Consulting Director

SHRM is a member-driven catalyst for creating better workplaces where people and businesses thrive together. As the trusted authority on all things work, SHRM is the foremost expert, researcher, advocate, and thought leader on issues and innovations impacting today’s evolving workplaces. With nearly 340,000 members in 180 countries, SHRM touches the lives of more than 362 million workers and their families globally.

Summary

The Consulting Director, is responsible for driving revenue growth and delivering high-quality consulting solutions that address clients' leadership, organizational development, and business challenges. This role combines business development, client relationship management, consulting solution design, and hands-on delivery of leadership and organizational development services.

The Director manages the full lifecycle of consulting engagements, from identifying business opportunities and assessing client needs to developing proposals, securing engagements, coordinating resources, and delivering customized solutions. The position is accountable for achieving assigned revenue targets while ensuring consulting engagements deliver measurable client outcomes, maintain profitability, and support long-term client relationships.

Working collaboratively with Sales, Product, and Consulting leadership, the Director identifies opportunities to expand client partnerships, strengthens consulting offerings, and contributes to the continued growth and success of SHRM Linkage's Professional Consulting Solutions (PROS) business.

Responsibilities

Business Development & Revenue Growth

• Identify, develop, and pursue consulting opportunities within existing and prospective client accounts in collaboration with Sales leadership.
• Build and maintain relationships with senior executives and key decision-makers to understand organizational priorities, leadership challenges, and business needs.
• Lead client discovery discussions to identify opportunities for leadership development, organizational effectiveness, executive coaching, and related consulting solutions.
• Develop customized consulting proposals, Statements of Work (SOWs), project scopes, pricing recommendations, and engagement strategies aligned with client needs and business objectives.
• Lead client presentations, negotiate engagement terms, and secure consulting business within established pricing and approval guidelines.
• Develop long-term client relationships and identify opportunities for additional services, renewals, and expanded consulting engagements.
• Achieve assigned annual revenue and book-of-business targets while maintaining a healthy sales pipeline, accurate forecasts, and appropriate engagement profitability.
• Monitor client needs, market trends, and competitive offerings to identify opportunities for business growth and enhanced consulting solutions.

Consulting Solution Design & Delivery

• Assess client leadership and organizational development needs through stakeholder interviews, assessments, organizational data, and other discovery methods.
• Design customized consulting solutions that address leadership effectiveness, organizational development, team performance, culture, and change management.
• Personally deliver consulting services, including leadership assessments, executive coaching, facilitated workshops, and organizational development initiatives.
• Lead multiple complex consulting engagements simultaneously, ensuring solutions align with client objectives, established methodologies, and quality standards.
• Facilitate engaging and effective learning and development experiences for senior leaders and executives, both virtually and in person.
• Serve as a trusted advisor to senior client stakeholders, providing expertise, recommendations, and practical solutions to address organizational challenges.
• Establish engagement objectives and success measures, evaluate client outcomes, and recommend opportunities for continued development and improvement.
• Maintain high standards of consulting delivery and client satisfaction through demonstrated expertise, professional judgment, and effective client engagement.

Engagement Management & Resourcing

• Oversee assigned consulting engagements from initiation through completion, ensuring project objectives, timelines, budgets, and deliverables are achieved.
• Determine staffing and resource requirements for consulting engagements, including the appropriate use of internal resources and affiliate consultants.
• Coordinate and provide direction to affiliate consultants and internal contributors to support effective engagement delivery.
• Manage the day-to-day engagement resourcing support provided by the Affiliate Coordinator, in collaboration with Consulting leadership.
• Monitor project progress, identify potential risks, resolve engagement-related issues, and escalate concerns as appropriate.
• Ensure consulting engagements are appropriately scoped, staffed, and managed to balance client expectations, delivery capacity, quality, and profitability.
• Maintain effective communication with clients, affiliate consultants, and internal stakeholders throughout the engagement lifecycle.
• Partner with the VP, Consulting on complex or high-value engagements requiring additional strategic oversight or resources.

