A consultant is a professional individual or business practice that provides expert advice to others. A project management consultant provides expert project management advice to external businesses. A company may hire a project management consultant if it lacks project management expertise or needs project management advice from an external, impartial party.
A project management consultant and a project management contractor are two very different roles. A consultant’s job is to offer advice or support. They are not in charge of the project’s execution or responsible for its success. Some of their typical services include:
- Reviewing current project management processes and capabilities
- Providing an overview of weaknesses in current processes and controls
- Recommendations for better processes and controls
- Support in the implementation of new tools, processes, and procedures
- Change management and transformation support
There are no typical project manager tasks on the list. Consultants will not create project plans, execute, monitor, control, or close out your projects. Their job is to help give your employees the right tools to do these things on their own. Contractors, meanwhile, are hired to fill an internal role. A project management contractor will typically have the same role and responsibilities as an internal project manager.