What does a management consultant do?
A management consultant's responsibility focuses on conducting an in-depth analysis of a company or business, including its target market. Through their findings, they can devise strategies that will help the business grow and attain a significant profit. There are also instances when a management consultant must solve particular issues that will require them to investigate the problem, assess damages, identify risks, and recommend the best solutions to take. Furthermore, a management consultant must adhere to the company's vision, mission, and policies at all times.
Management consultant responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real management consultant resumes:
- Streamline and program manage operations for end-to-end creation of all assets using Smartsheet.
- Lead daily agile scrum meetings towards the end of the development phase of the project.
- Monitor and control project schedule for SaaS product to achieve project deliveries in at least 95th percentile.
- Lead teams in implementation of value map streaming, ISO 9000 and waste reduction in manufacturing process.
- Manage functional design team activities using baseline scope document information and develop process standards in line with SDLC methodologies.
- Develop light-weight (fast) proprietary cloud-base licensing engine and UI to manage and track end user subscription licenses.
- Develop business strategy, assess technology, transform organizations and successfully deliver projects across a diverse portfolio of industry sectors.
- Advise new and existing practices on healthcare administration, practice management, marketing and business development, and continuous quality improvement.
- Coach and recommend client's OCM lead in missing deliverable.
- Provide PeopleSoft functional and technical services to financial users, as needed.
- Implement comprehensive PeopleSoft training program for all XL employees in Americas and Bermuda.
- Focus: ERP & HPC solutions, super-computing performance expert, first generation SAN expert.
- Facilitate numerous change management workshops for senior leaders at ExxonMobil using Prosci and ADKAR models.
- Train and mentore employees on program analysis, facility planning, and DoD specific programming processes.
- Involve in regular communication and daily scrum call with the client adhering to the agile methodology.
Management consultant skills and personality traits
We calculated that 9% of Management Consultants are proficient in Healthcare, Project Management, and Portfolio. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Communication skills, and Interpersonal skills.
We break down the percentage of Management Consultants that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Healthcare, 9%
Ensured healthcare industry clients completed stringent medical record/coding audits that followed compliance and final assignment of DRG for quality and reimbursement.
- Project Management, 7%
Developed initial/agile/organizational culture aligned project management process.
- Portfolio, 6%
Evaluated and offered solutions to a major real estate investment firm on the efficiency and adequacy of their information technology portfolio.
- Business Process, 5%
Collaborated with project manager to develop TRIM7 Architecture while streamlining business processes and increasing security by redefining security and access policy.
- Business Strategy, 5%
Led Business Strategy and Continuous Improvement engagements across a broad range of organizations and industries to improve efficiency and capability.
- Business Development, 4%
Provided business development including market research, positioning the product in the supply chain industry and initiating relationships with potential partners/customers.
"healthcare," "project management," and "portfolio" are among the most common skills that management consultants use at work. You can find even more management consultant responsibilities below, including:
Analytical skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a management consultant to have is analytical skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "management analysts must be able to interpret information and use their findings to make proposals." Management consultants often use analytical skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "implemented schedule tasks to extract data from oim to load into java applications. "
Communication skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling management consultant duties is communication skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "management analysts must be able to convey information clearly in both writing and speaking." According to a management consultant resume, here's how management consultants can utilize communication skills in their job responsibilities: "designed and implemented comprehensive change and communications program for kraft foods to support business process outsourcing program within indirect procurement. "
Interpersonal skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of management consultants is interpersonal skills. This skill is critical to many everyday management consultant duties, as "management analysts work with managers and other employees of the organizations for which they provide consulting services." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "deliver coaching on people management, interpersonal communications, business development, and administrative management practices in an organization. "
Problem-solving skills. For certain management consultant responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "problem-solving skills." The day-to-day duties of a management consultant rely on this skill, as "management analysts must be able to think creatively to solve clients’ problems." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what management consultants do: "configured solution manger monitoring for abap and java systems. "
