OC&C’s published career ladder is unusually explicit for a strategy firm. It defines core client-facing roles from Associate Consultant through Partner, and it also distinguishes an Analytics entry track alongside the Strategy track.
Each role below follows the same structured template:
- Title
- Client-facing: Yes, Sometimes, or No
- Geography: Global or region-specific
- Business unit: Global or unit-specific
- Typical degree required
- Typical work experience when starting this role
- 1–2 sentence plain-language description
- Typical duration in this role
- Typical next role(s) in the firm
21.1 Client-Facing Generalist Consulting Roles
OC&C’s core strategy ladder includes Graduate Summer Intern, Associate Consultant, MBA Summer Intern, MBA Consultant, Consultant, Manager, Associate Partner, and Partner.
Graduate Summer Intern
- Client-facing: Yes
- Geography: Global (programs vary by office)
- Business unit: Strategy
- Typical degree required: Bachelor’s (in progress)
- Typical work experience at entry: Internship-level
- Description: Summer internship where interns join live projects after initial toolkit training, supporting analysis and client-ready outputs on short engagements.
- Typical duration in this role: 8 weeks
- Typical next role(s): Associate Consultant (full-time, if offered)
Associate Consultant
- Client-facing: Yes
- Geography: Global
- Business unit: Strategy
- Typical degree required: Bachelor’s degree (typical graduate entry)
- Typical work experience at entry: 0–2 years
- Description: Entry-level strategy consultant assigned to a small project team, working directly with colleagues and clients on analysis, recommendations, and relationship-building across sectors.
- Typical duration in this role: 2–3 years (varies by office)
- Typical next role(s): Consultant
MBA Summer Intern
- Client-facing: Yes
- Geography: Global (programs vary by office)
- Business unit: Strategy
- Typical degree required: MBA (in progress)
- Typical work experience at entry: Pre-MBA experience (varies widely)
- Description: Postgraduate internship designed to mirror Consultant responsibilities, with interns working as full members of a project team and gaining exposure to senior client leadership.
- Typical duration in this role: 8 weeks
- Typical next role(s): MBA Consultant or Consultant (office-dependent offer level)
MBA Consultant
- Client-facing: Yes
- Geography: Global
- Business unit: Strategy
- Typical degree required: MBA
- Typical work experience at entry: 3–8+ years (pre-MBA), depending on background
- Description: Post-MBA strategy consultant who applies analytical and structured thinking to strategic projects and engages with senior management teams on major issues.
- Typical duration in this role: 2–3 years (varies by office)
- Typical next role(s): Consultant or Manager (path depends on office and prior experience)
Consultant
- Client-facing: Yes
- Geography: Global (experienced-hire and office needs vary)
- Business unit: Strategy
- Typical degree required: Varies (often promoted from Associate Consultant, or hired post-MBA / as an experienced hire)
- Typical work experience at entry: 3+ years (commonly promoted from Associate Consultant or hired with prior strategy experience)
- Description: Core project leader-in-training who takes responsibility for major aspects of the work, supports the Manager, and coaches junior colleagues while building client relationships.
- Typical duration in this role: 2–4 years (varies)
- Typical next role(s): Manager
Manager
- Client-facing: Yes
- Geography: Global (often aligned to a sector/practice)
- Business unit: Strategy
- Typical degree required: Varies
- Typical work experience at entry: Significant prior consulting experience (often promoted from Consultant or hired as an experienced Manager)
- Description: Day-to-day client leader who leads projects, owns delivery quality, and is accountable for guiding teams and building trusted client relationships while supporting Partners’ commercial goals.
- Typical duration in this role: 2–4 years (varies)
- Typical next role(s): Associate Partner
Associate Partner
- Client-facing: Yes
- Geography: Global
- Business unit: Strategy
- Typical degree required: Not standardized
- Typical work experience at entry: Senior consulting leadership (often promoted from Manager or hired laterally)
- Description: Partner-in-development focused on senior client relationships, commercial opportunity development, and content leadership, with structured coaching and mentoring toward partnership.
- Typical duration in this role: 2–5 years (varies)
- Typical next role(s): Partner
Partner
- Client-facing: Yes
- Geography: Global
- Business unit: Strategy leadership
- Typical degree required: Not standardized
- Typical work experience at entry: Senior consulting leadership
- Description: Firm owner and client confidant responsible for senior client relationships, origination, solution quality, and the ongoing development of the firm’s people, networks, and intellectual capital.
