It's probably not the most flattering analogy, but it fits.
An adjustable spanner can be dialled down for the small, tedious jobs or stretched to tackle much bigger ones. A Senior Consultant is much the same. They’re still early enough in their career that they can't be too precious about the smaller projects, but they've developed enough capability to be trusted with larger, more complex work when required.
That adaptability makes Senior Consultants the most in-demand level in the planning profession. I'd estimate that around 60% of our recruitment mandates are for Senior Planners.
What Does "Senior Consultant" Actually Mean?
When I first started in recruitment, a Senior Consultant would typically have close to eight years' industry experience. Chronic skills shortages have changed that. Employers have increasingly used the title as both a recruitment tool and a retention strategy, promoting people earlier to attract candidates or encourage junior staff to stay.
Today, it's not uncommon to see someone with three or four years' experience holding a Senior Consultant title.
Interestingly, that inflation hasn't really extended to the next level. Associate Director remains a closely guarded title. Employers recognise that people stepping into these roles are joining the firm's inner circle, so they tend to look for not only technical capability but also evidence of loyalty, commitment and commercial maturity.
The result is that many planners reach Senior Consultant relatively early, only to spend several years there before progressing. For many, it can feel like a career purgatory.
What Should a Senior Consultant Actually Be Doing?
One of the reasons that consultancies like senior consultants is that they are (should be) a low maintenance fee generating machine.
Whilst senior consultants aren't required to bring work in, they can run most projects with minimum supervision. That means taking ownership of:
- Running projects. The "grey hair" may attend key meetings to reassure the client of senior oversight, but effectively you’re driving the project, setting approval pathways and running most meetings without any involvement of the grey hair. If they’re invited to a meeting it’s probably a sign that the project is going sideways.
- Managing time - Senior staff may control hourly rates, but scoping out the number of hours a project is likely to take and delivering a project within that timeframe, this is on you.
- Managing consultant and council relationships. Those conversations—including the difficult ones where you need to disagree professionally—should be yours to handle.
- Producing quality work. Reports will usually be peer reviewed as part of the firm's QA process, but the expectation should be that your work requires minor edits, not major rewrites.
The Difference Between Senior Consultant and Associate Director
The first step into Associate Director isn't about arriving with a black book full of clients ready to spend money. Most consultancies understand that this will take time and that a consultants capacity to generate work is related to how much a client trusts you. So employers look for signs that those candidates stepping up have the capacity to generate trust. So they look for signs of...
1. Clients Coming Back to You
Do existing clients contact you directly about the next stage of a project? Do they ask for advice on new opportunities? Do former clients call you for a quick highest and best use assessment on a potential site?
The projects don't have to be large. What matters is that clients choose to come back to you because they trust your judgement rather than ring the switchboard or go back to the grey hair.
2. Being slightly disagreeable..
One of the strongest indicators that you're operating at Associate Director level is your ability to have difficult conversations without damaging the relationship.
Can you tell a client their proposal is overdeveloped and needs to be scaled back? That their timeframes are unrealistic? Can you explain that additional work falls outside the agreed scope and requires a fee variation?
Most importantly, do they accept your advice and continue working with you rather than immediately seeking confirmation from the "grey hair" in the office? If they do, you've earned their trust, which wins and keeps clients.
Moving jobs as a Senior Consultant
This is probably the most important career move you'll make.
By this stage you've developed the technical fundamentals. The next few years determine what you'll become known for within the industry. For example what types of projects you specialise in, how much responsibility you're trusted with and how much direct client exposure you're given.
It's also the role where you'll typically need to demonstrate some longevity in order to get to the more elusive levels of seniority. Employers want to see commitment before promoting someone into an Associate Director position. So you need to be in an environment when you can stick with the culture.
That doesn't necessarily mean your next move has to come with a title change. Many employers will recruit someone into a Senior Consultant role with a clear pathway to Associate Director, subject to agreed KPIs or a defined timeframe. They want to see you perform in their business before handing over the title.
If however you are moving sideways as a Senior Consultant, the move should deliverone of two things, either more complex projects or greater responsibility within projects.
Without either of these two you're making a lateral move. Even if the role comes with an immediate salary increase, without either of the above it doesn't materially improve your prospects of reaching higher levels - will have a much greater impact on your long-term earning potential.
Next Steps
The more senior you get the less your career development is driven by moving and need to be more focused on developing within your current organisation.
Development is however a two way street. Whilst an employer will be looking for potentially a mix of longeivity and a devekoping skillbase in order to promote you. You in turn need to be conifdent that they are giving you opportunities to develop, so you need to ask yourself
Are you being given opportunities to work on increasingly complex projects?
Are you taking on greater responsibility?
Do your managers have a clear plan for your progression?
If you've been knocked back for promotion, is there a solid reason behind it, clear objectives to achieve to get your next promotion, and help/guidance to help you achieve these?
If the answer is yes, and you can see genuine commitment from your leadership team, you're probably in the right place.
If not… let's chat.