Time-management skills. Another common skill required for management consultant responsibilities is "time-management skills." This skill comes up in the duties of management consultants all the time, as "management analysts often work under tight deadlines and must use their time efficiently to complete projects on schedule." An excerpt from a real management consultant resume shows how this skill is central to what a management consultant does: "delivered fully functional infrastructure as planned, on time, and under budget. "
The three companies that hire the most management consultants are:
- Guidehouse1,703 management consultants jobs
- Deloitte714 management consultants jobs
- Accenture338 management consultants jobs
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Compare different management consultants
Management consultant vs. Project management specialist
A project management specialist is an individual who manages an entire project and serves as a point of contact for a client or customer. Project management specialists must provide detailed cost analysis and timetable reports to keep projects on schedule and budget. They must ask for frequent updates from all staff assigned so that they can identify potential problems that may keep projects from being completed on time. Project management specialists must also prepare progress reports of projects and create presentations for senior management.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a management consultant are more likely to require skills like "healthcare," "business strategy," "emerging technologies," and "infrastructure." On the other hand, a job as a project management specialist requires skills like "pmp," "powerpoint," "status reports," and "program management." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Project management specialists tend to make the most money working in the finance industry, where they earn an average salary of $88,963. In contrast, management consultants make the biggest average salary, $102,527, in the technology industry.On average, project management specialists reach similar levels of education than management consultants. Project management specialists are 2.4% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.8% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Management consultant vs. Senior business consultant
A senior business consultant specializes in performing research and analysis to optimize business processes. Their responsibilities revolve around coordinating with different departments to gather necessary data, devising strategies to reduce cost, assess risks, and identify the strength and weaknesses of operations to recommend solutions. They may also train and mentor junior consultants, produce progress reports and presentations, and assist clients through calls and correspondence. Furthermore, as a consultant, it is essential to adhere to the company's policies and regulations, including its vision and mission.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real management consultant resumes. While management consultant responsibilities can utilize skills like "portfolio," "business strategy," "infrastructure," and "app development," senior business consultants use skills like "sr," "analytics," "sas," and "power bi."
On average, senior business consultants earn a higher salary than management consultants. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, senior business consultants earn the most pay in the professional industry with an average salary of $111,128. Whereas management consultants have higher pay in the technology industry, with an average salary of $102,527.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Senior business consultants tend to reach similar levels of education than management consultants. In fact, they're 0.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.8% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for management consultants in the next 3-5 years?
Dr. Brian Simmons
Associate Provost, Columbia International University
Management consultant vs. Contractor/consultant
A contractor is a self-employed businessperson who agrees to work for a fixed price. His/her job involves the evaluation of clients' needs and actual performance of work. On the other hand, a consultant is a skilled independent businessperson who provides expert teaching and training in a specific market by assisting existing staff for the improvement of operations, problem-solving, and development of strategies. His/her role is to assess clients' needs and provide expert advice and opinion. However, both individuals are not employees, since they came from outside of the organization to perform such services.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, management consultants are more likely to have skills like "portfolio," "business strategy," "client facing," and "emerging technologies." But a contractor/consultant is more likely to have skills like "post implementation," "collective bargaining," "opportunity analysis," and "hr."
Contractor/consultants make a very good living in the technology industry with an average annual salary of $88,122. On the other hand, management consultants are paid the highest salary in the technology industry, with average annual pay of $102,527.When it comes to education, contractor/consultants tend to earn lower degree levels compared to management consultants. In fact, they're 5.4% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 1.4% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Management consultant vs. Solutions consultant
A solutions consultant is an individual who has an in-depth knowledge of technology that can help a company to overcome issues, increase sales, and have a better connection with their customers. Solutions consultants are responsible for heading the installment of customized software solutions and train dealers and customer sales engineers to administer the customized solution. They represent the company by attending tradeshows and events to demonstrate their company's technology. Solutions consultants must also ensure to demonstrate technical feasibility through beta tests plus trial programs.
Types of management consultant
Updated January 8, 2025
