Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for a Knowledge Consultant

🎯 Role Definition

This role requires a strategic and highly collaborative Knowledge Consultant to join our team. In this pivotal role, you will be the architect of our organization's collective intelligence. You will design, implement, and champion a comprehensive knowledge management (KM) strategy that empowers our teams to access the right information at the right time. This involves partnering with stakeholders across all business units to understand their knowledge needs, optimizing our technology stack (like SharePoint, Confluence, and ServiceNow), and fostering a culture where knowledge sharing is seamless and second nature. The ideal candidate is a visionary leader who can translate complex business challenges into actionable knowledge solutions, ultimately driving efficiency, innovation, and a competitive advantage.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Business Analyst / Systems Analyst
Corporate Librarian / Information Scientist
Technical Writer or Content Strategist
Change Management Specialist

Advancement To:

Senior or Principal Knowledge Consultant
Director of Knowledge Management & Strategy
Head of Information & Insights
Chief Knowledge Officer (CKO)

Lateral Moves:

Product Manager (for internal tools/platforms)
Business Process Improvement Manager
Senior Change Management Consultant
Digital Transformation Lead

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Develop and execute a holistic, enterprise-wide knowledge management strategy and roadmap that aligns directly with overarching business goals and digital transformation initiatives.
Lead the design, implementation, and continuous improvement of the organization's knowledge management systems, platforms, and tools (e.g., intranets, wikis, expert locators).
Conduct in-depth needs analysis and stakeholder interviews across various departments to identify critical knowledge gaps, pain points, and opportunities for improvement.
Design and govern the enterprise information architecture, including taxonomies, metadata schemas, and content structures, to ensure information is findable, accessible, and relevant.
Champion and facilitate the growth of Communities of Practice (CoPs) and expert networks to foster organic knowledge sharing, collaboration, and problem-solving.
Establish and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics to measure the effectiveness, adoption, and business impact of KM initiatives, delivering regular reports to leadership.
Partner closely with IT, HR, and L&D teams to ensure seamless integration of KM platforms with other enterprise systems and learning pathways.
Create and manage the complete lifecycle of knowledge assets, defining processes for content creation, review, curation, archival, and disposition.
Act as a primary change agent, developing and delivering comprehensive training programs, communication plans, and workshops to drive user adoption and embed KM behaviors.
Consult with project and product teams to integrate knowledge management best practices into their standard operating procedures and project lifecycles.
Evaluate and recommend new technologies, AI-powered search tools, and innovative approaches to enhance knowledge discovery, sharing, and reuse.
Develop governance frameworks, policies, and standards for content quality, consistency, and maintenance to ensure the integrity and reliability of the knowledge base.
Facilitate knowledge capture and transfer sessions for critical projects, departing experts, and post-mortems to retain institutional wisdom.
Analyze user search data, feedback, and platform analytics to identify trends and derive actionable insights for content and system enhancements.
Lead content migration and consolidation projects, ensuring a smooth transition of knowledge assets from legacy systems to modern KM platforms.
Serve as the subject matter expert on all aspects of knowledge management, providing guidance, coaching, and support to content owners and contributors across the organization.
Drive the strategy for making tacit knowledge explicit by implementing solutions like expert directories, Q&A forums, and video-based knowledge sharing.
Collaborate with the data and analytics team to connect structured data insights with unstructured knowledge, creating a more holistic information ecosystem.
Manage vendor relationships for KM software and services, overseeing contract negotiations, renewals, and performance management.
Design and implement robust feedback mechanisms to continuously gather user input and ensure the KM program evolves to meet their changing needs.

Secondary Functions

Support ad-hoc data requests and exploratory data analysis to inform KM strategy.
Contribute to the organization's data governance and information strategy council.
Collaborate with business units to translate data and knowledge needs into technical and engineering requirements.
Participate in sprint planning and agile ceremonies within the digital workplace and data engineering teams.
Conduct competitive and industry research to benchmark our KM practices and identify emerging trends.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Knowledge Management Systems: Deep expertise in platforms like SharePoint Online, Confluence, ServiceNow Knowledge Management, or similar enterprise-grade KM tools.
Information Architecture: Proven ability in designing and implementing taxonomies, ontologies, and metadata strategies for large-scale content repositories.
Content Management Strategy: Experience with the full content lifecycle, from creation and curation to governance and archival.
Project Management: Proficiency in Agile, Scrum, or other project management methodologies to lead complex, cross-functional initiatives.
Data & Analytics: Competency in using analytics tools (e.g., Google Analytics, Power BI, Tableau) to analyze user behavior and measure program ROI.
Search Technologies: Understanding of enterprise search principles, optimization techniques, and familiarity with modern search platforms (e.g., Coveo, Sinequa, Microsoft Search).
Process Mapping: Skill in visually mapping current-state and future-state processes to identify knowledge flow and bottlenecks.

Soft Skills

Stakeholder Management: Exceptional ability to engage, influence, and build consensus with stakeholders at all levels, from end-users to senior executives.
Change Management: A natural change champion with a demonstrated ability to guide individuals and teams through technological and cultural transformations.
Communication & Facilitation: Outstanding verbal, written, and presentation skills, with the ability to facilitate engaging workshops and training sessions.
Strategic Thinking: Ability to see the big picture, connect knowledge management to business outcomes, and develop long-term, scalable solutions.
Problem-Solving: A consultative mindset with strong analytical and critical thinking skills to diagnose issues and develop practical solutions.
Empathy & User-Centricity: A deep passion for understanding user needs and designing intuitive, valuable experiences.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor's degree in a relevant field.

Preferred Education:

Master's degree in Library & Information Science (MLIS), Knowledge Management, Information Systems, or Business Administration (MBA).

Relevant Fields of Study:

Information Science / Library Science
Business Administration
Computer Science / Information Systems
Communications or Organizational Psychology

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 5-10 years of dedicated experience in a knowledge management, information architecture, or related consulting role.

Preferred:

Direct experience leading at least one full-cycle, enterprise-level KM platform implementation or transformation.
Experience working within a large, geographically dispersed, or matrixed organization.
Certification in Knowledge Management (e.g., CKM) or Change Management (e.g., Prosci) is a significant plus.