Research Consultant Job Description, Skills, and Salary
Get to know about the duties, responsibilities, qualifications, and skills requirements of a research consultant. Feel free to use our research consultant job description template to produce your own. We also provide you with information about the salary you can earn as a research consultant.
Who is a Research Consultant?
Research consultants conduct targeted and specialized research for clients and then provide a final analysis of key findings. Many consultants are experts in a particular field and can produce reports that cannot be produced by the company’s full-time staff.
A pharmaceutical company might hire a consultant to research current patients. The company will then receive a report from the consultant on their findings.
Research consultants are experts who conduct targeted research and then provide a report to their clients. This type of consultant is most commonly found in engineering, government, and scientific service firms. These services are very common because permanent staffs are not experts in their particular fields.
To become a research consultant, you will need a master’s degree. A Ph.D. is preferred, along with at least ten years of industry experience. You must be able to work efficiently and quickly to provide these types of services.
Many universities offer consulting services for the industry by professors and researchers. These arrangements are subject to conflict of interest policies. These arrangements shouldn’t affect academic research or conclusions that might contradict the statements and plans of the company.
Before you can be hired as a research consultant, you must have a good reputation in your field. This requires consistency in output and quality. Publicize articles in respected journals and make presentations at conferences. You must have at least five years of high-quality, consistent output. You can find many job opportunities in this industry as well as in postsecondary education institutions as a lecturer or researcher.
Research consultants often sign up with companies that specialize in a particular industry. These firms build a client base that is reliable and allows government agencies and large corporations to reach them for specialists as needed.
This is the perfect environment for consultants. This allows researchers to focus on their expertise while completing their consulting assignments. Independent consultants typically spend one day searching for new opportunities, doing bookkeeping, or handling administrative issues. You can reach a wider client base and receive additional benefits by working with a central company.
Research Consultant Job Description
Below are the research consultant job description examples you can use to develop your resume or write a research consultant job description for your employee. Employers can also use it to sieve out job seekers when choosing candidates for interviews.
The duties and responsibilities of a research consultant include the following:
- Preparing content and organizing logistics for conferences, presentations, panels, technical experts, and other national meetings.
- Visiting grantee websites and interviewing service providers.
- Reporting on policy issues for federal agencies, states, and community organizations.
- Analyzing survey data and program data and presenting the results in tables, graphs, and presentations.
- Prescribing medication to patients according to the instructions of your doctor.
- Creating patient care plans and managing patient medication profiles.
- Training and developing newly-hired staff members.
- Offering solutions and insight to solve the business problems of members.
- Identifying the operational and strategic problems that members face.
- Coaching and developing members of the research team.
- Accessing the knowledge and expertise of key industry players and key opinion leaders through telephone research and participation in international medical congresses.
- Co-creating new strategies and services with customers, users, and other stakeholders are possible by planning, facilitating, and leading co-creation activities.
- Representing and defending customers’ rights in meetings with external and internal stakeholders. This will ensure that key customer proposition elements are included in the final products.
- Assisting in or co-leading the research design process. This includes identifying markets, pricing, and creating a discussion guide.
- Developing and maintaining client relationships at all levels within the client’s company.
- Researching in as many ways as you need (groups and in-depth interviews, ethnographies, and online discussion boards), or guide or direct moderators who are located in different markets around the globe to do the same.
- Assisting clients with their acquisition and/or development activities
- Analyzing quantitative data to develop and evaluate policies/programs
- Making new contacts and finding potential customers for your products
- Creating exhibits and presentations for clients and senior management. This could include summarizing industry analysis results or evaluating department recommendations’ performance.
- Generating financial models
- Doing a valuation analysis of companies and preparing detailed reports
These are some other important tasks.
- Plan Research Strategies
Research consultants develop research strategies to meet the needs of specific research projects. This includes creating an action plan to find the data needed and estimating the time it will take to complete the research.
- Locate and Collect Data
Research plans are created by consultants to gather and locate data. This could be done by using online sources, telephone surveys, or studying reports.
Interpret and analyze data
Research consultants interpret and analyze research data to discover relevant information.
- Research Reports
Consultants write research reports that highlight and summarize the most important data from their data analysis.
- Verify the data
Research consultants are assigned to investigative teams by researchers who send them out into the field to collect information.
- Current Research
Research consultants summarize key information from data analysis and data gathering verbally.
Qualifications
For most managerial analysis jobs, including research consultants, a bachelor’s degree will be required. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics “Occupational Outlook Handbook 2010-2011 Edition”, research consultants should have at least two years of experience in their chosen field. Research consultants must be highly motivated, organized, analytical, and able to write and speak well.
The main requirements are summarized below:
- Minimum of a master’s degree in your field.
- Three years experience as a researcher/study leader
- Demonstrate research skills such as data analysis, statistics, and survey design.
- Great writing skills and organizational skills.
- Proficiency in research design and writing research reports.
- A deep understanding of research methods and best practices.
- Communication and teamwork skills.
- Independent research.
- Ability to use research and experimental techniques to collect both qualitative and quantitative information.
Essential Skills
- Research skills
Because research consultants are primarily data scientists, employers look for research-oriented candidates. They are looking for individuals who have exceptional research skills.