- Typical duration in this role: Indefinite
- Typical next role(s): Global/office leadership roles, external board/advisory roles
21.2 Client-Facing Specialist Roles
OC&C’s “specialist” roles are often expressed as sector-anchored versions of core levels (especially at Manager and above). The careers site shows practice-specific Manager roles such as Manager – Retail, Leisure & Tourism Practice and Manager – B2B Services and Products Practice.
Manager – Retail, Leisure & Tourism Practice
- Client-facing: Yes
- Geography: Region-specific (example: UK postings)
- Business unit: Retail, Leisure & Tourism
- Typical degree required: Varies
- Typical work experience at entry: Typically 5–12+ years in strategy consulting and/or the sector
- Description: Sector-specialist Manager who leads strategy projects in the RLT domain, combining the standard Manager role with deeper sector expertise and stronger POV development.
- Typical duration in this role: 2–4 years (varies)
- Typical next role(s): Associate Partner
Manager – B2B Services and Products Practice
- Client-facing: Yes
- Geography: Region-specific (example: UK postings)
- Business unit: B2B Services and Products
- Typical degree required: Varies
- Typical work experience at entry: Typically 5–12+ years in strategy consulting and/or relevant B2B domains
- Description: Sector-specialist Manager leading B2B strategy and growth engagements, often spanning corporate strategy, M&A strategy, and performance improvement in service-led business models.
- Typical duration in this role: 2–4 years (varies)
- Typical next role(s): Associate Partner
Services Manager
- Client-facing: Yes
- Geography: Region-specific (example: U.S. market posting)
- Business unit: B2B Services
- Typical degree required: Varies (MBA may be relevant for some entry paths)
- Typical work experience at entry: Typically 5+ years in strategy consulting or in-house strategy, or 2+ years post-MBA (as described in one posting)
- Description: Sector-focused engagement leader whose primary contribution is delivery excellence and relationship development in a defined industry domain, alongside some business development responsibility.
- Typical duration in this role: 2–4 years
- Typical next role(s): Associate Partner
21.3 Data / Analytics / AI / Product Roles
OC&C runs an Analytics track that works alongside strategy teams and emphasizes pragmatic analytics on strategy consulting timescales. It includes an Associate Consultant (Analytics) entry role, experienced-hire analytics roles, a leadership role titled VP – Analytics (Manager), and senior firm leadership titles such as Chief Analytics Officer.
Associate Consultant, Analytics
- Client-facing: Yes
- Geography: Global
- Business unit: Analytics
- Typical degree required: Quantitative bachelor’s or master’s (common; varies by office)
- Typical work experience at entry: 0–2 years (graduate entry) or relevant internships
- Description: Entry analytics consultant who works with technical experts and strategy teams to solve client strategy problems using advanced analytics in a pragmatic way.
- Typical duration in this role: 2–3 years (varies)
- Typical next role(s): Consultant (strategy or analytics, depending on path), Manager (longer-term)
Associate Consultant – Analytics, Experienced Hire
- Client-facing: Yes
- Geography: Region-specific (posting example: London)
- Business unit: Analytics
- Typical degree required: Undergraduate or postgraduate degree in a quantitative field (examples listed include Economics, Analytics, CS, Mathematics, Statistics)
- Typical work experience at entry: 1.5–4 years of analytics experience (as described in one posting)
- Description: Experienced analytics contributor who delivers analytic modules (data gathering, cleaning, modeling, interpretation) and works directly with clients to generate insight for strategic decisions.
- Typical duration in this role: 2–4 years (varies)
- Typical next role(s): Consultant, VP – Analytics (path depends on office and performance)
VP – Analytics
- Client-facing: Yes
- Geography: Region-specific (posting example: London)
- Business unit: Analytics
- Typical degree required: Varies (advanced quantitative background commonly expected)
- Typical work experience at entry: Typically 7–15+ years in analytics/consulting (varies by market)
- Description: Analytics practice leader focused on project delivery with some business development, including designing approaches, overseeing analysis, synthesizing findings, and developing junior team members.
- Typical duration in this role: Indefinite (senior band)
- Typical next role(s): Associate Partner or senior analytics leadership roles (office-dependent)
Chief Analytics Officer
- Client-facing: Sometimes (often senior-client and firm-facing, plus thought leadership)
- Geography: Global
- Business unit: Advanced Analytics & AI
- Typical degree required: Not standardized (deep technical credibility is decisive)
- Typical work experience at entry: 15–25+ years analytics leadership
- Description: Firm-level analytics leader responsible for shaping analytics capability and deploying advanced analytics to support client outcomes and insight development.
