
WGSN · London
Job title: Senior Trend Researcher (Fashion Consultancy) Reporting to: Senior Consultant Direct reports: N/ABusiness area: WGSN Mindset Function: Consultancy Lo...
Job title: Senior Trend Researcher (Fashion Consultancy)
Reporting to: Senior Consultant Direct reports: N/ABusiness area: WGSN Mindset
Function: Consultancy
Location: London UK - Hybrid (min. 3 days per week office based)
Salary: Competitive market rate salary
The role
We are looking to hire a Senior Trend Researcher to join our Mindset Consultancy team in the UK.
Working at WGSN
Together, we create tomorrow
A career with WGSN is fast-paced, exciting and full of opportunities to grow and develop. We're a team of consumer and design trend forecasters, content creators, designers, data analysts, advisory consultants and much more, united by a common goal: to create tomorrow. WGSN's trusted consumer and design forecasts power outstanding product design, enabling our customers to create a better future. Our services cover consumer insights, beauty, consumer tech, fashion, interiors, lifestyle, food and drink forecasting, data analytics and expert advisory. If you are an expert in your field, we want to hear from you.
Role overview
We are looking for a Senior Trend Researcher (Fashion) to join our dynamic, ambitious and close-knit consultancy team. Working closely with our team of global consultants, you will be responsible for researching and creating solution-driven qualitative and quantitative analyses in accordance with clients' bespoke needs.
With proven experience, the Senior Trend Researcher will have a broad understanding of research, analysis and strategy. With a focus on building world-class research and supporting large-scale projects, you'll also collaborate with a team of international experts. In order to succeed in this role you must hold relevant fashion-specific qualifications at BA level, as well as experience in either:
Working agency side developing research for consultancy projects for the fashion retail sector.
Working at a brand / retailer within buying, design or trend.
You’ll have an in-depth understanding of trends, consumer research, market analysis, new product development and the role data and analytics play in commercial success for fashion clients.You will be proactive in collaborating with consultants and presenting new ideas to deliver innovation, with the ability to pin-point trends that will impact the client’s business.
The team
You will be part of a dynamic, high-performing team, made up of 40+ consultants and trend researchers who bring together bespoke solutions for a wide range of clients across the globe. You will be working with industry experts and thought leaders with backgrounds in; creative strategy, product innovation, design, marketing, buying and merchandising, data analytics and of course trend forecasting.
Key Accountabilities
Working with Consultants, Senior Consultants and Directors to deliver the defined Consultancy strategy to clients, ensuring the appropriate methodologies and frameworks are employed for all project teams.
Conduct qualitative and quantitative research across a variety of methodologies and deliver analysis that provides actionable recommendations that will benefit the client's future business.
Taking a proactive approach to developing and sharing relevant insights with both colleagues and clients positively impacts Mindset’s positioning as thought leaders.
Able to communicate concepts and ideas and articulate findings from research to peers and project leads. Working across multiple formats, written, visual, digital, audio, etc.
Play an active role in project management and admin tasks, collaborating and supporting senior colleagues and project leads.
Support senior colleagues in commercial activity by contributing to the development of compelling pitch material.
Present to key stakeholders both internally and externally, participating in Q&A and client workshops where appropriate.
Travel nationally and internationally to deliver high-value consulting projects to clients. Working across time zones with a diverse set of clients.
Good organisation, communication and collaboration skills with the ability to work independently within an international team to ensure strategy & outputs are of a consistently high standard.
Excellent time management, with proven experience in effectively tracking and delivering to multiple concurrent project deadlines.
This list is not exhaustive and there may be other activities you are required to deliver.
Skills, experience & qualifications required
Qualifications and proven experience working agency or brand/retail side, developing product direction and strategy across the fashion retail sector.
Robust and rounded research methodologies to develop market-relevant fashion trend solutions; creative direction and/or assortment plans.
Strong knowledge of the global fashion market, understanding premium to commercial trends across fashion and lifestyle product areas, with the ability to pin-point trends that will have a great impact.
Strong knowledge of consumer behaviour, generational shifts and marketing/social media trends across the fashion industry.
Ability to analyse data and identify and communicate trends within said data that will impact clients.
Strong level of writing and reporting in English with relevant language surrounding fashion terminology and product attributes.
