Up-skill - the move from project management to programme management

ICANZ News Letter June 2005

Increasingly, individual projects are only a small part of larger scale change programmes. Programmes are the delivery of multiple interdependent projects and activities which taken together deliver significant business benefits.

This approach requires programme management skills. These skills encompass the ability to create a vision of the new future state of the organisation, and manage and resource a portfolio of projects to achieve new capability.

Using Jobserve* as my source of data, analysis for this article showed that programme management roles currently pay a daily rate £150 higher on average than the average project management rate. The average daily rate was £500 compared to £350 for the average across project manager roles. The same held true for permanent positions, with the average salary being £19,000 p.a. higher for programme management roles than for project management roles (£57,000 vs. £38,000).

If we want to really benefit from the opportunities associated with this work, we need to ensure we have relevant knowledge and experience, and where possible provide evidence of this. In recent years a new programme management qualification has come onto the training market called ‘Managing Successful Programmes’, completion of which provides well-respected programme management qualifications.

There is a growing trend for job adverts for programme management roles to seek candidates with accredited qualifications. This follows the development of the market to recognise programme management as a different role from that of project management. Although the terminology surrounding programme management has existed for some time it is now making the transition into the job market and programme managers are actively being sought.

As evidence of this, in the last 3 years there has been an 8 fold increase in the number of programme management roles offered on Jobserve whilst over the same time period there has only been a 3 fold increase in the number of project management roles on offer.

Melanie Franklin
Managing Director
Maven Training Limited

* Jobserve on-line job board. Data collected in May 2005 across all industry types.

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