Outside of the Executive Leadership team are a number of divisional and local leadership team members. The titles, and specific responsibilities vary by organisation but there are some common role types that are prevalent throughout the Consulting industry.  What follows is an extensive list of roles and role descriptions that can be used as the basis of the implementation of a consultancy leadership configuration and any subsequent position description. This will give you an overall view of the variety and complexity of potential consultancy leadership team roles.

General Manager – Pulls it all together.

The General Manager sits at the Divisional Leadership Level and is accountable for leading the overall performance of their branch or division. The role is responsible for servicing all operational components of new and existing customers and their requirements within the region such as delivering against contractual obligations and agreements and ensuring agreed CSAT (Customer Satisfaction) levels. In addition, the General Manager may head up the People line, though in some organisations the Client and People Functions are separately managed to allow specialisation and focus. In smaller organisation this role may be titled Chief Operating Officer, with General Manager being used for those who head up divisions or regions.

Client Account Director – Focuses on client growth and value maximisation

The role of the Client Director is to maximise the client growth opportunities by building very senior relationships within the client organisation, providing industry leading advice and continually demonstrating the value of the partnership with the consultancy. In return the consultancy also looks for increased value through further contracts and engagements. This is arguably the most senior of the client management roles and the most impactful. A Client Director usually focuses on the consultancy’s strategic clients. A Client Director may work alone or in conjunction with an appointed Client Manager.

Client Account Manager – Focuses on client experience

All clients should have access to a client manager who is focused on gathering and responding to client requirements and providing an overall highly satisfactory customer experience. Key activities include responding to client requirements, holding account meetings, and delivering account reports to the client and account plans to the consultancy management The Client Manager may have a role in selecting appropriate employees for the assignment, either directly or through the workforce and talent management functions. A Client Manager may be supported by a Client Partner / Administrator.

Client Account Partner – Delivers administrative and transactional support

For high traffic accounts, the administration burden can be quite high. In these circumstances, a Client Partner may work with a client manager to support administrative duties and allow the Client Manager to concentrate on high value client and relationship-based activities. Activities which are then delegated includes Statement of work creation and administration, “contract chasing”, Client Relationship Management system update, and contract management activities such as CRM storage and data transfer. The Client Partner can also deputise for the Client manager when needed, reducing the single person dependency risk of the role.

Business Development Manager – Finds new clients

The Business Development Manager focusses on generating and exploring leads that might lead to opportunities to work with new clients. This role requires persistence and a high level of understanding of all the consultancy services as well as knowing who within the consultancy to go to for information and support. Business Development can be seen as something more than sales as it often concerns elements such as marketing , relationship building and otherwise building the company profile. It may also include elements such as Innovation and new service development, though truthfully this isn’t how the term is often used (this is often looked at separately by Practice or Solutions Management functions) and the role of Business Development Manager is more narrowly defined.

Marketing Manager – Build the consultancy’s profile

The Marketing Manager builds the organisation profile through outwards communications activities and setting up events, about the company, its people and its services. They do this through a number of channels, including social media, conferences and campaigns.  They have controlling of branding and perform market research tasks to gain insights into the target market, identify potential market level opportunities, and assess the effectiveness of marketing initiatives. They work closely with the business development team aiming to generate high quality leads that this team can analyse, qualify, and convert into opportunities.

Service Manager – Ensures quality delivery

For complex or risky solutions, a Service Manager (or Service Delivery Manager) ensures clients are satisfied with the service they always receive. This includes confirming the service the client receives is the service they were sold and that it meets contractual Service Level Agreements. Whilst the role is heavily technical, awareness of client needs, and limited client management activities are performed. The role acts as a bridge between client and delivery management. It is often seen as a steppingstone out of technical delivery into Consultancy Management.