Strategic Collaboration & Business Growth

• Collaborate with Sales leadership to identify, qualify, and coordinate consulting opportunities and ensure alignment with broader client account strategies.
• Partner with Product and Consulting leadership to enhance consulting solutions, methodologies, and service offerings based on client needs and market opportunities.
• Provide consulting expertise and client insights to support the development and refinement of leadership development programs, assessments, and related products.
• Collaborate with Marketing and Sales to strengthen client-facing messaging, support demand-generation initiatives, and promote consulting solutions.
• Represent SHRM Linkage through client presentations, webinars, conferences, thought leadership, and other professional engagements.
• Identify opportunities to strengthen SHRM Linkage's market presence, expand client relationships, and support long-term business growth.
• Contribute to continuous improvement of consulting processes, client experiences, and delivery practices.

Education & Experience Requirements

Education

· Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Organizational Development, Industrial/Organizational Psychology, Human Resources, or a related field required.

Experience

• Ten (10) or more years of progressive experience in professional services consulting, leadership development, organizational development, executive coaching, consultative sales, or a combination of these disciplines.
• Demonstrated success generating consulting revenue, developing client relationships, and managing a substantial book of business, preferably in the $1.5M–$2.5M range.
• Proven experience designing, selling, and personally delivering complex consulting engagements for senior leaders and executives.
• Experience conducting organizational assessments, facilitating leadership development programs, and providing executive or leadership coaching.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple consulting engagements, balance competing priorities, and deliver measurable client outcomes.
• Experience developing consulting proposals, Statements of Work, pricing recommendations, and client engagement strategies.
• Experience coordinating consulting resources, including external or affiliate consultants, preferred.
• Experience using Challenger Sales or a comparable consultative-selling methodology, including disciplined pipeline management, CRM hygiene, forecasting, and proposal development, preferred.

Certifications

• International Coaching Federation (ICF) certification preferred.
• Change management certification, such as Prosci or a comparable methodology, preferred.
• Certification or demonstrated proficiency in leadership assessment tools, 360-degree feedback instruments, or executive coaching assessments preferred.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Strong business development and consultative selling skills, including client discovery, relationship management, solution development, negotiation, and closing.
• Advanced knowledge of leadership development, organizational effectiveness, executive coaching, and change management principles and practices.
• Exceptional facilitation, presentation, communication, and coaching skills, with the ability to engage and influence senior leaders and executives.
• Ability to assess complex organizational challenges and translate client needs into practical, customized consulting solutions.
• Strong business acumen and financial judgment, including the ability to manage revenue expectations, engagement pricing, resource utilization, and profitability.
• Demonstrated ability to establish and maintain trusted relationships with clients, internal stakeholders, and external consulting partners.
• Strong project and engagement management skills, including planning, prioritization, resource coordination, risk management, and execution.
• Ability to manage a sales pipeline and active consulting engagements simultaneously while maintaining quality and client satisfaction.
• Working knowledge of leadership assessments, 360-degree feedback instruments, coaching frameworks, and organizational development methodologies.
• Ability to work independently, exercise sound judgment, and make decisions within established business and operational guidelines.
• Strong collaboration and influencing skills, with the ability to coordinate cross-functional teams and external consultants without direct supervisory authority.
• Ability to identify business growth opportunities and contribute to the continued development of consulting services and client solutions.
• Ability to effectively leverage AI tools and technologies to streamline workflows, enhance productivity, and improve overall work quality.
• Ability to effectively leverage artificial intelligence (AI) tools and technologies to streamline workflows, enhance productivity, and improve overall work quality.

Physical Requirements

This position operates in a typical office environment (which includes a home office setting) and requires the ability to perform essential job functions with or without reasonable accommodation. Physical requirements may include:

• Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer.
• Frequent use of hands and fingers for typing, handling documents, and using office equipment.
• Occasional standing, walking, bending, and reaching.
• Ability to lift and carry up to 30 pounds as needed.
• Clear verbal and written communication skills for effective interaction with colleagues and stakeholders.

Work Environment

Fully Remote:

Employees must be available during standard business hours, with core hours beginning between 8:00–9:00 a.m. and concluding between 5:00–6:00 p.m.

Travel: Moderate 20 - 30%

Our employment practices are in accordance with the laws that prohibit discrimination against qualified individuals on the basis of race, religion, color, gender, age, national origin, physical or mental disability, genetic information, veteran’s status, marital status, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, or any other status protected by applicable law.

SHRM is an equal opportunity employer (Minority/Female/Disabled/Veteran).

We do not sponsor applicants for work visas.