A person external the business, usually engaged by large firms, who provides professional advice on particular matters for a fee. This may be to provide guidance on a particular branch of the company, suggestions for manufacturing or marketing processes, or even mentoring on the business direction as a whole.

Within the HR field, a HR consultant, comes into the organisation to ensure that its capital serves the best interests and advises on a number of issues which involve the organisation’s workforce. A HR consultant also ensures that all procedures and documentation are legally compliant; in the cases where there are no set procedures, the HR consultant, introduces and enforces the set of procedures to follow.