Organisations know the importance of well-executed Project and Programme Management to the achievement of overall business objectives. This is why finding the right candidate for not only the company but the project itself is so crucial. In this Digital transformation age that we are going through and with the speed of new skills and technologies and startups coming up, not many people have the required skill sets to be a Project or Programme Manager within this industry thus causing a mass skills skill shortage.

Furthermore, since the environment in which these projects are run and delivered has become more complex and Agile, Project Managers need to stay informed about new methods of best practice in order to stay ahead of the competition. Keeping abreast of the latest developments in programme and project management will not only provide you with a greater chance of employment but a better prospect of career progression in the future.

Some companies will also pay to enrol members of their Project Management team in training courses, such as PRINCE2 or Scrum Master certifications. These are extremely desirable qualifications for higher ranking positions within the sector.

Salary information and career progression

• Popular industries for Programme & Project Management jobs

  The greatest demand for recruiting Project Management specialists comes from the engineering, retail, marketing, banking, manufacturing and technology sectors. However, more and more companies in the public sector, media, digital and energy industry are also beginning to hire professionals in this field. A large proportion of the job opportunities in this sector are for managerial roles.

• Recent changes for Programme & Project Management jobs

  One of the most critical changes in the Programme and Project Management job field is that employers have begun to invest more money in the development of their employees. This follows the research on the positive impact these programmes have on Programme and Project performance. In these programmes of work, the staff will not only improve their core skills by learning about new technologies and methodologies but also their interpersonal skills whilst working with their colleagues to complete projects.

• Future prospects

  A career in Programme and Project management can be very lucrative. The biggest contributing factor to a successful career is to gain as much experience in specialist fields as possible. Continue your education even after completing a degree, regularly engage with relevant organisations and keep yourself up-to-date about the latest industry news. And attend as many workshops and meetups as you can to learn more about other ways of working in your field.

• Salt’s advice for getting a new Programme or project management job

  Employers’ requirements

  The employers’ key requirements for Programme and Project managers are the ability to stay within their given budget and to make sure that everything is delivered on time and that it satisfies the stakeholders. Apart from that, employers also want their future employees to be proficient users of various Programme and Project management software applications such as Jira, Greenhopper, Atlassian to help them keep track of projects. And most employers in the digital space will ask that project managers have experience of working within iterative agile environments.

  CV requirements

  Recent studies have shown that certified Programme and Project Managers are usually more successful in finding employment than those who are uncertified. Consequently, it adds enormous value to your CV to list your relevant certifications in your specific field. Hiring managers also appreciate references to a candidate’s experience with various management systems and methods, as they are directly correlated to higher-performing programmes and projects. The most important thing we find is that your CV covers details about specific projects and their outcomes, did you have budget responsibility, if so how much? Did you have line management or matrix management responsibility, how many people have led and what skill sets they have? Did you manage backend or frontend java developers, did you manage IOS or Android developers?

  Interview preparation

  For Programme and Project management interviews, it will be less likely that you have to complete a certain task or solve a case study. Instead, you will probably be asked some questions which should tell the interviewer more about your current behavioural patterns. These questions might include:

  1 Please describe a problem in one of the programmes you have managed. What happened?
  2) Please describe a time where you have had a difficult stakeholder, how did you manage the situation?
  3) Please describe a recent programme you have managed. What was your role? What did you achieve?
  4) What does “finished” mean in your current project?
  5) What is is the difference between Agile and Waterfall and which do you prefer and why?
  6) Imagine you have been working here for a year, what do you want to have achieved by the end of that year?

  Educational requirements

  For small or medium-sized companies there might be no formal qualifications required in order to get a job as a Programme or Project manager. However, larger companies and more senior roles usually require a degree, experience or a relevant qualification, such as PRINCE2 or Managing Successful Programmes (MSPs) and in particular Agile qualifications. Within the Digital space, Agile is probably much more relevant although Prince2 is a solid foundation for any project management role.