- Analytical thinking
Research consultants use their analytical skills and knowledge to process large quantities of data and identify the relevant information.
- Team management
This field requires management skills. Researchers in this field are often directed by research consultants.
- Mathematics
Research consultants are specialists in analyzing financial reports, statistics, and other data-driven by numbers. This requires a good understanding of numbers and math skills.
- Computer skills
To locate and collect data, create reports, and prepare presentations for research consultants, you need to be a computer expert.
How to Become a Research Consultant
- Find your expertise area.
You should be honest about your strengths and areas of expertise. Also, consider your talents outside of your 9-to-5 focus. Perhaps you run a landscaping business that has enough clients to make it a full-time job.
Research consultants must be self-motivated and organized. Before you launch your website or accept your first client, think about your ability to meet those demands. It’s possible to find the perfect niche but you may not be able to meet deadlines and manage billing cycles.
You can use these areas to help you find your consulting niche. It’s important to consider what you love — this should be something you are passionate about if you do this full-time.
- Set goals.
You can set goals to help you understand what you are working towards. Are you aiming for this to be a weekend-only project? Are you hoping to make it a full-time venture? Are you looking to hire staff? These questions will help you plan.
Once you have established broad goals for your company, focus your attention on the immediate needs. Make sure that your goals are simple and measurable.
Specific: Be specific about what you want to achieve
Measurable: To track progress, identify milestones and targets to measure your progress
Attainable: Make your goals realistic and achievable
Relevant: Create goals that align with your business model
Time-based: Set deadlines to achieve your goals
Your plans will change as your consultancy grows. Reexamine your SMART goals monthly or quarterly and make adjustments as necessary.
- Create a website.
Do you think you can do without a website? You might be wrong. Recent research by the Local Search Association found that 63% of consumers use websites to search for or interact with businesses. 30% of these consumers will not consider a business without a site.
Google also gives you more authority in local rankings if your site is available. It’s not enough to create a Google My Business profile. Google will display your website when it is optimized with backlinks and domain authority.
Website creation doesn’t have to be difficult. Squarespace and WordPress make it simple to create a website. GoDaddy makes it possible to secure a domain name.
HubSpot is a great tool to help you manage your research leads, book meetings, and grow. Your website is your first impression. You will see long-lasting returns if you invest your time here.
- Get certified.
It’s important to be a leader in your field as a research consultant. Certifications can help you demonstrate your passion.
Software, skills, or subject-specific certifications are all important. Find out which qualifications are most relevant to your industry and then invest in expanding your knowledge.
- Select a market to target.
Once you have identified your niche, it is important to identify your target audience.
You can provide exceptional service to your customers by being specific about their needs and interests. This will allow you to reach the right clients.
- Choose where you will work.
While you’re starting your research consultancy, you won’t likely need one. If you are a full-time consultant, however, having an office might prove useful.
After you have decided that office space will be a benefit to your company, it is time to consider the type of space that best suits your needs. Galvanize and We Work are two examples of coworking spaces that are a staple in many urban environments.
These spaces allow you to use small or shared workspaces as well as meeting rooms, and other amenities at a much lower monthly cost than traditional office space. You also have another opportunity to network with and gain from others.
- Make your offerings.
What delivery model will you use to provide your research consulting services? What delivery model will you use? Are you going to be there and offering your services at their location, or will they have you deliver your services remotely? Is it possible to perform actual work or just guide them?
You have to choose the best offer methodology that suits you.
- Set your rates.
The hardest part about starting a research consultancy job is deciding how much to charge clients. Because you aren’t yet able to prove your results, it’s tempting not to charge what you are worth.
You can research the prices of comparable consultants in your area using sites like Glassdoor.com. Decide which type of pricing is most fair for you and your work.
- Make friends.
Referrals are an important way to grow your company, but they’re not the only way.
You can join LinkedIn and Facebook groups that your audience is active in, create and share blog posts that highlight your expertise, or attend conferences and meetups in your local area. Talk to anyone interested in your service. You are the only one who can sell you. So, brush off your elevator pitch and prepare to sell yourself.
- Learn when to say “no”
It’s easy to say yes to every client at the beginning. You want your work to be organized, high-quality, and manageable, you can bring in work at a steady pace.
Prospective clients will appreciate your honesty. You’ll also be able to maintain high-quality work at an acceptable pace that doesn’t threaten either your sanity or the satisfaction of your existing clients.
It can be difficult to refuse clients who are not a good match. If you are unable to meet the needs of a potential client, be honest and proactive about introducing them. Your business will benefit from a better match and they’ll be happier.
- Create a repeatable process for acquiring and selling clients.
You can’t expect your clients to come knocking on your door once you’ve set up your business.
As you plan how to find consultants clients, it is important to research your market and analyze your network. The next step is to market your consulting services to potential clients and to understand how to sell them.
Where to Work
Research consultants are independent contractors or freelancers who perform investigative or research services for clients or businesses. They can work in many industries including publishing, legal services, business, healthcare and publishing.
Research Consultant Salary Scale
Research consultants make an average of $104,929 per year and $50 per hour in the United States.
