What does an executive consultant do?
An executive consultant gives support and guidance to the company's management team. Their duties may vary depending on each client's needs. Other companies hire consultants to solve a particular problem or assist with operations, employees, or strategic planning. They advise partner companies in business development opportunities to pursue financial goals and financial growth. They can also provide consulting services for non-profit organizations to act as an executive member.
Executive consultant responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real executive consultant resumes:
- Recruit to manage key client engagements to define global strategic sourcing projects and solutions to utilize technology and advance ERP systems.
- Manage e-commerce website and direct email campaigns to wholesale and retail customers, initiate SEO plan: organic and paid search.
- Manage design and development of cloud-base billing application for streamlining payroll and invoicing, as well as offering real-time business analytics.
- Own the PMO, reporting to the COO/CEO.
- Lead and develop the expertise of individuals in the PMO.
- Develop protocols for RFP initiation and execution.
- Provide clinical expertise and analysis for healthcare vendors and physicians.
- Provide valuable information require for RFP responses relate to new business opportunities.
- Educate customers, members and healthcare providers with regard to their medical benefits and eligibility.
- Base on source element analysis using an internal UNIX system for analysis, develop the appropriate renovation solution for each application.
- Used Visio to develop, analyze, and streamline work flows and processes.
- Perform troubleshooting and analysis with clients to successfully resolve issues regarding payroll input and transmission.
- Develop and implement a project plan for an electronic time keeping system resulting in streamline payroll process with reduce clerical errors.
- Create marketing strategy to ensure optimal search results; present the SEO strategy for state board review.
- Introduce new media solutions to clients using Facebook, mobile advertising, and sales process optimization through mobile applications.
Executive consultant skills and personality traits
We calculated that 17% of Executive Consultants are proficient in Healthcare, Business Development, and Financial Services. They’re also known for soft skills such as Creativity, Organizational skills, and Analytical skills.
We break down the percentage of Executive Consultants that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Healthcare, 17%
Cultivated executive-level client and vendor relationships with federal agencies, statewide and community healthcare organizations, and health IT vendor partners.
- Business Development, 8%
Support to partner companies in business development, capture management and proposal development towards several government wide multiple award contract vehicles.
- Financial Services, 8%
Offer Project Management, Project Controls, Project Risk, Project Financial services to Fortune 500 companies as a consultant.
- Project Management, 7%
Provided analysis and project management expertise to the Delta-Northwest Merger from a technology standpoint for the Maintenance and Engineering systems.
- Process Improvement, 6%
Reorganized financial reporting, records retention and operations manuals for business process improvements.
- C-Suite, 5%
Worked directly with client hospital's C-Suite, clinical faculty, and technical staff.
"healthcare," "business development," and "financial services" are among the most common skills that executive consultants use at work. You can find even more executive consultant responsibilities below, including:
Creativity. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for an executive consultant to have is creativity. Their role and responsibilities require that "advertising, promotions, and marketing managers must be able to generate new and imaginative ideas." Executive consultants often use creativity in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "implemented an erp system in one entity and implemented an inventory system in another entity. "
Organizational skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling executive consultant duties is organizational skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "advertising, promotions, and marketing managers must manage their time and budget efficiently while directing and motivating staff members." According to an executive consultant resume, here's how executive consultants can utilize organizational skills in their job responsibilities: "analyze organizational structure of innovative integrated marketing firm to develop efficiency strategies across all business functions. "
Analytical skills. executive consultants are also known for analytical skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to executive consultant responsibilities, because "advertising, promotions, and marketing managers must be able to analyze industry trends to determine the most promising strategies for their organization." An executive consultant resume example shows how analytical skills is used in the workplace: "provided competitive intelligence, market research, industry and customer analysis, and customer segmentation recommendations for start-up financial services company. "
Communication skills. A big part of what executive consultants do relies on "communication skills." You can see how essential it is to executive consultant responsibilities because "managers must be able to communicate effectively with a broad-based team made up of other managers or staff members during the advertising, promotions, and marketing process." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical executive consultant tasks: "consult with cio to create more streamline communications processes and procedures. "
Interpersonal skills. A commonly-found skill in executive consultant job descriptions, "interpersonal skills" is essential to what executive consultants do. Executive consultant responsibilities rely on this skill because "managers must deal with a range of people in different roles, both inside and outside the organization." You can also see how executive consultant duties rely on interpersonal skills in this resume example: "job functions also include building client relationships through social media and interpersonal contact. "
The three companies that hire the most executive consultants are:
- Dell6 executive consultants jobs
- Kaiser Permanente6 executive consultants jobs
- SIRVA Worldwide3 executive consultants jobs
Choose from 10+ customizable executive consultant resume templates
Build a professional executive consultant resume in minutes. Our AI resume writing assistant will guide you through every step of the process, and you can choose from 10+ resume templates to create your executive consultant resume.
