Project manager

Project managers ensure that a project is completed on time, within budget, and that its objectives are met. They oversee the project, manage the team, ensure the most efficient resources are used and ensure that all parties involved are satisfied.

The following job titles also refer to project manager:

project leader
projects manager
project coordinator
project expediter
project director
special project manager
senior project manager

Bachelor’s degree is generally required to work as project manager. However, this requirement may differ in some countries.

ISCO skill level is defined as a function of the complexity and range of tasks and duties to be performed in an occupation. It is measured on a scale from 1 to 4, with 1 the lowest level and 4 the highest, by considering:

• the nature of the work performed in an occupation in relation to the characteristic tasks and duties
• the level of formal education required for competent performance of the tasks and duties involved and
• the amount of informal on-the-job training and/or previous experience in a related occupation required for competent performance of these tasks and duties.

Project manager is a Skill level 4 occupation.

These occupations, although different, require a lot of knowledge and skills similar to project manager.

programme manager
ICT project manager
security manager
auction house manager
facilities manager

These occupations require some skills and knowledge of project manager. They also require other skills and knowledge, but at a higher ISCO skill level, meaning these occupations are accessible from a position of project manager with a significant experience and/or extensive training.

This knowledge should be acquired through learning to fulfill the role of project manager.

Internal risk management policy: The internal risk management policies that identify, assess and prioritise risks in an IT environment. The methods used to minimise, monitor and control the possibility and the impact of disastrous events that affect the reaching of business goals.
Corporate social responsibility: The handling or managing of business processes in a responsible and ethical manner considering the economic responsibility towards shareholders as equally important as the responsibility towards environmental and social stakeholders.
Quality standards: The national and international requirements, specifications and guidelines to ensure that products, services and processes are of good quality and fit for purpose.

These skills are necessary for the role of project manager.

Manage supplies: Monitor and control the flow of supplies that includes the purchase, storage and movement of the required quality of raw materials, and also work-in-progress inventory. Manage supply chain activities and synchronise supply with demand of production and customer.
Apply conflict management: Take ownership of the handling of all complaints and disputes showing empathy and understanding to achieve resolution. To be fully aware of all Social Responsibility protocols and procedures, and to be able to deal with a problem gambling situation in a professional manner with maturity and empathy.
Ensure compliance with legal requirements: Guarantee compliance with established and applicable standards and legal requirements such as specifications, policies, standards or law for the goal that organisations aspire to achieve in their efforts.
Perform risk analysis: Identify and assess factors that may jeopardise the success of a project or threaten the organisation’s functioning. Implement procedures to avoid or minimise their impact.
Manage budgets: Plan, monitor and report on the budget.
Create project specifications: Define the workplan, duration, deliverables, resources and procedures a project has to follow to achieve its goals. Describe project goals, outcomes, results and implementation scenarios.
Manage project information: Provide accurate and relevant information to all the parties involved in a project on time.
Strive for company growth: Develop strategies and plans aiming at achieving a sustained company growth, be the company self-owned or somebody else’s. Strive with actions to increase revenues and positive cash flows.
Manage staff: Manage employees and subordinates, working in a team or individually, to maximise their performance and contribution. Schedule their work and activities, give instructions, motivate and direct the workers to meet the company objectives. Monitor and measure how an employee undertakes their responsibilities and how well these activities are executed. Identify areas for improvement and make suggestions to achieve this. Lead a group of people to help them achieve goals and maintain an effective working relationship among staff.
Provide cost benefit analysis reports: Prepare, compile and communicate reports with broken down cost analysis on the proposal and budget plans of the company. Analyse the financial or social costs and benefits of a project or investment in advance over a given period of time.
Establish daily priorities: Establish daily priorities for staff personnel. Effectively deal with multi-task workload.

