| Detail | For this role |
|---|---|
| Department | CA and Consulting |
| Level | Mid level |
| Reports to | Consulting Manager |
| Direct reports | Consulting Analyst |
| Experience | 2 to 5 years, including some client facing consulting work |
Consultant job description template
Copy this job description, replace the text in square brackets and post it on your careers page or a job portal.
Job title: Consultant
Department: CA and Consulting
Reports to: Consulting Manager
Location: [City], [office, branch or site]
About the role
A Consultant delivers the day to day work on advisory engagements: analysis, client interviews, deliverables and recommendations. They own one or more workstreams under a manager, gather and interpret data, and turn it into findings the client can act on. It is the core delivery role of a consulting firm, more independent than an analyst and more hands on than a manager. A good Consultant structures a problem cleanly, produces analysis that holds up under scrutiny, and communicates findings to the client with clarity and confidence.
Key responsibilities
- Own one or more workstreams on an engagement, from data gathering to the findings that feed the recommendation.
- Structure the problem in the workstream into clear questions, and design the analysis needed to answer them.
- Collect data through client systems, interviews and research, and check it for accuracy before using it.
- Build models, run the analysis, and draw conclusions that are supported by the evidence.
- Prepare clear deliverables: slides, models and notes that a client executive can follow.
- Run client interviews and working sessions to gather input and test findings.
- Present workstream findings to the manager and, when asked, to the client.
- Guide analysts on the workstream, checking their analysis and giving feedback.
- Keep the workstream on schedule and raise blockers to the manager early.
- Capture reusable analysis and templates for the firm's knowledge base.
Requirements
- MBA, CA, or a relevant postgraduate or engineering degree
- Strong analytical and quantitative ability
- A domain certification relevant to the practice is an advantage
- 2 to 5 years, including some client facing consulting work
KRAs and KPIs for a Consultant
Key result areas for the appraisal form, each with a KPI you can measure every month or quarter.
| Key result area | How to measure it |
|---|---|
| Analysis quality | Workstream analysis accepted by the manager with minimal rework |
| On time workstream | Workstream deliverables ready by the dates set in the project plan |
| Client input | Interviews and working sessions completed and documented on schedule |
| Deliverable clarity | Slides and models usable by the manager without major reformatting |
| Data accuracy | Data checked and validated before it enters any analysis or model |
| Analyst support | Analysts on the workstream given clear direction and timely feedback |
Skills and tools
Tools used day to day: MS Excel, MS PowerPoint, Data analysis tools, Survey and research tools, Collaboration tools.
Reporting line and career path
Next roles: Senior Consultant, Consulting Manager, Domain Specialist
Interview questions for a Consultant
- Take a business problem and show me how you would break it into a structured set of questions.
- How do you check that data from a client system is reliable before you analyse it?
- Walk me through a model you built. What decision did it inform?
- A client executive disagrees with your finding in a meeting. How do you respond?
- How do you keep a workstream on track when the client is slow to share data?
- Tell me about an analysis you did that changed the recommendation.
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What does a consultant do?
A consultant delivers the working level of an advisory engagement. They own one or more workstreams, gather and analyse data, run client interviews and turn findings into clear deliverables and recommendations. They work under a manager but handle their workstream largely on their own, and they present findings to the manager and often to the client.
What is the difference between a consultant and a senior consultant?
A consultant owns a workstream and delivers the analysis and deliverables in it. A senior consultant owns larger or several workstreams, leads other consultants and analysts, manages more of the client relationship and is trusted with the harder parts of the engagement. The senior consultant is the step before manager.
What qualifications does a consultant need?
Most consultants hold an MBA, a chartered accountancy qualification or a strong postgraduate or engineering degree, with two to five years of experience. Firms look for sharp problem structuring, solid data analysis and clear communication. A certification in the practice's domain helps, but analytical ability and client presence matter most.