Management Consultant Job Profile

Management consultants are on hand to assist organisations with different issues they may be facing. They prioritise performance and use their expertise to offer advice, working alongside companies to help them grow and improve their performance. If you are interested in a career in management consultancy, we have all the information you need including the necessary qualifications, skills and more.

What is a management consultant?

Management consultants help organisations to solve issues, create value, maximise growth and improve business performance. They do so by using their business expertise and skills to provide objective advice and to help an organisation develop any specialist skills they may be lacking.

They are concerned primarily with the structure, management, strategy and operations of a company and their role is to identify options they may have, as well as make recommendations for change.

Management consultants can find themselves in many lines of work, including human resources, marketing, information technology and supply chain management. You could work either as a freelance consultant or for a consultancy firm, which can offer end-to-end solutions to smaller or more niche firms.

Responsibilities

Management consultants carry out a wide variety of different tasks and their responsibilities will vary greatly depending on the kind of business they are advising, as well as the services required of them. However, responsibilities generally include:

• Conducting analysis

• Carrying out research and data collection

• Running focus groups and facilitating workshops

• Preparing business proposals and presentations

• Identifying issues and forming hypotheses and solutions

• Leading and managing those within the team

• Liaising with the client to keep them informed of progress and to make relevant decisions

Management consultant qualifications

This is a career path open to graduates and those with apprenticeships. You do not need a specific degree or apprenticeship, but a degree/apprenticeship which is numerical or analytical is often desirable and will put you ahead in some firms.

Additionally, if you have a degree relevant to the industry you wish to work in, this can also be a help. Competition for graduate schemes and entry-level roles is fierce, and you will require a 2:1 in any degree you have.  You don’t need a postgraduate degree; however, it can be helpful to the work you will carry out if you choose a relevant discipline. Additionally, you could also undergo a management-related course to help you refine your skills.

If you wish to get into consultancy work after university, you could apply for positions at the beginning of your final year to establish experience. You can demonstrate full commitment to the profession by gaining membership of the Institute of Consulting – but this isn’t necessary.

Skills

To be a management consultant you will need to have a wealth of business knowledge, but also the following skills and more:

Teamwork

Your role will require you to work alongside management teams and other departments within an organisation. You will need to be able to work with a range of different people, all from different backgrounds and from across the business, to come up with solutions and plans for the organisation to develop.

Commercial awareness

To provide expert advice, you need to be consistently up to date with things that are happening in the industry, as well as what the organisation does and how to improve it.

Analytical skills

Oftentimes your work will revolve around analysis and how to use this analysis to improve the business, you need to be able to compartmentalise information from across the board and use this to come up with solutions.

Work well under pressure

This can be an intense role and it has its challenges; you need to be able to cope with the pressure and continue to work to the best of your ability, meeting deadlines and achieving any targets you decide to set.

Salary and benefits

For junior consultants, salaries can be in the region of £25,000 to £30,000 for larger firms. Smaller consultancies can offer lower levels of pay, but this does vary greatly depending on the location, type and size of the consultancy. With around 3-5 years’ experience, management consultants could earn up to £50,000 and at senior level with significant experience, you could earn up to £125,000 – especially where profit share and bonus schemes are available.

After considerable experience you could work on a consultancy basis, charging a considerable day rate or project fee. Other benefits may include car allowance, private health insurance, pension schemes, childcare vouchers, and on-site gyms.

Career path

Work experience

Work experience can work as much as qualifications, as well as part-time or voluntary work in a relevant role. Work experience for this role could include extracurricular activities like a club membership, team sports, or society involved with team building, business or finance.

Development

You will usually begin your management consultancy career in an analyst role, carrying out data collection and research. Once you’ve gained experience, you can move to a full consultancy role, and then onto senior or management roles. At this level, you will lead teams, and design and develop projects, It’s possible to take on project management roles, and you could specialise in a specific industry to become an expert in that area.

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