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What is a senior management consultant and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
Quoted experts
Joel Stevenson,
Meaghan Goodman Ph.D.
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A Senior Management Consultant is responsible for identifying and solving management issues within an organization. Through years and even decades of experience in their field, these Consultants conduct research and examine the various executive and management processes within a company and then create a strategy and a solution to any issues and can spot any chance for improvement of these programs.

They may do other things, such as financial and business analysis, which can come in handy in their work line and directly speak with junior employees and with customers. These Consultants may head entire teams of junior consultants and may be able to modify and replace company policies and programs.

A person seeking work in this position generally needs to have years of experience in the industry and a good understanding of managerial and other processes and methodologies. A university-level degree is often preferred, if not necessary, and a Master's degree in a subject such as Business Administration, too, might be desired, even needed. A Senior Management Consultant earns an average of $62.82 an hour.

What general advice would you give to a senior management consultant?

Joel StevensonJoel Stevenson LinkedIn profile

Founding Director USC Columbia Technology Incubator, Associate Director Faber Entrepreneurship Center, Senior Lecturer Entrepreneurship and Strategic Management, University of South Carolina

I would not enter the job market at this time. I would apply to the Masters of Human Resources Program at U of SC. If I could not get into the program, I would take an HR job and apply again to the Master's Program. Reason...with a Master's in HR, the starting salary is right at $85,000 per year. Cost and amount of time it takes to get your Master's, $25,000, and 15 months.
ScoreSenior Management ConsultantUS Average
Salary
8.3

Avg. Salary $128,259

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level
6.8

Growth rate 11%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity
5.9
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.17%

Asian 14.57%

Black or African American 7.62%

Hispanic or Latino 8.58%

Unknown 4.46%

White 64.62%

Gender

female 28.80%

male 71.20%

Age - 43
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 43
Stress level
6.8

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level
8.7

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance
2.2

Work life balance is very poor

6.4 - fair

Senior management consultant career paths

Key steps to become a senior management consultant

  1. Explore senior management consultant education requirements

    Most common senior management consultant degrees

    Bachelor's

    68.3 %

    Master's

    23.0 %

    Associate

    4.8 %
  2. Start to develop specific senior management consultant skills

    SkillsPercentages
    Analytics10.34%
    Business Process5.43%
    Business Development4.51%
    Project Management4.30%
    Portfolio4.19%
  3. Complete relevant senior management consultant training and internships

    Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New senior management consultants learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a senior management consultant based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real senior management consultant resumes.
  4. Research senior management consultant duties and responsibilities

    • Manage / provide oversight to critical Medicare and Medicaid projects, with focus in system consolidation and reporting.
    • Define and manage: roles & responsibilities, resource allocations, roadmap and project milestones, and operating guidelines.
    • Lead systems analysis for payroll and accounting batch processing applications.
    • Achieve significant improvements in business alignment, application innovation, world-class infrastructure technology, customer service and stakeholder value.
  5. Get senior management consultant experience

    Generally, it takes 2-4 years to become a senior management consultant. The most common roles before becoming a senior management consultant include senior project manager, senior consultant team lead and project manager.
  6. Prepare your senior management consultant resume

    When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your senior management consultant resume.

    You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a senior management consultant resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

    Choose from 10+ customizable senior management consultant resume templates

    Build a professional senior management consultant resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your senior management consultant resume.
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  7. Apply for senior management consultant jobs

    Now it's time to start searching for a senior management consultant job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

    1. Browse job boards for relevant postings
    2. Consult your professional network
    3. Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
    4. Watch out for job scams

How did you land your first senior management consultant job

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Average senior management consultant salary

The average senior management consultant salary in the United States is $128,259 per year or $62 per hour. Senior management consultant salaries range between $90,000 and $181,000 per year.

Average senior management consultant salary
$128,259 Yearly
$61.66 hourly

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How do senior management consultants rate their job?

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Senior management consultant reviews

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A zippia user wrote a review on Aug 2020
Cons

Marketing during and between projects. Work is not always steady.


profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Jul 2019
Pros

I like to see the results of a successful project

Cons

Making decisions in a political atmosphere


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A zippia user wrote a review on May 2019
Pros

An excellent opportunity to gain new experiences, provide technical direction and expertise in challenging areas and serve as a technical liaison between project sponsor and programmers.


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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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