| Detail | For this role |
|---|---|
| Department | CA and Consulting |
| Level | Mid level |
| Reports to | Consulting Manager |
| Direct reports | Consultant, Consulting Analyst |
| Experience | 4 to 7 years in consulting with workstream leadership |
Senior 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: Senior Consultant
Department: CA and Consulting
Reports to: Consulting Manager
Location: [City], [office, branch or site]
About the role
A Senior Consultant leads workstreams and mentors consultants and analysts on an engagement. They take the harder parts of the client problem, own significant deliverables, and act as the manager's right hand on delivery and client contact. The role is the step between consultant and manager: trusted to run a module alone but not yet owning the whole engagement. A good Senior Consultant delivers the toughest analysis without hand holding, keeps the juniors productive, and is ready to step up and run an engagement when the manager is stretched.
Key responsibilities
- Lead one or more significant workstreams, owning the analysis, the deliverable and the workstream client contact.
- Take on the hardest analytical parts of the engagement that need experience and judgement.
- Structure the approach for the workstream and guide consultants and analysts on how to execute it.
- Review the team's analysis and deliverables, and raise the quality before they reach the manager.
- Build the storyline for major deliverables and present findings to the manager and the client.
- Manage part of the client relationship, running workshops and status updates for the workstream.
- Step in for the manager on delivery matters when needed, keeping the engagement moving.
- Coach consultants and analysts, set their workstream goals and give regular feedback.
- Track workstream progress, effort and risks, and flag issues to the manager early.
- Contribute to proposals and knowledge assets with reusable analysis and approaches.
Requirements
- MBA, CA, or a relevant postgraduate or engineering degree
- Proven analytical and delivery track record
- A domain certification is an advantage
- 4 to 7 years in consulting with workstream leadership
KRAs and KPIs for a Senior 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 |
|---|---|
| Workstream delivery | Workstreams led delivered on time and accepted with minimal rework |
| Analytical depth | Complex analysis completed to standard without escalation to the manager |
| Team quality | Junior work reviewed and lifted before it reaches the manager |
| Client handling | Workstream client interactions run smoothly with issues resolved locally |
| Manager backup | Able to run the engagement in the manager's absence when required |
| People development | Consultants and analysts coached with rated feedback each engagement |
Skills and tools
Tools used day to day: MS Excel, MS PowerPoint, Data analysis and visualisation tools, Project planning tools, Research databases.
Reporting line and career path
Next roles: Consulting Manager, Engagement Manager, Domain Lead
Interview questions for a Senior Consultant
- Describe the most complex workstream you led. How did you structure and deliver it?
- How do you review a consultant's analysis without simply redoing it yourself?
- The manager is pulled onto another client for a week. How do you keep the engagement on track?
- How do you decide which parts of a deliverable you build yourself and which you delegate?
- A client stakeholder challenges your workstream findings. How do you handle it?
- Tell me about a time you developed a junior who was struggling. What did you do?
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What does a senior consultant do?
A senior consultant leads workstreams on an engagement and mentors consultants and analysts. They take the hardest analytical parts, own major deliverables, manage part of the client relationship and act as the manager's right hand. It is the step between consultant and manager, trusted to run a module alone but not yet to own a whole engagement.
What is the difference between a consultant and a senior consultant?
A consultant owns a workstream and delivers its analysis and deliverables. A senior consultant leads larger or several workstreams, takes the toughest analysis, guides other consultants and handles more of the client relationship. The senior consultant is being groomed to manage engagements and can stand in for the manager on delivery.
How do you get promoted to senior consultant?
Consultants usually move up to senior consultant after four to seven years by consistently delivering strong analysis, owning bigger workstreams and starting to lead juniors and client interactions. Firms look for the judgement to handle ambiguity, the ability to lift a team's work and readiness to run parts of an engagement independently.