s offices will be confirmed between you and your portfolio company directly. You should expect to travel based on the needs of the business and what will make you most successful in your role. When you travel for work away from home, you can claim travel expenses. Training and Development At Tenzing, training and development are at our core. We’re humble enough to admit that we have plenty to learn and encourage our team to embrace freedom and stay curious to new approaches. We believe in investing in our employees, promoting engagement through training, and committing to long-term development. During your time in the Sherpa Programme, you will participate in monthly training days alongside your peers. These carefully curated sessions are designed to complement your portfolio company experience, supporting you to be even more effective in the role. The Sherpa curriculum centres around three areas: PE and value creation fundamentals: to explore the range of opportunities likely to exist within your business, refining your skills to effectively capitalise on them. Functional best practice: establish a solid foundation in different functional areas, enabling you to deliver impactful cross-functional contributions. Executive development: benefit from the hindsight and experience of accomplished PE-backed leaders, guiding you on the path to becoming a highly effective leader. Training is usually delivered by the diverse and impressive talent within Tenzing’s own network. We also invite external speakers or trainers, depending on the topic.

Core Responsibilities

Partner with the CEO and management team of an assigned portfolio company to design and deliver high-impact value creation projects that accelerate business growth. Provide practical, high-quality support that increases leadership capacity and helps the company navigate its next growth cycle.

Requirements

Candidates should have 10–12 years of business experience, a track record of driving organizational change and cross-functional initiatives, and general management experience leading teams or business units. They should be commercially minded, action-oriented, emotionally intelligent, adaptable, and comfortable delivering results with limited direction and imperfect information; private equity-backed business experience is a plus.

Benefits

• Monthly Training Days
• Coaching
• Mentorship
• Travel Expense Reimbursement
• Career Development Support
• Alumni Network