Training & development
Consultants
=mc prides itself on its integrated approach to work. It also has a significant body of intellectual property, so your initial period with us will consist of learning our core shared approaches or change technologies.
Working as a management or fundraising consultant will consist of taking part in our intensive consultancy skills, communications and presentations programmes. Working as a learning and development consultant will involve learning several core =mc programmes.
There is no one path that is exactly the same for every person who joins =mc. You’ll be offered as much responsibility as you want and can handle early in your time with us. Your personal development programme will be tailored to your needs, but you can expect a pattern like the table below.
Development Track | Management Consultant | Learning and Development Consultant | Fundraising Consultant |
| Induction period 0-1 month | Introduction to =mc consultancy methodologies part 1; =mc presentations programme | =mc training and presentations programme; communications programme | Introduction to =mc consultancy methodologies part 1; =mc presentations programme |
| 1-6 months | Coaching and live project review; =mc project management programme | Programme acquisition and delivery – leadership; project management as core | Coaching and live project review; advanced development training |
| 6-12 months | =mc consultancy methodologies part 2 | Specialisation in programme acquisition; accelerated learning training | =mc consultancy methodologies part 2 |
| 12-24 months | Specialism developed in change, strategy etc; lead on major consultancy | Lead role in developing material; pitching for and winning significant business | Specialism developed in fundraising strategy, major donors, sponsorship etc; lead on major consultancy |
After the initial period of intensive training and coaching, you’ll be assigned to a number of customers and projects.
As a management or fundraising consultant you’ll be initially allocated customers and projects and, depending on the nature of the assignment, be asked to work alongside a colleague or progress an easier project yourself.
As a learning & development consultant you’ll deliver open training programmes and work on in-company activities. Within six months we’d expect you to be fully up and running and working on anything from project management with a local authority to creativity & innovation with an international arts organisation.
When you join =mc, we want you to keep on developing and growing as a professional and as an individual. Our overall policy on training and development is very simple – you can take part in any kind of learning activity for which there is a reasonable business purpose.
Each consultant has a personal development plan, and we’re not afraid of making the investment needed. Typically you might:
- take part in extensive and regular in-house training – on topics as varied as change, NLP, accelerated learning, and the learning organisation
- join relevant professional bodies and work towards key qualifications in disciplines such as marketing, finance and human resource management
- undertake research and internal consultancy projects on new developments in the field, in order to improve our service to customers
- undergo intensive 121 coaching from colleagues, make use of our extensive resource of books, manuals and other training and consultancy materials
- contribute to IP (intellectual property), academies to share ideas and methodologies
In addition, you’ll have regular coaching/supervision sessions with your line-manager. This two-way forum gives you the opportunity to discuss your progress and performance, set and review Key Result Areas and goals and assess your training and development needs.
In the longer term, you’ll be given the additional responsibility of being ‘lead consultant’ in a topic area or particular training programmes. A lead learning & development consultant will be primarily responsible for revising our approach, or updating programme content and documentation. A lead management or fundraising consultant will be primarily responsible for developing particular methodologies and heading up specific contracts. You’ll also be asked to help with the marketing for your specialism.
As you develop, you’ll be assigned to work on proposals and pitches for new business. You’ll also act as an account manager for designated key customers. This will either be by telephone or field visiting, depending on customer value or potential. You’ll also liaise with senior consultants and principals to ensure maximum cross-selling to customers.
We’ll try to match the subject areas you specialise in and the customers/sectors you work with as closely as possible to your interests, experience and expertise. Over time, you’ll further your own knowledge of your subject area(s) and keep up-to-date with the latest developments. Finally, you’ll be encouraged to develop a coherent and exciting vision of where you see your future.
