Management consultant at Larkspur Partners
About 85 minutes. Included in Plus.
A client's finance director has told his board that closing a depot will save 3.04 million pounds a year. Rebuild the savings from the client's own data, tell the steering committee the true number in a deck, and correct it again when a depot manager's figure turns out to be wrong.
Skills: Separate costs that end from costs that move; Build a savings and payback model from client data; Present an unwelcome number answer first; Handle a client sponsor's expectations with evidence; Revise analysis openly when data changes
Investor relations manager at Thornbury Industrial plc
About 75 minutes. Included in Plus.
The internal profit forecast has slipped below what analysts expect, and the company is in its close period. Work out whether the gap triggers the disclosure committee, answer an analyst and a big shareholder without signalling anything, and act fast when the share price moves for no reason.
Skills: Calculate consensus by a defined method; Recognise when a forecast gap triggers disclosure governance; Decline investor requests in a close period without signalling; Spot signs of a leak and escalate at once; Prepare announcement questions and answers within published information
Procurement officer at Eastmoor District Council
About 85 minutes. Included in Plus.
Four bids for a three year grounds contract. Score them exactly as published, deal with a price that looks too low and a panel member's late declaration, recommend an award within the rules, and handle the people who want to know the result early.
Skills: Apply a published evaluation method exactly; Investigate an abnormally low bid against the specification; Handle a late conflict of interest and recalculate; Recommend an award within budget and approval rules; Handle councillors and bidders within procurement rules
Customer services officer at Northbrook Borough Council
About 55 minutes. Included in Plus.
Fourteen missed bin reports after a breakdown and a short staffed route. Decide who gets a crew back under the policy, reply honestly to residents, and answer a councillor without promising special treatment.
Skills: Apply a published service policy case by case; Protect vulnerable residents through escalation; Reply to residents honestly without blame; Answer an elected member within the rules
Assistant store manager at Corner and Co
About 55 minutes. Included in Plus.
Four weeks of counts show stock missing on high value lines. Find what the paperwork explains, refer what it does not to the right people without pointing at anyone, and protect the shelf and the team.
Skills: Reconcile stock and separate paperwork errors from loss; Refer suspected theft with facts, not names; Act on loss within a spending limit; Talk to a worried colleague fairly