What is the Role of a Consultant in a Management Consulting Firm? What all do they do?
Consulting often carries an image of a high-paying, glamorous job—jet-setting in business class, enjoying expensive lunches, and traveling the world. While some of that may be true, there’s much more behind the scenes that goes into making a successful consultant. At Vernalis, we are frequently asked, What do management consultants actually do? Many aspire to enter the field, but few fully understand what it takes.
In this series, we aim to shed light on the following questions
1. What is the real Role of a Consultant ?
2. What are the core competencies needed to succeed ?
3. How do we assess for fitment on these competencies ?
In this article, we attempt to answer the first question, what is the role of a consultant in a consulting firm?
Aspiring consultants often imagine their work as solely client-facing—being on-site and delivering solutions. While client delivery is indeed a crucial part of the job, consultants play a much broader role.
Consultants are pivotal not only in driving client results but also in contributing to the internal development of the firm. They work to strengthen the firm’s capabilities to ensure consistent and high-quality performance. This includes tasks like developing marketing collateral, managing knowledge systems, and building internal tools to improve operational efficiency.
In essence, a consultant’s role is twofold:
- Client-Focused Work – Collaborating with clients to solve complex business problems and execute solutions tailored to their needs.
- Firm Development – Enhancing internal processes, creating value for the firm beyond immediate client engagements, and contributing to long-term growth.
Vernalis Differentiator
What sets Vernalis apart from other firms is our commitment to building a better world. After working with businesses for over 25 years, we’ve realised the power of entrepreneurship as a tool to solve global challenges. We encourage our team members to think beyond the immediate task and ideate solutions that make a positive impact on the world around them.
Look forward to your inputs in refining this role
We invite insights from Students, aspirants, experienced and young consultants, and clients on the the role presented above, especially on:
- Are these role elements universal across geographies, or do they vary by region?
- Would you like further clarity on the roles discussed here?
- How do these elements differ at various levels of seniority, for example, between a junior and senior consultant?
About the Author
Bharat Grover is a Partner at Vernalis. He heads the Architecting Hi-Performance Organisation Practice Area.
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