Project Manager Job Description (Free Download with applicant notes)

Main purpose of job

Key responsibilities

• Develop and maintain effective working relationships with customers, gaining acceptance to proposals and changes
  
  List customers you have worked with, if you can, give examples of working with sales or proposals you have made e.g. to resolve an issue, make a change etc. For example,

  "I have worked with customers from different industries and geographies, delivering projects at departmental level as well as global transformation programs. Through my experience in x I am seen as a trusted advisor which helps me to gain acceptance for our bespoke solutions."

• Ensure effective hand over of projects from Sales to Production.
  
  Give an example of how you gather information from sales prior to starting a project. For example, "I meet with the account manager to review the statement of work. I find out who the key contacts are, what their business case is and why the customer chose to work with us."

• Take responsibility for preparing the Project Initiation Document
  
  Be prepared with what you would include in a PID or Charter and how you gather the information. For example "I have prepared project start up documentation that describes the: project scope, deliverables, milestones, budget, resources, constraints and risks. In my current role it is called the charter, and it forms the basis for the management of the project".
  

  What is the PID?
  Download a PID template.
  Download a Project Charter template.

• Identify and allocate roles and responsibilities within the project team
• Identify and manage resource requirements in the project team
  
  Prepare an example of how you identified resources from project requirements, scope and work breakdown structures and what tools you used e.g. RACI. Prepare an example of how you identified resources from project requirements, scope and work breakdown structures and what tools you used e.g. RACI.
  

  Get a RACI template download.

• Manage a virtual project team to develop solutions that are fit for purpose and achievable within the budget and schedule
  
  Describe how you manage/would manage a virtual team and what tools you would use. E.g. Skype, screensharing, video conferencing, regular catch up calls, daily stand ups etc.

• Manage Time and Materials and fixed price project budgets.
  
  Explain how you manage/would manage a project budget and the tools you would use. E.g. a spreadsheet linked to the project WBS & schedule showing hours x day rates, or project software.

• Develop, control and manage the project schedule.
  
  Describe how you develop the schedule. E.g. you breakdown the work with the project team, work out in what order the tasks need to happen, estimate duration, allocate resources and calculate the critical path. Include the tools you would use e.g. Microsoft Project.
  

  See How to Plan a Project.

• Monitor and control the critical path.
  
  Explain how you identify the critical path and how you analyze the impact of changes. E.g. "I use Microsoft project to calculate the critical path. In the Gantt Chart I show the critical tasks in red, and I use baselining to see the impact of delays".
  

  What is Critical Path Analysis?

• Ensure that risks are identified and managed, implementing effective risk responses to minimise the project’s exposure to risk.
  
  Explain how you manage risk for example:

  “I hold periodic risk identification workshops with the project team, we document & analyze any risks on the risk register. We agree a risk owner along with the best way to reduce the likelihood of the risk occurring or the impact if it does occur. I then monitor progress via my weekly project calls."

• Manage the Project Stakeholders, controlling saboteurs and using project champions effectively.
  
  For example, making sure the key players are identified, analyzed and that a plan is made to engage with the stakeholders.

  Get a complete Stakeholder Management template kit

• This role requires up to 75% travel.
  
  There is no way to answer this apart from saying “yes that is fine” if you can also say “I am used to that through my role at x” even better. 75% travel often appears on project management JDs and it sounds like a lot, but it is rarely actually needed. For the interview just say “yes all good” you can negotiate when you are in the job!

Skill Range

• Excellent project management skills
  
  Here you can describe one of your successful projects or share any juicy feedback you have from customers or your boss. For example,

  "I led the Aurora project from start up to close. It was a complex project for a top customer who wanted to achieve x% ROI by automating their invoicing process. I made sure the requirements were crystal clear, chose a great team, and created a realistic project plan. By keeping the customer focused on the Business Case I avoided scope creep and delivered the project to time, cost and scope. The customer has been live x months and has already met their ROI."

  OR

  "in my last performance appraisal my boss described me as a dedicated and hard working project manager with an ability to make managing complex projects for tough customers look easy."

  What is a project?
  How to Plan a Project

• Excellent risk management skills
  
  Talk about how you would identify risks e.g. via risk workshops, and how you would manage risks e.g. using a risk register that is regularly reviewed. You might also talk about actions you can take to mitigate the likelihood or impact of risk.

  Guide to risk management
  Risk Mitigation

• Strong communication and written skills
  
  Your communication and written skills will be self-evident through your CV and the interview. If asked about communication skills you could talk about tailoring your message to the audience, using clear English and whether you communicate differently depending on the location and knowledge of your client. For example, avoiding colloquialisms and explaining technical terms.

  How to communicate effectively

• Ability to develop and maintain good customer relationships
  
  Describe how you work with customers for example,

  “I listen, understand their goals, worries & pain points. I work out how we can help them look good by providing quick wins they can share in their team. I focus on being a trusted advisor. I advise & guide rather than just saying yes.”

• Extensive customer facing experience at senior levels
  
  Here you just need to ‘name drop’. E.g.

  “I presented to the Project Board monthly. I ran workshops attended by the C suite. I produce reports for the steering committee”.

• Ability to work under pressure and to tight deadlines. Ability to ensure quality and maintain a customer focus
  
  Prepare an example of how you worked under pressure, what you did to reduce stress, how you organised yourself and any tools you used e.g. To Do list, Microsoft Project, OneNote, Evernote, MS Teams etc.

• Awareness of current best practice within the project management industry.
  
  Check the latest from Project Management Institute (PMI) or Association of Project Management (APMP).

• Record of delivering a variety projects in different sectors.
  
  List the companies/industries you have worked with. If you haven’t got much variety think about suppliers, and projects outside of work.

• Ability to manage, lead and motivate a project team
  
  For example,

  "I motivate the team by sharing the big picture with them, introducing them to the customer face to face and by holding a kick-off event.’ Or ‘consultants like working with me because, I always celebrate wins with the team and I let their bosses know about a job done well."

  Managing and Motivating and Project teams