Learn about the important requirements, obligations, responsibilities, and skills that should be in a project manager job description.
Project managers plan, supervise, and execute initiatives for a company, department, or agency. They are responsible for ensuring that each project has the required resources, creating a schedule and budget, assigning deliverables, and monitoring progress. Project managers also keep stakeholders apprised of project developments.
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Project Manager Job Description Template
We are looking for a skilled project manager with experience overseeing initiatives in [X industry] from inception to completion, on time and on budget. This role will be responsible for managing all aspects of the project from resource allocation and budget development, to establishing relationships with business stakeholders and clients, to hiring and training new team members as required. The successful candidate will have several years of experience managing similar projects and will be able to revise the scope, budget, or project framework when necessary.
Project Manager Responsibilities
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Define project scope, budget, and schedule
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Allocate resources including internal employees, contractors, and third-party vendors
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Delegate tasks to team members and project participants
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Ensure successful completion of project deliverables
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Create project reports and documentation
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Monitor progress, elevate issues, and facilitate change requests
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Communicate with project stakeholders at all stages of project development
Project Manager Requirements
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Bachelor’s degree in business, project management, or a related field
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Certification by the Project Management Institute, e.g., Project Management Professional (PMP)
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Prior work experience as a project manager, business analyst, or similar
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Some employers may require or give preference to candidates who have related industry experience
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Excellent problem-solving, analytical, critical thinking, and people skills
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Experience using project management and enterprise resource planning software
Project Manager Duties And Responsibilities
Oversees All Aspects of the Project Management Process
The project manager takes requirements from stakeholders, creates a project plan and strategy, establishes a budget, assigns duties to staff and vendors, and monitors project progress. This role is responsible for the entire lifecycle of the initiative from planning to completion. They also prepare reports, manage change requests, and evaluate success.
Delegates Duties to Appropriate Personnel
This role creates project milestones, specifies deliverables, and assigns them to team members. They may also be responsible for hiring new staff or third-party vendors to work on the project. The project manager ensures that managers, clients, and participants sign off on deliverables as needed.
Manages Third-Party Relationships
Although some projects can be handled entirely in-house, others will require the assistance of contractors, freelancers, and other third-party vendors. The project manager facilitates these relationships, communicating with everyone who is involved and ensuring that each participant has the required information, resources, and support.
Communicates With Project Stakeholders
Communication skills are essential in this role. Project managers are responsible for determining project requirements, which means interviewing stakeholders and translating their requests for users in other departments. They must also be able to identify and communicate risks and delays and achieve consensus regarding solutions.
Evaluates Project Progress
Project managers own the initiative’s plan or map, ensuring that all deliverables arrive on time, on budget, and according to standards. This role also analyzes data and develops reports to demonstrate progress and communicates issues and successes to the team. Finally, project managers must be able to evaluate completed projects for learnings that can improve future initiatives.
Project Manager Salary And Job Outlook
Average National Salary: According to ZipRecruiter, the average national salary for a project manager is $79,018.
Education Required: Project managers typically have a bachelor’s degree in business, project management, or a related field. They may also have a project management professional (PMP) certification from the Project Management Institute (PMI.)
Number of Jobs: According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 781,400 workers held project manager jobs in 2021, the most recent year for which data is available.
Job Growth 2021 – 2031: The BLS projects that the number of project management jobs will grow by 7% over the next 10 years, about as fast as the average for all occupations.
The Bottom Line
This project manager job description is just a starting point. Customize your description according to your needs, requirements, and preferred qualifications.
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