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Progressing from project manager to programme manager

Across all industries, the role of Project Manager is now established as a vital member of the management team. For those of you already holding this position, it is reasonable to ask, "Where do I go from here?"

To develop your career and increase your level of seniority as a Project Manager, the obvious development path is to manage ever-larger projects, increasing in budget, number of people involved, timescale and complexity. However, it's not always possible to be working in an environment where there are ever-larger projects. The number of projects being managed at any one time and not their size often dominates our work.

The good news is that managing multiple projects simultaneously is also an excellent way of developing your project management career, and can ultimately lead to your appointment as a Programme Manager.

A Programme Manager is an experienced project manager, who is appointed the overall manager of multiple, interdependent projects. The projects are grouped together because they are 'mission critical', and taken together will lead to a significant change or increase in capacity for the organisation. For example, the launch of a new product will require many coordinated projects, including product development, marketing and advertising projects, as well as staff training. The group name for these projects is a programme of work, hence the title Programme Manager.

In the last couple of years, the role of Programme Manager has become more formally recognised, and is now a job title that you will start to see appearing in Jobserve. Last month the number of programme manager jobs that were being advertised approximately 900 per day. That might not sound like much, but in 2002 the average number of these jobs being offered was 300 per day.

To demonstrate that you have the skills and knowledge to become an effective programme manager, you can gain a MSP™ qualification that is recognized across all market sectors. The Office of Government Commerce (OGC) accredits the widely recognised 'Managing Successful Programmes' course; the same body responsible for the PRINCE2™ project management qualifications. There are three levels of programme management qualifications: Foundation, Intermediate and Practitioner. The course runs over 5 days and is increasing in popularity as more emphasis is placed on programme management by employers.

Melanie Franklin Managing
Managing Director

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