- Typical duration in this role: Indefinite
- Typical next role(s): Firm leadership roles, senior external advisory positions
21.4 Titles for External Advisors
OC&C uses Senior Advisor for highly experienced leaders—often former senior firm leaders or executives—who focus on board-level advice and thought leadership.
Senior Advisor
- Client-facing: Yes (selectively, typically senior-client interactions)
- Geography: Global
- Business unit: Firmwide (often aligned to a sector or theme)
- Typical degree required: Not standardized
- Typical work experience at entry: 20–35+ years, often former senior executives or senior consulting leaders
- Description: Executive-level advisor who provides board-level counsel and contributes to thought leadership, typically leveraged on high-stakes topics and relationships.
- Typical duration in this role: Multi-year (affiliation-based)
- Typical next role(s): Board roles, continued advisory portfolio
21.5 Titles in Practice Management
OC&C’s practice-management and people functions show up clearly on its careers pages, including a firm leader titled Global Director of People and operational/talent roles such as US Talent Manager.
Global Director of People
- Client-facing: No
- Geography: Global
- Business unit: People / HR leadership
- Typical degree required: Varies
- Typical work experience at entry: 15–25+ years in HR/people leadership (typical for this seniority)
- Description: Top people leader responsible for firmwide people strategy, talent programs, and development systems that support the consulting workforce.
- Typical duration in this role: Indefinite
- Typical next role(s): Senior firm leadership, external advisory roles
Talent Manager
- Client-facing: No
- Geography: Region-specific (role is office/market based)
- Business unit: People / talent management
- Typical degree required: Bachelor’s degree (common)
- Typical work experience at entry: 6–12+ years in recruiting, staffing, or talent operations
- Description: Talent operations leader supporting hiring and/or development processes, coordinating stakeholders and ensuring a strong candidate and employee experience.
- Typical duration in this role: 3–6 years
- Typical next role(s): Senior talent leadership, people operations leadership
US Talent Manager
- Client-facing: No
- Geography: Region-specific (U.S.)
- Business unit: People / recruiting and talent
- Typical degree required: Varies
- Typical work experience at entry: 6–12+ years
- Description: U.S. talent lead responsible for key talent programs and initiatives supporting growth and team experience in the U.S. office(s).
- Typical duration in this role: Indefinite (role-dependent)
- Typical next role(s): Regional talent leadership, people leadership roles
21.6 Titles in Research and Analytics
OC&C does not publicly describe a separate, non-client-facing “research ladder” in the way some larger firms do. Instead, research is heavily embedded in (a) the client-facing strategy roles and (b) the client-facing analytics practice, with senior analytics leadership titles such as Chief Analytics Officer supporting capability building and thought leadership.
Research-heavy role inside core consulting
- Client-facing: Sometimes
- Geography: Global
- Business unit: Strategy
- Typical degree required: Bachelor’s or MBA (role-dependent)
- Typical work experience at entry: Varies
- Description: Embedded research work is commonly performed by client-facing consultants as part of their project responsibilities rather than as a distinct job family.
- Typical duration in this role: Not a standalone role
- Typical next role(s): N/A
21.7 Other Staff and Back-Office Roles
OC&C’s “Business Services” roles include operational support positions such as PA and Senior PA, which are critical in keeping teams and leaders operating smoothly.
PA
- Client-facing: Sometimes (logistics and coordination touchpoints)
- Geography: Office-specific
- Business unit: Business Services
- Typical degree required: Varies (experience often substitutes)
- Typical work experience at entry: 2–6+ years in administrative/project support
- Description: Team enablement role supporting consultants and leaders with scheduling, travel, coordination, and operational support for the office and project cadence.
- Typical duration in this role: 2–5 years
- Typical next role(s): Senior PA, office operations leadership roles
Senior PA
- Client-facing: Sometimes (logistics and stakeholder coordination)
- Geography: Office-specific
- Business unit: Business Services
- Typical degree required: Varies
- Typical work experience at entry: 5–10+ years in executive support or professional services operations
- Description: Senior enablement role supporting leaders and teams at higher complexity, often coordinating multiple priorities and supporting office initiatives.
- Typical duration in this role: 3–7 years
- Typical next role(s): Lead EA/operations roles, office management
