Updating Results

Nous Group

+ Add a review
4.4
  • 500 - 1,000 employees

Nous Group Graduate Programs & Internships

  • Management Consulting

What it does: Management consulting services
Staff stats: 800
The good bits: Doing interesting, impactful work
The not so good bits: The downside is that the hours can sometimes be long, often under high intensity and the self-managed culture isn’t for everyone.

Nous Group

Nous Group (Nous) was established in 1999 with the aim of ‘delivering bold and personalised consulting services with a team of expert and engaging people.’

Nous partners with leaders to shape effective government, world-class businesses and empowered communities. It develops strategies, solutions and capabilities that improve financial results and outcomes for those organisations, their customers and the communities in which they operate.

Since its launch, Nous has grown strongly, becoming Australia’s largest management-consulting firm.

The firm has six offices in Australia and a growing presence in the UK and Canada. It offers a broad consulting capability. One that can solve its clients’ most complex challenges and help them achieve transformational change.  

Nous is recognised as Australia’s top workplace, ranking first in the 2021 Great Places to Work Awards, and a Great Place to Work in 2019, 2017, 2015 and 2013 – they only enter every second year! They've been previously named Best Management Consulting Firm by the Australian Financial Review.

Nous has also been acknowledged as one of the Top 100 Graduate Employers, ranking 2 in the Management Consulting industry, and placing overall 8 on the 2023 list, which uses popularity and quality to assess graduate employers in Australia.

Nous has been involved in a range of high-profile initiatives and reforms. These include advancing indigenous reconciliation, digitally transforming service delivery in Australia and developing regulatory models for the economy of the future.

The culture

In the belief it facilitates different ways of thinking and hence superior performance, Nous celebrates ‘the diversity of our employees in all forms – including gender, race, ethnicity, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, intersex status or otherwise.’

With a great deal of success, the firm has aspired to create a ‘diverse and balanced workforce.’ Recognised by Diversity Council Australia, Nous was awarded an Inclusive Employer 2021-2022. At the time of writing, 62 per cent of all staff and 47 per cent of principals, directors and managers are female. 

In 2019 Nous launched Nous Proud, a network to support LGBTIQ+ inclusiveness and they are a member of ACON’s Pride in Diversity program. It‘s also a member of the Australian Network on Disability and offers paid internships to differently-abled university students. After partnering with JobSupport, Nous has also employed six staff with intellectual disabilities.

Nous has a memorandum of understanding to work with Indigenous Professional Services, an Indigenous-owned consulting company. As part of it’s Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) they also have an Indigenous Employment Strategy to increase the number of Indigenous Employees it employs and a partnership with CareerTrackers to offer internships to Indigenous Australian univeristy students.  

Social contribution

Nous has aspired to make a positive social contribution from its earliest days. It has a ‘Community Partnership Scheme’ that provides discounted or pro-bono consulting services to organisations that otherwise wouldn’t have access to them. Since it was launched in 2012, the Community Partnership Scheme has provided consulting services and advice to the value of $4 million on more than 90 projects. Projects that built the capability of organisations to make evidence-based decisions to contribute to positive social, cultural, economic or environmental outcomes in Australia.  

The vibe of the place

While Nous Group services several ASX 100 companies, it’s best known for its work with large government departments and not-for-profits. The upside of that is getting to contribute to solving complex and interesting problems. The downside is that the hours can sometimes be long, often under high intensity and the self-managed culture isn’t for everyone.

Nous visual brand is based on a phenomenon in nature called a murmuration – that is, the ability of flocks of birds to fly together in dynamic, fluid motion. It states, "Murmuration as a system is open and collaborative, there is lots of room for the individual and it is highly responsive to its environment. This is a powerful metaphor for our people and culture and the flexible, energetic and engaging way we work.”

If that sounds appealing, you’ll probably be a good fit at Nous Group.  

Star Rating: 4.3 out of 5

From the employer

"The story of Nous

Nous Group was established in 1999 with the aspiration of delivering bold and personalised consulting services with a team of expert and engaging people. We wanted to do work that made a substantial, positive contribution. Not just to our clients and their businesses, but also to the customers and communities they serve.

It worked. We have enjoyed 20 years of uninterrupted growth to become the largest Australian-founded management consulting firm. We have over 330 people across seven Australian locations and a growing presence in the UK. We offer a broad consulting capability that allows us to solve our clients’ most complex strategic challenges, and partner with them through transformational change.

Why join Nous?

Interesting work
We partner with leading organisations in a range of sectors to solve complex challenges and influence bold agendas. Our clients include ASX 100 companies, major government departments and national not-for-profit organisations.

Engaging people
Nousers are motivated and engaging. We value diversity – of thought and of life experience. We are a group of interesting individuals and we have created an award-winning culture characterised by high performance, creativity and collaboration.

Performance and positive influence
We help our clients to perform and succeed, in terms they define.
We also want the geographies we operate in to be prosperous, bold and cohesive, so we challenge ourselves to make a substantial contribution to positive influence beyond performance – to deliver outstanding outcomes for our client’s customers, citizens and communities.

Flexibility
We have high expectations of performance, so we work hard and with intensity. We balance this with true flexibility and a strong culture of support, where professional and personal development is encouraged.

How to apply

We recruit interns and graduate consultants across Australia from a range of different backgrounds and experiences. From day one, you will be part of a dynamic team that puts people at the centre of everything. You will learn quickly by working intensely on interesting projects and interacting directly with industry leaders.

Applications for intern and graduate positions at Nous are open across the year, please check out our careers page for up to date vacancies."

