At Amaris Consulting and LittleBig Connection, part of Mantu, the Business Manager role combines business development, people management, operational follow-up, and financial ownership from an early stage. It is a role for people who want to build, lead, and grow fast through responsibility.
Here is what the role looks like in practice, through the experience of three Senior Managers at Amaris Consulting: Maxime, Irene, and Thais.
What is a Business Manager in consulting?
In a consulting firm, a Business Manager works at the crossroads of business development, recruitment, team management, project follow-up, and financial performance. At Amaris Consulting and LittleBig Connection, part of Mantu, the role goes further. Business Managers are trusted to grow their own client portfolio, recruit and support technical talents, follow project delivery, and manage the financial performance of their scope. It is a demanding role. It is also a strong learning accelerator for people who enjoy variety, responsibility, and direct impact.
Career path: from intern to Senior Manager
A common question from candidates is: how fast can you grow as a Business Manager?
At Amaris Consulting, progression can be fast for people who stay curious, proactive, and accountable. Maxime joined in 2022 as a final-year intern. With an engineering background and a strong interest in business, he wanted to understand what management looked like from the inside. After his internship, he completed his master’s degree, then spent a summer working from the Lisbon office. Same role, different country, different challenges. “It was genuinely eye-opening to do the same job in a different context. The culture is different, the client dynamics are different, the way people communicate is different. You come back with a much wider frame of reference.” — Maxime, Senior Manager
Two years after starting his permanent contract, Maxime became a Senior Manager, leading his own team across several sectors.
Join us as a Business Manager now
The 4 key responsibilities of the role
No two days look the same. The Business Manager role combines four connected responsibilities.
1. Client development
Business Managers develop client relationships and identify new opportunities. In practice, this can mean qualifying a client need, preparing a proposal with pre-sales teams, presenting a solution, or negotiating priorities when a situation changes. Thais gives the clearest example of this responsibility.
As Senior Manager in Brazil, she oversees business development and client relationships in São Paulo, mainly across retail and financial services. Her work focuses on Information Systems & Digital, supporting clients in their digital transformation projects. “Today, I confidently lead client meetings, manage conflicts, negotiate complex situations, and make strategic decisions under pressure.” — Thais, Senior Manager
This shows how client development goes beyond opening doors. It requires business understanding, negotiation, confidence, and the ability to guide discussions when stakes are high.
2. Recruitment and team management
Business Managers identify the right talents for client projects, then support them throughout their career journey. In practice, this can mean interviewing candidates, matching profiles with client needs, onboarding consultants, running career check-ins, supporting development goals, and helping team members prepare for their next step. Maxime gives the clearest example of day-to-day team leadership: “I want my team to feel free to propose new ideas, step out of their comfort zone, and not be afraid of failure. A manager should be a facilitator, someone who inspires people to go further.”
Thais adds another layer: as responsibilities grow, team management becomes about developing other managers, not only managing consultants: “I quickly realized that leading requires a different level of strategic thinking, delegation, and coaching. I was no longer managing only operational activities. I was also responsible for developing leaders.”
This makes the responsibility concrete: Business Managers do not only place people on projects. They build teams, support careers, and help future leaders grow.
3. Business administration and project follow-up
Business Managers make sure projects remain structured, documented, and properly coordinated. In practice, this can mean following contract elements, updating project information, coordinating handovers, tracking milestones, ensuring communication between client and team, and solving issues before they affect delivery.
Irene gives the strongest example of this responsibility. During a critical delivery phase, a senior consultant who was the client’s main technical reference left the project without warning: “I first focused on staying calm and giving the team clear directions. We redistributed responsibilities, identified knowledge gaps, arranged handovers, and communicated openly with the client about our continuity plan.”
This is a concrete example of project follow-up: when delivery is at risk, the Business Manager helps restore structure, protect continuity, and maintain client trust.
4. Financial management
Business Managers are also responsible for the financial health of their scope. In practice, this means monitoring revenue, profitability, invoicing, margins, forecasts, and business indicators. It also means making decisions that keep growth sustainable: choosing the right opportunities, anticipating risks, and making sure the activity remains balanced over time. This responsibility is what makes the role a true business ownership position. Business Managers are not only developing clients or managing teams. They are accountable for the performance and sustainability of their activity.
