What does a junior project manager do?

The junior project manager plans to organize and direct project-related operations in the company. Junior project managers define the scope of projects. Their duties include resource planning, developing schedules, documentation, time estimation, and activity sequencing. They should develop communication skills, risk management, and the ability to motivate, risk management, and business development and management. Orientation to detail, leadership skills, and knowledge of business are also necessary for this job.
Junior project manager responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real junior project manager resumes:
- Lead the RFP process; successfully acquiring key service providers for each program site
- Develop and manage key partnerships to promote public health messages of multiple campaigns for CDC and NIH.
- Plan and manage a series of short films about international students and their experiences in the UK.
- Have got appreciations from clients and onsite leads constantly for the deadlines meet, and work done in general.
- Collaborate and lead development of SharePoint sites and successfully complete all testing phases with developer.
- Manage a SalesForce data migration to consolidate ValueClick and GrayStripe accounts, contracts and documentation.
- Generate reports, create PowerPoint presentations, and oversee administration of document libraries utilizing SharePoint.
- Convert XML to Java objects using JAXB.
- Request, track surety bonds for zoning and permits.
- Create webpages using WordPress & HTML for inhouse & client projects.
- Coordinate plumbing services, meetings, conferences and make travel arrangement.
- Used XSL/XSLT for transforming common XML format into internal XML format.
- Develop SQL data queries and assist on ad hoc reporting for senior management.
- Perform QA, troubleshooting, testing and oversee the launch of new product forms/designs.
- Conduct on-site monitoring and close-out visits to ensure accurate data reporting and GCP compliance.
Junior project manager skills and personality traits
We calculated that 27% of Junior Project Managers are proficient in Project Management, SharePoint, and Project Scope. They’re also known for soft skills such as Interpersonal skills, Organizational skills, and Writing skills.
We break down the percentage of Junior Project Managers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Project Management, 27%
Collaborated and guided internal and external vendors to meet targeted network milestones and integration dates in multiple project management tools.
- SharePoint, 6%
Increased organizational maturity by creating intake process for development work using SharePoint, which standardized information and removed email dependence.
- Project Scope, 5%
Assisted in developing and analyzing project scopes to ensure the correct amounts of resources are allocated to each project.
- Project Documentation, 4%
Managed project documentation and facilitation of project team communications and assisted Project Manager in driving projects to successful completion.
- Microsoft Project, 3%
Managed PeopleSoft Infrastructure implementation from planning to production using Microsoft Project.
- Jira, 3%
Utilize Confluence and JIRA as well as other tools in an agile environment.
Common skills that a junior project manager uses to do their job include "project management," "sharepoint," and "project scope." You can find details on the most important junior project manager responsibilities below.
Interpersonal skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a junior project manager to have is interpersonal skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "secretaries and administrative assistants interact with clients, customers, or staff." Junior project managers often use interpersonal skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "organized, collaborative and self-motivated with excellent analytical, interpersonal and project management skills. "
Organizational skills. Many junior project manager duties rely on organizational skills. "secretaries and administrative assistants keep files, folders, and schedules in order so that an office runs efficiently.," so a junior project manager will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways junior project manager responsibilities rely on organizational skills: "created documentation to define new hr organizational model. "
Writing skills. junior project managers are also known for writing skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to junior project manager responsibilities, because "secretaries and administrative assistants write memos and emails when communicating with managers, employees, and customers." A junior project manager resume example shows how writing skills is used in the workplace: "coordinated events took on miscellaneous task such as writing press releases for our events and determining target media outlets. "
The three companies that hire the most junior project managers are:
- SMX Convention Center51 junior project managers jobs
- Duke University Health System6 junior project managers jobs
- Siemens6 junior project managers jobs
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Junior project manager vs. Project manager/scrum master