Recruitment Process

The recruitment process

Nous Group offers both internships and grad roles to students from a wide range of disciplines. The firm expects candidates to be:

  • Enthusiastic, curious and willing to learn
  • Intelligent and academically accomplished
  • Able to undertake structured analyses in a logical and efficient manner
  • Able to demonstrate excellent written and oral communication skills
  • Well organised with the ability to manage multiple pieces of work simultaneously
  • Comfortable working autonomously and in a self-managed way
  • Able to analyse and process quantitative data
  • Able to work effectively with individuals from diverse backgrounds

If you’re applying for a grad role, you'll have interest working on complex problems and be able to demonstrate you want to ‘be part of a dynamic team that puts people at the centre of everything.’

To apply for a grad role you’ll need to visit Nous Group’s career site and make an online application. 

However, the process follows the template of an initial virtual interview with a member of the HR team, one or more face-to-face interviews. With testing of your subject matter expertise and analytical, verbal and written skills.   

Nous Group prides itself on bringing ‘a unique, cross-disciplinary approach to the disciplines of business strategy, public policy, organisational capability, executive talent and development, and digital strategy and capability.’

If you are offered a role as a grad consultant, you will have the opportunity to work across all of these service lines and play a key role in various multidisciplinary teams.

Remuneration & Career Growth

Remuneration

Nous Group promises potential employees they will get to do interesting with engaging people and enjoy a reasonable work-life balance. The remuneration packages Nous Group offers are broadly in line with industry standards but not lavish.

Career prospects

The firm provides a great deal of support for new staff. They are paired up with a buddy and performance coach, given comprehensive induction training and checked up on regularly by the HR team.

Nous Group has been in a continuous growth phase since it launched. It also has a performance-focused culture that encourages staff to grow not only professionally but personally.

In short, there’s little chance you’re ever going to feel you’ve hit a plateau. On the other hand, some people will find the intensity of the work and the amount of autonomy they are given overwhelming.

Graduate Reviews

Overall Score
4.4
Overall score based on 9 reviews
They Score Best in…
8.8
Career Prospects
8.8
Corporate Social Responsibility
9.3
Culture
9
Diversity
8.8
Career Prospects
8.8
Corporate Social Responsibility
9.3
Culture
9
Diversity
What Graduates Say About Them
  • The variation in work. I am able to explore a range of disciplines and subject areas. As an entry level position, this is a great opportunity to try my hand at a variety of different things and to shape my career accordingly. Through this, I would also add the access to high-level decisions and decision-makers. There are very few comparable roles where as someone in their early 20s I would get to work alongside such senior people in their own organisations and such experts in their respective fields.
  • There is an overall great culture that flows through collaborating across the business and getting to know colleagues.
  • The work is dynamic and interesting. It is challenging and requires me to think analytically and creatively to find solutions. The people and the culture of the organisation are fantastic.
  • The culture is inclusive and welcoming. The company promotes healthy practices such as turning off laptops at a reasonable time and management insists on only assigning you work you are well positioned to complete (i.e., you have enough capacity, interest, capability, etc. to finish it).
  • Nous provides so many resources and supports for me to do my job well. The performance coach and buddy structures make me feel like I have someone to get guidance and advice from. Every project team takes the time to get to know everyone before we dive into a project to get to know our strengths and area's we're looking to grow throughout the project. Everyone is really supportive and genuinely wants you to feel happy at work and to help develop your skills. There are also so many learning opportunities - both on the job during a project or proposal, as well as formal learning and training that happens as well. I think Nous also focuses on helping everyone to shape their career and work on projects they are passionate about and find interesting. Overall the culture is incredible and makes me love going to work.
  • A bit of a double-edged sword. The work is very rewarding, but it is tough. The hours can be long (albeit low for industry standards) and performance expectations are high. This is great as you are surrounded by high performers who pull each other up, but has definitely caused me to experience imposter syndrome at times and place unrealistic pressures on myself. I should mention though, that this is perhaps more a reflection of myself as while performance expectations are high, they are also tapered and balanced really well for what can be expected for an entry level experience and as a grad I am surrounded by a wealth of support.
  • There can be challenges with the self-management (how we govern our work hours) with the case sometimes you can end up with too much or too little work.
  • We sometimes have to wait for clients to respond when we tender for work so that can create slow periods.
  • The most difficult aspect of this work is that there are so many interesting projects to be on, but when you're on one project full-time you'll have no capacity to try those new things.
  • Sometimes the job can be demanding in terms of hours, and also a steep learning curve on new projects and proposals. However, this is balanced by less stressful times. I think overall Nous does really well to keep track of how many hours we work and offers 'recharge leave' if we start to feel burnt out from periods of long hours.

Jobs & Opportunities

Locations With Jobs & Opportunities
  • Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra, Brisbane, Perth, and Darwin
Hiring candidates with qualifications in
B
Business & Management
C
Creative Arts
E
Engineering & Mathematics
H
Humanities, Arts & Social Sciences
I
IT & Computer Science
L
Law, Legal Studies & Justice
M
Medical & Health Sciences
P
Property & Built Environment
S
Sciences
T
Teaching & Education
Current Jobs & Opportunities

Virtual Experience

In this virtual experience you will demonstrate and sharpen the skills required to be a successful consultant at Nous.

Virtual Experience

In this virtual experience you will hone the skills required to be a successful consultant at Nous.

Videos


Navigating an Early Career in Consulting

Watch this Career Talk to hear from the top consulting employers to get insider tips on how to start a career in consulting, what career progression is like, and more!

Navigating an Early Career in Consulting

Watch this Career Talk to hear from the top consulting employers to get insider tips on how to start a career in consulting, what career progression is like, and more!

Advice


Nous Group Melbourne Office Tour

Take a sneak peek inside Nous Group office at Collins Street, Melbourne.

Nous Group Melbourne Office Tour

Take a sneak peek inside Nous Group office at Collins Street, Melbourne.