Lead Consultant – Represents the consultancy at a client’s site

In clients with a large consultancy footprint, it may not be possible for the Client Manager to be responsive enough to frequent requests. The alternative to a client partner is to appoint one of the senior delivery consultants as a daily point of contact for the client. This allows for additional responsiveness for the client as career advancement for the consultant. The Lead Consultant liaises with the client manager or alternatively performs some of their duties. Like the Service Manager role, which is similar It is often seen as a steppingstone out of technical delivery.

Workforce Manager – Ensures Capacity and Supply

The Workforce Manager is responsible for providing sufficient capability and capacity to service business across the division or company.  This role works closely with the Business Development and Client Management functions of the business to gather detailed demand needs, as well as the People Management team to supply those needs through appropriate recruitment.  The Workforce Manager needs significant organisational skills and to be detail minded in order to juggle the multiple requests that need to be answered.

People Director – Delivers great employee experience

The People Director is the leader for all employees in the division or company. They act as a champion for employees, working with workforce mangers and client directors, to ensure the best possible experience for team.  Key responsibilities include heading up the employee management tree, governing the career management process and delivering key employee management processes, such as promotion and remuneration, as well as necessary performance management.

People Manager – Leads individual consultant’s careers.

The People Manager’s objective is to manage the careers of groups of employees.  The People Manager will typically be an experienced senior individual within the company, The People Manager is therefore a leader of people, with a desire to help those in their structure to maximise their potential and their careers.  They focus on mentoring and encouraging individuals and help facilitate performance appraisal processes. They also provide advice on learning and development opportunities, and like the People Director have a role to play in championing their team members.

Capability Manager – Ensures the readiness of employees for assignments.

The Capability Manager works very closely with the workforce manager but focusses on ensuring capability and skills are available in the long term to service business across the company. The Capability Manager will use a number of methods to do this, including recruitment, upskilling and partnering Additional responsibilities often include resume management and keeping skills databases up to date, both of which enable the organisation to provide summary skills information for any client, new business or marketing needs.

HR Manager – Provides strategic employee focused advice

The HR Manager works to deliver the overall strategic employee initiatives that are aligned with the strategy working closely with the various other Senior managers across the organisation. They ensure that all employee and organisational requirements for compliance, performance, health and safety and overall engagement are met.  The relationship with the People Director and People Manager roles is very close with the HR function providing direction and strategy and the People Management function executing the strategy. It is possible to combine part of all of these functions

Practice Manager – Increases the organisation’s specialist expertise

The Practice Manager is a thought leader and acts as a trusted advisor to clients and internal stakeholders. This role delivers initiatives, capability uplift and other training and mentoring activities in the area of . The role has a focus on keeping up with industry trends, current ways of working, and the latest tools and technologies. They help with pre-sales sales and ensure quality delivery.  They support the expansion of service offering and client base via collaboration on business development and innovation initiatives.

Solutions Manager – Designs complex solutions for clients

The Solutions Manager works with clients to design complex quality solutions. They work with multiple practices to delivery holistic solutions (solutions which are approached from multiple angles).In a pre-sales support role, they take responsibility for converting opportunities, work closely with the client account team and ensure that the solution is transitioned to the deliver team with all relevant knowledge passed along also.

Recruitment Advisor – Sources talent for the organisation

The Recruitment adviser sources talent into the business by a variety of activities including headhunting, advertising and building the company’s profile by publicising the Employee Value Proposition.  They manage the process for hiring from first contact through to onboarding, also helping to make the candidate experience positive. They work closely with the organisational senior management, to ensure they meet the fast-moving needs of the business.

Bid Manager – Manages the bid process

A Bid Manager is accountable for the management of large bids such as Request-for-Proposals (RFPs). They define and run the bid process and collect knowledge to increase the speed and quality of submissions. Within the bid process they work with Business Development and Client Account Management functions to identify and qualify bids, create the bid team, manage and monitor the bid creation, and ensure quality before submission. They ensure the process is complete by arranging and collecting feedback in the event of both successful and failed bids to continually improve the process and the likelihood of future wins.