Unsolicited application (m/f/d)

Role Summary

SME consulting in Germany is facing a fundamental transformation - and in this phase it will be decided which companies will actually take the step forward and which will remain frozen in the status quo. Vogel is one of the most successful medium-sized consulting companies in Germany - several thousand medium-sized companies entrust us with their tax, commercial and strategic issues. We are now developing this model into a Germany-wide consulting company.

You won't find anything in our advertised positions that suits you exactly - but something is drawing you to Vogel. Perhaps the mission is to redefine German SME consulting in the 2030s. Maybe it's the combination of structures that support and a setup that moves forward every day - something you'll hardly find anywhere else in the market. Maybe it's a specific area (tax, payroll accounting, digitalization, advisory) that you want to get into without us having exactly the right role advertised.

We take every unsolicited application seriously. We read every CV, honestly check whether we have a place right now or whether it will open up in the next few months, and respond to you within two weeks with a clear yes or no. Development phases need builders who think for themselves - the direct route to us is often the fastest.

TAX ADVICE

• You work directly with medium-sized entrepreneurs on annual financial statements, tax returns and ongoing advice - depending on your experience, as a contributor, as a responsible processor or as a manager with your own clientele.
• If you are more demanding, you will take on design topics - succession, international structures, M&A preparation, industry specializations.
• You are a contact person at eye level for the owner and managing director - no filter system between you and the client.

PAYROLL ACCOUNTING

• You manage complex payroll accounting for medium-sized clients and are the direct contact for human resources departments and managing directors.
• You actively shape the digitalization of payroll processes - modern interfaces, automated processes, self-service components.
• You make wages an advisory function with substance, not a pure recording job.

DIGITALIZATION AND ADVISORY

• You work at the interface between consulting and technology — process analysis, tool introductions, automation for our clients and for Vogel itself.
• You will provide business advice - commercial support, liquidity planning, FP&A setup, M&A preparation - depending on your profile with your own topic area.
• You develop your own specialist areas of focus and expand them into visible specializations.

YOUR PERSPECTIVES

What will be in your setup after 12 months depends on the specific entry point - we will clarify this honestly in the initial consultation. The general rule at Vogel is: you grow through your contributions, not through your years of work.

At Vogel, two independent career paths run in parallel - both equally equal in recognition, visibility and remuneration:

• Technical expert career (IC career). You go into the depth of your specialist area and over time become one of the defining voices in it. You build methodological substance, act internally as an escalation endpoint and as a multiplier for colleagues, and develop externally visible standards - in publications, lectures, and industry articles. Your progression leads through Expert, Senior, Lead to Principal. Anyone who is passionate about their field and does not want to define their growth through personnel scaling will find a home that is rarely consistently built here - with full senior compensation without the detour of management responsibility.
• Leadership career (management career). You take charge of teams and carry the mandate portfolio and personnel responsibility in one person. From manager level three to five, direct reports, with consistent growth along senior manager, director, VP. You help design your area, build the next layer yourself and have a visible impact on the architecture with which Vogel continues to grow.

You decide which path is right for you, not when you join, but when you first climb — typically in year one to three. Advancement is earned, not assigned. You always know where you stand.

MINDSET & PERSONALITY

• You have the right to set the highest standard in everything you deliver - not because someone is controlling, but because mediocrity bothers you personally.
• You have the humility to learn from practitioners. The experienced tax advisor or operations lead knows things about their field that are not included in any model.
• You see work as a central axis of life - not the only one, but a central one. Anyone who complains about 40 hours and after work is not the right place here.
• You want to help build a consulting company whose architecture makes your contribution recognizable. Vogel is hierarchical in decision-making, flat in communication, autonomous in execution — performance is seen, not hidden.

Responsibilities

WHAT YOU WON'T FIND WITH US

• No corporate corset in which you wait for promotions. Growth here comes from contributions, not from years worked.
• No exit from a 45-hour week. The intensity remains high. Directed differently, with significantly more ownership — but not less.
• No administrative backroom without design input. Pure recording, accounting or contract work without the right to consultancy is not a bird setup.
• Not a dusty industry stand with technology as of 2010. Anyone who sees the DATEV standard plus Excel as the maximum and is afraid of AI implications is not in the right place here.
• No “we’ll see what we find” mode. We answer clearly — yes, we have a place; yes, we would like to get to know each other; or honestly no, with reasons. For us, unsolicited applications are not a pigeonholed path, but rather a guided process.

