Advanced Diploma in Business Planning & Strategy
Course Overview
The Advanced Diploma in Business Planning & Strategy at the London School of International Business and Management (LSIBM) is a Level 5 senior-track qualification inside the Entrepreneurship & Executive Studies faculty. Across 12 to 15 months it takes strategy analysts, senior founders and heads of strategy from single-plan practitioner competence into group-level strategy — portfolio choice, growth-strategy design, board narrative and defensible three-year planning framed by the UK Corporate Governance Code and current IoD board-effectiveness guidance.
Study is on-campus in central London, fully online, or by distance learning. Content is designed around the CMI Level 5 in Management and Leadership and the Institute of Consulting practitioner practice, with senior-track Institute of Directors (IoD) governance material. The capstone is a full three-year group strategy — a growth pathway, an operating plan, a funding narrative — defended in front of a working board adviser who sits on at least one UK PLC or scale-up board.
Key Features
- Designed around the CMI Level 5 in Management and Leadership and Institute of Consulting practice.
- Three study modes — central London campus, fully online, or distance learning.
- Three-year group-strategy capstone defended in front of a working board adviser.
- Portfolio and growth-strategy workshop using real UK PLC and mid-market cases.
- Board-narrative teaching aligned with UK Corporate Governance Code expectations.
- Structured route toward CMI Level 5 recognition, with tutor coaching on the practitioner assessment.
- Portfolio-plus-oral assessment combining the written strategy with a boardroom-style defence.
- Direct progression onto the LSIBM Higher Diploma in Business Planning & Strategy or a UK Bachelor’s top-up.
What You Will Learn
The advanced diploma is anchored around what a senior strategist actually delivers — a growth path a board will fund, a portfolio call a CEO will sign, a three-year plan an investor will engage with in a working meeting. You will finish able to write and defend a group-level strategy without hiding behind consulting jargon.
- Growth-strategy design — organic, M&A, partnership, market-entry.
- Portfolio choice — BCG matrix rewritten for a UK mid-market shape.
- Corporate finance basics for strategists — WACC, ROIC, EVA.
- M&A basics — target screening, valuation, integration.
- Scenario planning and stress-testing a three-year plan.
- Board narrative aligned with UK Corporate Governance Code expectations.
- KPI framework and monthly board pack at senior level.
- Change and transformation strategy in UK mid-market shape.
- Introduction to ISSB and TCFD disclosure and its impact on strategic planning.
- Reading a UK PLC annual report for peer-strategy signals.
- Writing a three-year strategy an investor or board will fund.
Who This Course Is For
- Strategy analysts stepping up into strategy-manager and head-of-strategy roles.
- Founders scaling from seed to Series A and building a first strategy function.
- Consulting managers targeting strategy-heavy engagements.
- Corporate-development analysts at UK PLC and mid-market groups.
- Family-business successors taking on group-level planning.
Career Pathways
Graduates typically move into strategy-manager, head-of-strategy, corporate-development and consulting-manager roles across UK PLC, mid-market and consulting employers. The advanced diploma supports strong applications but does not by itself guarantee an offer — a defended three-year strategy is often the artefact that carries the second round. Typical destinations include:
- Business Planner (senior)
- Strategy Analyst (senior) / Strategy Manager
- Founder (scaling)
- Startup Programme Manager
- Corporate Development Analyst
- Head of Strategy (small employer)
- Chief of Staff (early-stage or mid-market)
The Advanced Diploma in Business Planning & Strategy is the natural step onto the LSIBM Higher Diploma in Business Planning & Strategy and the CMI Level 5 award. Graduates commonly progress toward Chartered Manager status via CMI within eighteen months.
Entry Requirements
- A relevant Diploma (Level 4), Foundation Year, or two years of substantive professional strategy or founder experience.
- GCSE English Language at grade 4/C and Mathematics at grade 4/C (or equivalent).
- IELTS 6.0 overall (no band below 5.5) for non-native English speakers.
- A short statement of intent and one academic or professional reference — applicants with a professional-body membership (AAT, CIPD Foundation, CIM Associate, CMI Level 3, IoC Associate) should mention it on application.
Why Study at LSIBM
The London School of International Business and Management (LSIBM) is a specialist business-education provider based in central London and part of Harold International College. Advanced Diploma cohorts sit in small groups so tutors track progress course by course, and every route is mapped to UK professional-body competencies — ACCA, CIMA, CIM, CIPD, CMI, CIPS, IOE&IT, CFA UK — so employers recognise the credential.
London puts the City, Canary Wharf, Whitehall, Companies House, the FCA, the Bank of England and the West End within a short tube ride of every classroom. Advanced Diploma students access a fortnightly practitioner clinic, an industry-careers day each cohort and structured application coaching in the final term.
Apply for the Advanced Diploma in Business Planning & Strategy
Step up into the senior track with the Advanced Diploma in Business Planning & Strategy. Click Enrol Now and our admissions team will respond within one working day with intake dates, credit-transfer guidance and current fees. Advanced Diploma graduates articulate directly into LSIBM Higher Diploma or Bachelor's top-up routes.
