Why choose Younity as your recruitment partner for Functional and Technical Consultant roles?
Finding the right consulting role isn’t just about matching keywords in a job description. It’s about understanding how organisations deliver (Agile vs waterfall, product vs project), who you’ll partner with (business stakeholders, delivery leads, developers), and what success looks like in that environment.
At Younity, we work alongside Functional and Technical Consultants across New Zealand, from those closer to requirements and process design, to technical specialists in solution build and integration, and those moving between the two. Younity is relied upon to source consultants for a wide range of software products, including ERP and CRM solutions, and we’re used to supporting people working on everything from platform improvements through to large-scale transformation programmes.
We partner with employers across the public and private sectors, and because we’re close to the market, we can give you practical guidance on what’s common in different regions and organisations, from major programmes in Wellington through to fast-moving commercial teams in Auckland and delivery hubs in Christchurch. We’ll also talk you through what a role actually involves day to day, including stakeholders, platforms, and delivery approach, before you commit.
Just as importantly, our approach is human-centric. We’ll keep communication clear and timely, advocate for you through the process, and support you to make a decision you feel confident about, not just for your next role, but for your longer-term career direction. If you’re an ERP consultant, CRM consultant, Salesforce consultant, Dynamics 365 consultant, or SAP consultant, we can help you navigate the opportunities and find the kind of role where you can do your best work.
What does a Functional or Technical Consultant do in IT?
Functional and Technical Consultants often work as a pair (or within the same team), but they bring different strengths to delivery.
Functional Consultants work directly with clients and stakeholders to understand what the organisation needs, then translate those needs into clear, usable documentation.
In practice, that can include:
- Running discovery sessions and workshops to understand current-state processes and pain points
- Gathering and validating requirements with business stakeholders, and mapping processes and user journeys across multiple teams
- Turning requirements into functional specifications that guide the build, and supporting solution design decisions, such as what to configure, customise, or keep simple
- Assisting with user acceptance testing (UAT), training inputs, and change impacts
- Technical Consultants take those functional specifications and translate them into the “how,” the technical approach and delivery plan.
This may include:
- Producing technical specifications and collaborating on solution architecture
- Coordinating and/or completing development work, depending on the role, and working across environments, releases, and deployment processes
- Supporting integrations, data migration, and system performance considerations
- Troubleshooting complex issues and providing technical leadership during delivery, and aligning build work with security, governance, and platform best practice
- Across both paths, you’ll commonly see roles aligned to specific platforms and ecosystems, for example Salesforce consultant roles, Dynamics 365 consultant roles, and consulting opportunities around SAP and other enterprise platforms.
What’s it like to work in this discipline?
Consulting work can be deeply satisfying, especially if you enjoy variety and problem-solving. It’s also a discipline where your “soft” skills are just as important as platform knowledge.
Here’s what many Functional and Technical Consultants in New Zealand tell us it feels like:
- Collaborative and people-focused, working closely with stakeholders who bring different levels of technical confidence
- A balance of structure and ambiguity, especially early in delivery when requirements are unclear or priorities are competing
- High trust, high accountability, since consultants are often brought in to deliver outcomes and expected to take ownership and manage expectations
- Plenty of context switching, moving between workshops, specification writing, backlog refinement, and testing activities in a single week
- A front-row seat to transformation, with consulting roles common in large public sector initiatives and complex, regulated environments
If you like translating “business speak” into practical delivery, and you enjoy bridging teams, this can be a great long-term career path. It can also be a strong stepping stone into Solution Architect roles, platform leadership, or product ownership.
What qualifications or experience does this role benefit from?
There’s no single pathway into functional or technical consulting, but certain qualifications and experiences can help you stand out, especially when hiring managers are comparing candidates across platform ecosystems.
Depending on your stack and direction, these platform certifications are commonly valued:
- Salesforce Certified Administrator, a strong foundation for CRM configuration, data model understanding, and user-focused delivery
- Salesforce Certified Sales Cloud Consultant, useful if you work in sales processes, pipeline management, and Sales Cloud implementations
- Microsoft Dynamics 365 Functional Consultant Associate, relevant for functional configuration and process alignment within Dynamics 365
- Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations Apps Developer Associate, useful for technical consultants supporting build and extensions
- SAP Certifications, helpful for consultants specialising in SAP modules and enterprise delivery standards
Many consultants also build their careers through a mix of hands-on delivery experience and targeted learning. For those looking to strengthen their foundations, relevant NZ options include Information Systems or a Bachelor of Science (Computer Science), both at the University of Auckland.
Beyond formal qualifications, we commonly see demand for consultants who can demonstrate end-to-end delivery exposure, from discovery through design, build, test, go-live, and support, along with requirements facilitation, workshop leadership, and stakeholder management. Writing functional and/or technical specifications that developers and testers can actually use, ERP or CRM implementation experience in even one module, comfort working with Agile delivery practices, and a practical understanding of integration and data considerations round out the picture.
If you’re unsure which certifications make the most sense for your direction, functional vs technical, Salesforce vs Dynamics 365 vs SAP, we can help you map your next step based on the kinds of roles you’re targeting in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, or nationwide.