FAQ

• WHAT IS BIRD — AND WHERE DO YOU WORK?

Vogel is one of Germany's leading medium-sized business consultancies - a family business since 1959, based in Aalen - and is building the leading consulting platform for medium-sized businesses. We are growing at several locations: in Aalen/East Württemberg as an established headquarters and in Munich as a new hub. In both, we look across functions — from tax advice to consulting to the strategic teams that build the platform.

• HOW TO UNDERSTAND THE SALARY BANDS?

Deliberately wide - and identified at every point. We differentiate based on track record and market value, not on degree: scarce, highly sought-after profiles at the top end, less scarce ones at the bottom. We calibrate exclusively to the market - two people with similar experience can earn different things with us.

• HOW MUCH — AND HOW — DOES VOGEL WORK?

It's measured by what you move, not by hours. But it's also honest: If you're looking for 9-to-5, we're not the first place to go. We are looking for people who work intensively on their own initiative because the tasks are worth it. How you distribute your time is largely up to you. What we share: We work together face-to-face - culture, sparring and the best ideas arise in daily proximity. We are not a remote company and do not have major home office policies; Individual remote days are no problem.

• HOW DOES THE APPLICATION PROCESS?

Slim, fast, transparent — and graded according to profile. For entry-level roles (internship, work study, career entry), two interviews and a short work sample are usually sufficient; experienced roles are a little more detailed. For selected senior roles, we are looking into incorporating a joint working day in the future so that both sides get to know each other better. The following always applies: scheduled deadlines, quick decisions, substantial feedback - regardless of the outcome.

5.

Requirements

EXPERIENCE & TRACK RECORD

• As a career starter, you bring relevant and relevant practical experience - from studies, student work or internships in an environment suitable for your desired area.
• As an experienced professional, you bring concrete results from the Big Four (KPMG, EY, PwC, Deloitte), Next 6, a focused medium-sized law firm, management consultancy or comparable position.
• For professional profile: passed tax advisor exam or shortly before, with first one to five years of client responsibility.
• Profiles that do not fit into the above grid, but have substance and a constructive mentality, are expressly invited - we judge based on the contribution, not the label. Specifically: founders of their own projects with real depth of learning; Career changers from tech or industry with humility in front of the industry; Profiles that have demonstrated that they deliver outside of traditional consulting resumes.

SKILLS & WORKING METHODS

• You communicate clearly - in writing and in personal conversations. You can explain complex things simply without trivializing them.
• You work with AI as a natural tool - research, drafting, analysis, process understanding. Repetitive tasks are an incentive for you to automate, not a fate.
• You take responsibility - you recognize what needs to be done, do it, complete it and stand by your decisions, even if they are corrected later.

Benefits

HOW DOES VARIABLE PAY WORK?

Linked to performance on a quarterly basis and assessed qualitatively. The scale increases with the level: up to 20% Associate, 27.5% Manager, 35% Senior Manager, 42.5% Director, 50% VP. Expected value with good performance - you meet the requirements, set your own accents, pass the keeper test - is around 50% of the maximum; the maximum bonus is not the norm. The focus is on a holistic assessment by your manager: ownership, quality, learning curve, collaboration, impact.

1. HOW DO I DEVELOP MYSELF - WHAT CAREER PATHS ARE THERE?

Two active paths: Mastery (technical depth, expert career) and Pioneer (leadership, management). You choose the direction after onboarding, usually in years 1-3. Starting a career is not a special path, but rather the early part of the same route - from working student or intern to associate, for the best ones without having to reapply.

1. TEAM, CULTURE, HOLIDAY?

A shared lunch is an open daily option - not an obligation; If you like, you can join us; anyone can eat at any time. Plus dinners, social events and offsites on a regular basis - not as a mandatory program, but because a good team also shares time outside of work. Benefits: thoughtful and substantial, not symbolic. Vacation: 28 days.

1. I KNOW SOMEONE - IS THERE A REFERRAL BONUS?

Yes — EUR 2,500 for each successfully filled position (no internships). A short context is enough: who you are thinking about, for what role, why. Doesn't have to fit perfectly, but has to be substantial.