Project Managers or scrum masters are experienced employees who lead an agile team. They are in charge of managing a specific project in terms of the agile model. They lead the team throughout the planning session, the designing of the project parameters, the development of the processes, the implementation of the project, and the evaluation. They represent the team in meetings with stakeholders. They ensure that the working relationship among all the departments involved is harmonious. They also guide their team members throughout the project.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a junior project manager are more likely to require skills like "project management," "jr project," "project documentation," and "status updates." On the other hand, a job as a project manager/scrum master requires skills like "sprint planning," "scrum meetings," "agile scrum," and "software development." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Project managers/scrum master really shine in the media industry with an average salary of $99,469. Comparatively, junior project managers tend to make the most money in the technology industry with an average salary of $70,801.project managers/scrum master tend to reach higher levels of education than junior project managers. In fact, project managers/scrum master are 12.2% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.0% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Junior project manager vs. Information technology project manager
An information technology project manager is responsible for supervising the technology department, ensuring that all tasks are being done by following technological strategies and solutions. Information technology project managers' duties include monitoring the technology team's daily operation, handling team members' concerns, managing customers' inquiries and complaints, helping team members' in achieving their professional growth, creating reports, sharing updates during team and board meetings, and maintaining effectivity of operational procedures. An information technology project manager must have excellent leadership and decision-making skills to decide on the best strategies in meeting the company's objectives.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, junior project manager responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "jr project," "status updates," "meeting minutes," and "general contractors." Meanwhile, an information technology project manager has duties that require skills in areas such as "infrastructure," "scrum," "software development," and "technical support." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Information technology project managers earn a higher average salary than junior project managers. But information technology project managers earn the highest pay in the technology industry, with an average salary of $120,713. Additionally, junior project managers earn the highest salaries in the technology with average pay of $70,801 annually.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Information technology project managers tend to reach similar levels of education than junior project managers. In fact, they're 4.1% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.0% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for junior project managers in the next 3-5 years?
Matthew Gilbert
Lecturer of Marketing, Coastal Carolina University
Junior project manager vs. Project manager/team lead
Project Managers are responsible for managing and overseeing the operations of a project from inception to completion. Their duties include defining project scope, developing a project plan, creating work breakdown structures to distribute resources, and communicating responsibilities to all project team members and vendors. They organizie work schedules, set milestones, track project progress, resolve technical issues, articulate roadblocks to project sponsors, propose risk mitigation strategies, and maintain project documentation. Project Managers also handle file submission for project closure, conduct post-project evaluations, supervise project communications, act as chairman in project status meetings, develop project governance structures and liaise with system security managers to coordinate system security activities.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a junior project manager is likely to be skilled in "jr project," "jira," "status updates," and "smartsheet," while a typical project manager/team lead is skilled in "infrastructure," "process improvement," "status reports," and "business development."
Most project managers/team lead achieve a similar degree level compared to junior project managers. For example, they're 2.7% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.5% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Junior project manager vs. Project manager & leader
A project manager & leader is responsible for monitoring the overall project management and staff operations, ensuring the efficiency and accuracy of project deliverables to meet the client's requirements, and achieving the highest customer satisfaction. Project managers/leaders implement strategic procedures to minimize costs while maximizing operational productivity. They identify business opportunities by analyzing the current market trends to develop services that would meet the clients' demands and the public's interests. A project manager & leader also handles the department budget, allocating adequate resources, and maintaining an organized delegation of tasks for the employees.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between junior project managers and project managers & leader, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a junior project manager might have more use for skills like "jr project," "project documentation," "jira," and "status updates." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of project managers & leader require skills like "infrastructure," "strong problem-solving," "post implementation," and "project plan. "
In general, project managers & leader earn the most working in the health care industry, with an average salary of $104,848. The highest-paying industry for a junior project manager is the technology industry.The average resume of project managers & leader showed that they earn similar levels of education compared to junior project managers. So much so that theyacirc;euro;trade;re 4.4% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 0.5%.Updated January 8, 2025