Ensure equipment availability: Ensure that the necessary equipment is provided, ready and available for use before start of procedures.
Supervise daily information operations: Direct daily operations of different units. Coordinate program/project activities to assure the respect of costs and time.
Manage logistics: Create logistic framework for transporting goods to customers and for receiving returns, execute and follow up the logistics processes and guidelines.
Identify legal requirements: Conduct research for applicable legal and normative procedures and standards, analyse and derive legal requirements that apply to the organisation, its policies and products.
Plan health and safety procedures: Set up procedures for maintaining and improving health and safety in the workplace.
Ensure equipment maintenance: Ensure that the equipment required for operations is regularly checked for faults, that routine maintenance tasks are performed, and that repairs are scheduled and performed in the case of damage or flaws.
Perform project management: Manage and plan various resources, such as human resources, budget, deadline, results, and quality necessary for a specific project, and monitor the project’s progress in order to achieve a specific goal within a set time and budget.
Build business relationships: Establish a positive, long-term relationship between organisations and interested third parties such as suppliers, distributors, shareholders and other stakeholders in order to inform them of the organisation and its objectives.
Estimate duration of work: Produce accurate calculations on time necessary to fulfil future technical tasks based on past and present information and observations or plan the estimated duration of individual tasks in a given project.
Train employees: Lead and guide employees through a process in which they are taught the necessary skills for the perspective job. Organise activities aimed at introducing the work and systems or improving the performance of individuals and groups in organisational settings.
Develop business plans: Plan, write and collaborate in the implement business plans. Include and foresee in the business plan the market strategy, the competitive analysis of the company, the design and the development of the plan, the operations and the management aspects and the financial forecast of the business plan.
Liaise with managers: Liaise with managers of other departments ensuring effective service and communication, i.e. sales, planning, purchasing, trading, distribution and technical.
Perform resource planning: Estimate the expected input in terms of time, human and financial resources necessary to achieve the project objectives.
Follow company standards: Lead and manage according to the organisation’s code of conduct.

This knowledge is sometimes, but not always, required for the role of project manager. However, mastering this knowledge allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

Crowdsourcing strategy: The high level planning for managing and optimising business processes, ideas or content by gathering contributions from a big community of people, including on-line groups.
Outsourcing strategy: The high level planning for managing and optimising external services of providers to execute business processes.
Total quality control: The quality control philosophy that expects each part to be of top quality, without any tolerance for subpar materials or methods. The mindset of striving to deliver top quality work without compromises.
Quality assurance methodologies: Quality assurance principles, standard requirements, and the set of processes and activities used for measuring, controlling and ensuring the quality of products and processes.
Radiation protection: The measures and procedures used to protect people and the environment from the harmful effects of ionising radiation.
Insourcing strategy: The high level planning for managing and optimising business processes internally, usually in order to maintain control of critical aspects of work.

These skills and competences are sometimes, but not always, required for the role of project manager. However, mastering these skills and competences allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

Apply change management: Manage development within an organisation by anticipating changes and making managerial decisions to ensure that the members involved are as less disturbed as possible.
Maintain relationship with suppliers: Build a lasting and meaningful relationship with suppliers and service providers in order to establish a positive, profitable and enduring collaboration, co-operation and contract negotiation.
Recruit employees: Hire new employees by scoping the job role, advertising, performing interviews and selecting staff in line with company policy and legislation.
Negotiate with stakeholders: Negotiate compromises with stakeholders and strive to reach the most beneficial agreements for the company. May involve building relationships with suppliers and customers, as well as ensuring products are profitable.
Write work-related reports: Compose work-related reports that support effective relationship management and a high standard of documentation and record keeping. Write and present results and conclusions in a clear and intelligible way so they are comprehensible to a non-expert audience.
Maintain relationships with stakeholders: Communicate on mineral issues with contractors, politicians and public officials. Promote trust and integrity in order to protect the company’s assets and financial position.
Manage project metrics: Gather, report, analyse and create key metrics for a project to help measure its success.
Create a financial report: Finalise project accounting. Prepare an actual budget, compare the discrepancy between the planned and actual budget, and draw final conclusions.
Control of expenses: Monitoring and maintaining effective cost controls, in regards to efficiencies, waste, overtime and staffing. Assessing excesses and strives for efficiency and productivity.
Manage standard enterprise resource planning system: Collect, manage and interpret data relevant for companies related to shipping, payment, inventory, resources and manufacturing using specific business management software. Such software as Microsoft Dynamics​, SAP ERP, Oracle ERP.

1219 – Business services and administration managers not elsewhere classified

 

 

---

 

 

References

1. Project manager – ESCO