What skills do you need to become a Business Manager?
The Business Manager role builds a wide skill set over time.
Organization: Business Managers constantly switch between client development, recruitment, delivery follow-up, administration, financial monitoring, and team management.
Strong prioritization is essential. It allows managers to stay reliable, manage several topics at once, and maintain quality even when priorities shift quickly.
Active listening: Each consultant has different motivations, ambitions, and ways of working.
Business Managers regularly conduct career check-ins, discuss development goals, support consultants during challenging periods, and help them identify the right next opportunities. This ability to understand people individually is what turns management into leadership.
Strategic thinking: As Business Managers grow into senior roles, their focus expands beyond day-to-day operations.
The role becomes less about managing tasks directly and more about developing teams, supporting future leaders, and making decisions with long-term impact.
Got the skills? Join our team now as a Business Manager
Delivering under pressure: a real example
The Business Manager role becomes most visible when a project faces pressure. Irene leads the Engineering scope across four Italian regions. She recalls a critical delivery phase where a senior consultant, who was the client’s main technical reference, left the project without warning. Deadlines were close. Knowledge transfer was limited. Client trust was at stake:
“I first focused on staying calm and giving the team clear directions. We redistributed responsibilities, identified knowledge gaps, arranged handovers, and communicated openly with the client about our continuity plan. At the same time, I made sure to check in with each team member personally, recognizing their efforts and making sure no one felt alone in it.”
The project was delivered on time. Client trust was preserved. The team came out stronger. That result came from a management approach that never treats operational performance and human support as competing priorities.
What makes a great Business Manager?
As Business Managers grow into senior roles, their definition of success changes. At first, success is often measured through personal performance: client meetings, signed projects, recruitment outcomes, delivery follow-up, and financial indicators. At senior level, the impact becomes wider. Decisions affect people’s careers, client relationships, team structure, business performance, and long-term growth.The best Business Managers combine commercial drive with long-term thinking. They know how to act fast while keeping sight of the bigger picture.
Is the Business Manager role right for you?
The Business Manager role is designed for people who get energy from variety. One day may include a client meeting, a recruitment discussion, a consultant development review, administrative follow-up, financial tracking, and a delivery issue to solve. The pace is demanding. That is also what makes the role a strong career accelerator.
This career path suits people who are:
comfortable with ambiguity
motivated by human impact
interested in business development
structured in the way they work
ready to take ownership of financial performance
willing to build a client portfolio, a team, and a reputation over time
An engineering background can help, but it is not the only route. Mindset matters most: curiosity, ownership, resilience, and the ability to keep moving when priorities shift.
An international career path
At Amaris Consulting, the international dimension is a strong differentiator. Business Managers work with clients, consultants, and teams across countries. They gain exposure to different markets, cultures, and ways of working. As Maxime explains: “Being part of an international group means access to a vast network of talent and expertise, shared best practices, and real mobility. Two of my current team members started their Amaris Consulting journey in a different country entirely.” For candidates looking for mobility, responsibility, and international exposure, the Business Manager role offers a strong foundation for long-term growth.
Join us as a Business Manager
This role suits people who are comfortable with ambiguity, motivated by human impact, and ready to build a client base, a team, and a reputation over time. What matters most is not following a predefined path. It is the ability to learn fast, adapt, take ownership, and grow through responsibility. Ready to build your next career step with Mantu?
Explore our open Business Manager roles on Mantu Careers.
Frequently asked questions
What does a Business Manager do in consulting? A Business Manager develops client relationships, recruits and supports consultants, follows project delivery, and manages financial performance. At Amaris Consulting, the role combines business development, people management, operational follow-up, and business ownership.
What skills do you need to become a Business Manager? Key skills include organization, active listening, communication, negotiation, leadership, adaptability, and financial awareness. Curiosity, ownership, and resilience are also essential to grow in the role.
Can you become a Business Manager without a consulting background? Yes. There is no single path into the role. A business, engineering, or technical background can help, but mindset matters most: learning quickly, working with people, and taking ownership in a dynamic environment.
Is Business Manager a good career path? Yes. It is a strong career path for people looking for early responsibility, client exposure, team leadership, international opportunities, and direct business impact.