Compare different executive consultants
Executive consultant vs. Consultant/marketing director
A consultant/marketing director is responsible for conducting data and statistical analysis of the current market trends to identify opportunities that would strengthen the company's brand image on the market. Consultant/marketing directors evaluate the company's marketing techniques and determine methods to improve promotional campaigns and media presence. They also research consumers' demands and acquire resources that would generate more revenue and increase the company's profitability. A consultant/marketing director must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially in leading the team to achieve sales goals and objectives.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of an executive consultant are more likely to require skills like "financial services," "c-suite," "business operations," and "program management." On the other hand, a job as a consultant/marketing director requires skills like "customer relationships," "pre sales," "digital transformation," and "lifecycle management." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Consultant/marketing directors tend to make the most money working in the technology industry, where they earn an average salary of $124,612. In contrast, executive consultants make the biggest average salary, $139,883, in the technology industry.The education levels that consultant/marketing directors earn slightly differ from executive consultants. In particular, consultant/marketing directors are 1.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than an executive consultant. Additionally, they're 0.3% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Executive consultant vs. Consultant/project manager
Consultants/project managers act as planners, leaders, and advisors in business enterprises. These professionals facilitate meetings and establish positive relationships with vendors, management, and clients. They make customer visits, maintain industry knowledge, procure third-party software and hardware, and deliver projects. It is also part of their duty to manage complex initiatives in an individual business unit or organization. Their skills include analytical, time and cost management, problem-solving, interpersonal skills, and proficiency in project management software.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that executive consultant responsibilities requires skills like "financial services," "c-suite," "client relationships," and "business strategy." But a consultant/project manager might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "project scope," "customer satisfaction," "manage project scope," and "cash flow."
Consultant/project managers earn a lower average salary than executive consultants. But consultant/project managers earn the highest pay in the technology industry, with an average salary of $107,463. Additionally, executive consultants earn the highest salaries in the technology with average pay of $139,883 annually.In general, consultant/project managers achieve similar levels of education than executive consultants. They're 0.7% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for executive consultants in the next 3-5 years?
Angela Grotto Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Management, Manhattan College
- Data visualization to communicate the results of data analysis with an audience that may not be proficient in analytics; learn to use fewer words and equations and more eye-catching visual displays to tell a story about your analysis results.
- Automated technology to make jobs more comfortable and more efficient and increase productivity; this technology may replace specific jobs but also creates opportunities for new employment; so develop the necessary skill sets that will be in high demand but in low supply, such as coding, to make yourself more marketable, even if this skill is unrelated to your degree.
- Artificial technology and machine learning make business and HR decisions and plans (e.g., forecasting trends, allocating funds, product placement, who to hire).
Executive consultant vs. Program management consultant
A program management consultant is responsible for analyzing project requirements based on clients' specifications, developing quality improvement techniques, and reviewing project deliverables. Program management consultants work closely with the project team to identify project initiatives and resolve complexities that may arise. They also inspect the resources and materials to be utilized during the project and determine cost-reduction processes without compromising quality and efficiency. A program management consultant coordinates with the clients for progress updates and informs them of any plan adjustments as needed.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, executive consultants are more likely to have skills like "financial services," "c-suite," "client relationships," and "business strategy." But a program management consultant is more likely to have skills like "customer service," "management program," "hr," and "scrum."
Program management consultants make a very good living in the technology industry with an average annual salary of $107,612. On the other hand, executive consultants are paid the highest salary in the technology industry, with average annual pay of $139,883.When it comes to education, program management consultants tend to earn similar degree levels compared to executive consultants. In fact, they're 0.7% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.8% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Executive consultant vs. Senior management consultant
A senior management consultant is an experienced professional who is in charge of a team of management consultants to help an organization solve issues, maximize growth, and improve business performance. Senior management consultants must conduct company research so that they can better understand the organization. They prepare business proposals and presentations as well as identify issues to form hypotheses and solutions. Senior management consultants must also implement recommendations or solutions and ensure that an organization receives the necessary assistance to carry it all out.
Types of executive consultant
Updated January 8, 2025