Good presentation skills with proven experience in presenting to internal stakeholders, external clients and/or at events.
Technical skills: Microsoft Office, Google Workspace. A basic knowledge and/or capabilities in data visualisation software such as Tableau is an advantage.
WE ARE: At Adaptive, we are a financial consulting firm that partners with capital, commodity, and digital market participants. We value differentiation through technology. Our experienced teams design and deliver complex front-office technology solutions using our proven accelerators to create long-term competitive advantage. Our clients include the world's leading investment banks, investment managers, fintechs and capital market service providers. With a global reach with offices in London, New York, Manila, Barcelona and Montreal, we have a proven track record of delivering powerful, elegant and intuitive trading technology solutions. We are now looking for Technical Business Analyst services on an exciting project! THE INDIVIDUAL/S PROVIDING THE SERVICES WILL HAVE THE FOLLOWING EXPERIENCE: * The ability to see the big picture while managing the finer details of delivery. * The ability to communicate and facilitate effectively across both technical and business stakeholder groups. * The ability to bring structure and clarity to ambiguous or complex delivery situations. * The ability to understand system behaviour and interactions beyond purely functional outcomes. * A strong technical and domain-driven mindset, with the ability to work closely with engineering teams * Hands-on experience with high-performance messaging or sequencing platforms such as Aeron, Kafka, Hydra, or equivalent — including an understanding of message ordering, state machine replication, and fault-tolerant distributed systems * Demonstrable exposure to low-latency or high-throughput messaging infrastructure in a financial or similarly demanding technical environment * Experience in QA, Software Engineering, Technical Business Analysis, or another highly technical product environment * A product-first mindset, combining Domain-Driven Design principles with a deep understanding of systems and user impact * The ability to define and document functional and non-functional requirements clearly and effectively * An understanding of performance, scalability, resilience, and availability in modern platforms * Experience working in Agile or Kanban environments across the full software development lifecycle * Demonstrable experience contributing to architecture and design discussions, simplifying complex challenges into deliverable solutions * The ability to create process flows, sequencing diagrams, and documentation that align technical and operational teams DESCRIPTION OF THE SERVICES: DRIVE CLARITY IN COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTS: * Shaping requirements and driving alignment in ambiguous situations, with minimal direction * Adapting to different delivery models across products, including engineering-led and BA-led ways of working * Define and maintain functional and non-functional requirements — including operational scenarios, acceptance criteria, and QA validation needs across distributed workflows * Ensuring questions are raised early, so that solutions are well understood, well defined, and ready to be delivered SHAPE THE BACKLOG AND DELIVERY: * Collaborate with engineering, QA, and architecture teams to translate complex technical solutions into structured backlog items, deliverable stories, and testable outcomes * Help stakeholders make their vision for the product materialise, especially in the early stages of each delivery phase * Be the stakeholders' proxy in the team — able to make quick, firm decisions on scope, requirements and prioritisation/triage * Drive backlog review and estimation processes, and take part in planning activities * Define acceptance criteria and tests up front as part of a Business-Driven Development approach * Follow up during implementation and testing phases to ensure delivery satisfies requirements COLLABORATE ACROSS THE TEAM: * Work closely with QA to assess failure scenarios and help distinguish bugs, enhancements, and new feature requirements * Facilitate discussions across technical and business stakeholders to drive clarity, alignment, and sound decision-making * Support delivery, implementation, and release processes, ensuring solutions align with business objectives, customer use cases, and non-functional expectations * Help improve operational processes and workflows — both internally and externally — bringing a calm, pragmatic and collaborative approach WHAT DO PEOPLE THINK OF US 🗣 You can check our Glassdoor page 🎉 THE PROCESS Long interview processes are stressful and boring, and that is not us 😉 We want to make sure that everything runs smoothly. So here you will have three stage interviews: 1- A chat with one of our great recruiters. 2- A zoom chat with one of our BA colleagues where they will ask you detailed questions about your experience 3- A Face to Face interview (via Zoom). But don’t worry; everything will be explained to you step by step by your recruiter. Here is a little tip for you during those stages: Collaboration is massively important to us, so don't hesitate to share your thoughts, ask questions, ask for help if needed, etc 😊 DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION: 💜 Diversity and inclusion are key to a great workplace, and Adaptive is better when it’s more representative of the world around us. We want everyone to feel comfortable bringing their whole selves to work without any fear of judgment or negativity. All we ask is that anyone providing services here is respectful, collaborative, passionate about what they do, and have the skills needed to be successful in their roles. Background check: The engagement is subject to an acceptable background check that will be run by Adaptive on any individual/s providing the services.
