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Principal Consultant (Client Engagement) roles and responsibilities

 

A Principal Consultant (Client Engagement) is both a strategic advisor and a relationship leader, ensuring client success, driving growth, and overseeing solution delivery.

Roles

  • Act as the primary liaison between the client and internal teams, ensuring alignment of business objectives with technology solutions.

  • Own and manage client relationships at executive and senior leadership levels.

  • Provide strategic consulting to clients on digital transformation, product roadmaps, and technology adoption.

  • Lead end-to-end client engagement lifecycle – from pre-sales, solutioning, and contract discussions to delivery and ongoing support.

  • Partner with business development teams to identify new revenue opportunities within existing accounts.

  • Mentor and guide project managers, consultants, and delivery teams to ensure quality outcomes for clients.

Responsibilities

  • Client Engagement & Relationship Management

    • Build strong, trusted partnerships with client stakeholders.

    • Understand client’s business priorities, pain points, and opportunities.

    • Act as escalation point for client concerns and ensure timely resolution.

  • Consulting & Solutioning

    • Translate business requirements into technology and process solutions.

    • Provide domain and technical expertise to recommend scalable software solutions.

    • Support pre-sales activities: RFP/RFI responses, SOW, solution proposals, demos, and presentations.

  • Delivery Oversight

    • Ensure projects/programs are delivered on time, within scope, and budget.

    • Monitor performance metrics, SLAs, and client satisfaction scores.

    • Align delivery with contractual obligations and governance processes.

  • Account Growth & Strategy

    • Drive account expansion by identifying cross-sell and up-sell opportunities.

    • Collaborate with sales, product, and engineering teams to develop strategic roadmaps for client accounts.

    • Contribute to business planning and forecasting for client portfolio.

  • Leadership & Mentoring

    • Provide leadership to consulting teams, ensuring adherence to best practices.

    • Mentor junior consultants, helping them grow in client-facing roles.

    • Foster a culture of customer-centricity and innovation.

Case Study: Digital Transformation for a Leading Retail Bank

Client Context

A large retail bank with over 10 million customers was struggling with legacy systems, manual loan processing, and high customer churn due to slow service delivery. The bank wanted to modernize its core banking operations, improve customer engagement through digital channels, and ensure compliance with regulatory standards.

Challenges

  • Outdated legacy applications with limited integration capabilities.

  • Loan approvals taking 10–15 days, impacting customer satisfaction.

  • Lack of omnichannel experience for customers across mobile, web, and branch services.

  • Rising compliance requirements in KYC/AML regulations.

Role as Principal Consultant (Client Engagement)

  • Acted as the single point of contact for CXOs and senior client leadership.

  • Partnered with client stakeholders to define transformation roadmap aligned with business goals.

  • Led solution workshops to identify opportunities for process automation, API integration, and cloud adoption.

  • Coordinated with internal teams (product engineering, data, cloud, and testing) for solution design and delivery.

  • Oversaw program governance, ensured SLA adherence, and acted as an escalation point.

  • Identified cross-sell opportunities for AI-based customer analytics and digital payments integration.

Solution Delivered

  • Migrated legacy loan processing system to a cloud-based digital loan origination platform.

  • Implemented RPA (Robotic Process Automation) for document verification and credit checks.

  • Designed an omnichannel customer experience (mobile app, web portal, branch kiosks).

  • Introduced AI-driven customer insights to personalize banking offers.

  • Ensured compliance with KYC/AML regulations through automated data validation.

Business Impact

  • Loan approval cycle reduced from 15 days to 48 hours.

  • Customer satisfaction scores improved by 35% within six months.

  • Operational efficiency increased by 40% through automation.

  • Regulatory compliance strengthened, reducing audit risks.

  • Generated additional $5M revenue through digital cross-sell campaigns.


Day-to-Day Activities (Banking Digital Transformation Case Study)

Client Engagement & Relationship Management

  • Conducted daily check-ins with client program managers and weekly steering committee meetings with CXOs.

  • Captured client feedback and translated into actionable tasks for delivery teams.

  • Acted as the primary escalation point for any issues impacting business or delivery.

Program & Delivery Oversight

  • Reviewed project status dashboards, KPIs, and SLAs to ensure commitments were on track.

  • Coordinated with cross-functional teams (cloud, API integration, RPA, testing) to resolve blockers.

  • Conducted daily standups with internal teams to track progress, risks, and dependencies.

  • Ensured all deliverables met regulatory and compliance standards.

Consulting & Solutioning

  • Facilitated requirement workshops with client stakeholders to gather business needs (loan processing, KYC/AML, customer onboarding).

  • Worked with solution architects to design system integrations between legacy core banking and the new digital platform.

  • Reviewed solution documents and provided strategic input on scalability, performance, and compliance.

  • Evaluated new opportunities like AI-driven analytics and chatbot for customer queries.

Governance & Reporting

  • Prepared weekly progress reports and presented them to client leadership.

  • Maintained a risk and issue register, ensuring timely mitigation.

  • Conducted quarterly business reviews (QBRs) to showcase value delivered and new growth opportunities.

Team Leadership & Mentoring

  • Guided project managers and consultants in client handling best practices.

  • Mentored junior consultants on business domain knowledge (retail banking, compliance, loan origination).

  • Conducted knowledge-sharing sessions on digital banking trends for the client and internal teams.

Account Growth & Strategic Engagement

  • Identified up-sell opportunities (AI analytics, digital payments) and pitched proposals with sales team.

  • Partnered with client’s innovation team to plan a 2-year digital transformation roadmap.

  • Ensured high customer satisfaction scores to strengthen long-term engagement.


Activity Frequency Stakeholders Involved Outcome / Value Delivered
Daily stand-ups with delivery team (cloud, API, RPA, testing) Daily Project Managers, Technical Leads Tracked progress, resolved blockers, aligned delivery with client goals
Client status check-ins Daily Client Program Manager Ensured transparency, captured feedback, built trust
Steering committee meetings with CXOs Weekly Client CXOs, Internal Leadership Presented progress, risks, strategic alignment
Requirement workshops Weekly / As needed Client Business Users, Solution Architects Captured business needs (loan origination, KYC/AML), defined solution roadmap
Reviewing dashboards, KPIs & SLAs Daily PMO, Delivery Leads Ensured delivery adherence, early risk mitigation
Governance & risk review sessions Weekly Client & Internal Governance Teams Maintained risk register, resolved escalations
Progress reports & executive updates Weekly Client Leadership, Internal Management Delivered transparency, highlighted value & risks
Mentoring consultants & junior PMs Weekly Internal Teams Improved client-facing skills, enhanced banking domain knowledge
Knowledge-sharing sessions on digital banking trends Monthly Client Stakeholders, Internal Teams Enabled innovation and future roadmap planning
Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs) Quarterly Client Leadership, Internal Sales & Strategy Showcased delivered value, identified up-sell/cross-sell opportunities
Strategic roadmap workshops As needed Client Innovation Team, Architects Defined 2-year transformation roadmap, aligned technology & business goals
Account growth & opportunity identification Ongoing Client Leadership, Internal Sales Team Generated proposals for AI analytics, digital payments, boosting revenue


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