WE ARE: At Adaptive, we are a financial consulting firm that partners with capital, commodity, and digital market participants. We value differentiation through technology. Our experienced teams design and deliver complex front-office technology solutions using our proven accelerators to create long-term competitive advantage. Our clients include the world's leading investment banks, investment managers, fintechs and capital market service providers. With a global reach with offices in London, New York, Manila, Barcelona and Montreal, we have a proven track record of delivering powerful, elegant and intuitive trading technology solutions. We are now looking for a Technical Business Analyst to join our team — someone who can bridge the gap between high-level product vision and detailed delivery execution in a complex, fast-moving technical environment. If you feel like this is you, you might be a perfect fit for this role! 🎉 YOU ARE: * A strategic thinker who can zoom out to understand the big picture and zoom in to nail the details. * A natural bridge-builder — equally comfortable in a room full of engineers and a room full of stakeholders. * A problem-solver who thrives in ambiguity and brings calm, clarity, and structure to complex situations. * A curious mind who genuinely enjoys understanding how systems work, not just what they need to do. * A collaborative team player who believes the best solutions come from diverse perspectives. YOU HAVE: * A strong technical and domain-driven mindset, with the ability to work closely with engineering teams. * Hands-on experience with high-performance messaging or sequencing platforms such as Aeron, Kafka, Hydra, or equivalent — including an understanding of message ordering, state machine replication, and fault-tolerant distributed systems * Demonstrable exposure to low-latency or high-throughput messaging infrastructure in a financial or similarly demanding technical environment * Experience in QA, Software Engineering, Technical Business Analysis, or another highly technical product environment. * A product-first mindset, combining Domain-Driven Design principles with a deep understanding of systems and user impact. * The ability to define and document functional and non-functional requirements clearly and effectively. * An understanding of performance, scalability, resilience, and availability in modern platforms. * Experience working in Agile or Kanban environments across the full software development lifecycle. * Confidence contributing to architecture and design discussions, simplifying complex challenges into deliverable solutions. * The ability to create process flows, sequencing diagrams, and documentation that align technical and operational teams. YOU WILL: DRIVE CLARITY IN COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTS: * Operate confidently in ambiguous situations, shaping requirements and driving alignment with minimal direction. * Adapt to different delivery models across products, including engineering-led and BA-led ways of working. * Define and maintain functional and non-functional requirements — including operational scenarios, acceptance criteria, and QA validation needs across distributed workflows * Ask the right questions early, so that solutions are well understood, well defined, and ready to be delivered. SHAPE THE BACKLOG AND DELIVERY: * Collaborate with engineering, QA, and architecture teams to translate complex technical solutions into structured backlog items, deliverable stories, and testable outcomes. * Help stakeholders make their vision for the product materialise, especially in the early stages of each delivery phase. * Be the stakeholders' proxy in the team — able to make quick, firm decisions on scope, requirements and prioritisation/triage. * Drive backlog review and estimation processes, and take part in planning activities. * Define acceptance criteria and tests up front as part of a Business-Driven Development approach. * Follow up during implementation and testing phases to ensure delivery satisfies requirements. COLLABORATE ACROSS THE TEAM: * Work closely with QA to assess failure scenarios and help distinguish bugs, enhancements, and new feature requirements. * Facilitate discussions across technical and business stakeholders to drive clarity, alignment, and sound decision-making. * Support delivery, implementation, and release processes, ensuring solutions align with business objectives, customer use cases, and non-functional expectations. * Help improve operational processes and workflows — both internally and externally — bringing a calm, pragmatic and collaborative approach. WHY US: * To be immersed in high-standard engineering culture. Our fantastic team takes pride in crafting complex technical solutions but also loves sharing their knowledge and helping you grow professionally (we have extraordinary minds at Adaptive 😁) You can learn from anyone here, which is the beauty of it. * To take part in the growth and development of a great company. * Our teams feel free to speak up, make suggestions and raise concerns. * Collaborative team environment: we all work together, respect each other, and pitch in. * Great consideration for work/life balance (highly-flexible, hybrid working model, well-being benefits…). The balance between professional and personal life is massively important to us. * We work hard to provide a positive, collaborative and inclusive culture and to positively impact our staff and local communities through different well-being, diversity and inclusion. programmes. WHAT DO PEOPLE THINK OF US 🗣 You can check our Glassdoor page 🎉 BENEFITS (What we offer in return // what you’ll get ) We create benefits with YOU in mind. * 25 days holiday * Pension scheme * Family medical and dental * Life insurance and Long term disability cover * Cycle scheme * Season ticket loan * Gym subsidy * Employee Assistance Programme * Mental Health First Aiders THE PROCESS Long interview processes are stressful and boring, and that is not us 😉 We want to make sure that everything runs smoothly. So here you will have three stage interviews: 1- A chat with one of our great recruiters. 2- A zoom chat with one of our BA colleagues where they will ask you detailed questions about your experience 3- A Face to Face interview (via Zoom). But don’t worry; everything will be explained to you step by step by your recruiter. Here is a little tip for you during those stages: Collaboration is massively important to us, so don't hesitate to share your thoughts, ask questions, ask for help if needed, etc 😊 DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION: 💜 Diversity and inclusion are key to a great workplace, and Adaptive is better when it’s more representative of the world around us. We want everyone to feel comfortable bringing their whole selves to work without any fear of judgment or negativity. All we ask is that our colleagues are respectful, collaborative, passionate about what they do, and have the skills needed to be successful in their roles Background check: the employment/engagement is subject to an acceptable background check that will be run by Adaptive
THE ROLE Note: this is not an open vacancy. If you are currently in your final year of study or have already graduated, please do not use this listing. Instead, apply directly to our Pre-Associate Programme (H1 or H2 intake, depending on your availability). This listing is for candidates who are interested in GCS but are not yet eligible to apply for our Pre-Associate Programme, typically those in the first or second year of an undergraduate degree, or those who will not be graduating within the next 12 months. By registering your interest here, you will be added to our future talent pipeline. When our Pre-Associate Programme opens and you meet the eligibility criteria, we will contact you directly. There is nothing further required from you once you have submitted your details for the Future Talent Network. THE CANDIDATE Am I eligible to register? You should use this listing if you: * Are currently studying for an undergraduate or postgraduate degree; * Are not graduating within the next 12 months, and; * Are interested in a career in strategy consulting and want GCS to consider you for the Pre-Associate Programme when the time comes. You should not use this listing if you are graduating this year or have already graduated. In that case, please apply directly to our Pre-Associate Programme. Submitting a registration here in addition to a live Pre-Associate application may result in one or both applications being discarded. Who would be an ideal future candidate? We are looking to hear from people who are building toward the profile we hire into: intellectually curious, analytically strong, and genuinely motivated by the kind of work we do. At the point you become eligible, we will be looking for: * A track record of academic excellence, including a bachelor's degree from a leading institution * Exceptional analytical ability * A collaborative and positive team mindset * Outstanding drive and intellectual curiosity * A genuine desire to build a long-term career in consulting. THE FIRM Why GCS? GCS is an award-winning strategy consultancy that supports entrepreneurial management teams and their investors at pivotal moments of the growth journey. We work with leading private equity firms and ambitious businesses, helping them build conviction, manage risk, and move further, faster. Founded by experienced deal advisers, GCS has grown rapidly by combining analytical rigour with clarity of thought, and by delivering insight-led advice that stands up to real-world scrutiny. Our work spans commercial due diligence, customer value creation, strategic growth, and M&A strategy, giving our team broad exposure to high-impact questions across the investment cycle. We are proud to be recognised as a top consulting firm in private equity, with 35% annual growth since inception, over £3bn in deal value supported, and multiple industry awards, including Commercial Due Diligence Provider of the Year 2024 at the Mergermarket British Private Equity Awards. But what truly distinguishes GCS is our culture. We are a close-knit, ambitious team that invests deeply in people. You'll work side-by-side with senior colleagues, take early ownership, and receive structured development, mentorship, and continuous feedback.