How to hire a manager, project director

How to hire a manager, project director, step by step

Here's a step-by-step manager, project director hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a manager, project director job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new manager, project director
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a manager, project director do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your manager, project director job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find a manager, project director for hire on a part-time basis or as a contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A manager, project director's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, managers, project director from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   The following list breaks down different types of managers, project director and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Manager, Project Director	Description	Hourly rate
   Manager, Project Director		$32-77
   Director/Manager	A director/manager is responsible for developing strategic techniques to boost the operational efficiency of an organization in delivering high-quality services and satisfaction for the customers and business clients. Directors/managers identify business opportunities that would support the company's long-term goals and objectives, generating more revenues and closing contract deals for the business... Show more	$42-89
   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... Show more	$39-66

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Project Management
   • Infrastructure
   • Construction Management
   • Project Scope
   • Program Management
   • Logistics
   • Status Reports
   • Risk Management
   • Business Development
   • Process Improvement
   • QA
   • Construction Projects
   • R
   • Human Resources

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Gather requirements, create RFP s, and manage the procurement process.
   • Manage qualitative projects from study design through analysis for consumer package goods, business-to-business, healthcare and pharmaceutical research projects.
   • Support sales team during RFP processes allowing for comprehensive development of solutions.
   • Administer PMO reviews for management board for projects status for all fund programs across the organization.
   • Support PMO organization, implementation and change management.
   • Collaborate with departmental project managers as well as contracted partners to implement new process work flows that positively impact Medicare patients.

   More manager, project director duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your manager, project director job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A manager, project director salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, managers, project director' average salary in hawaii is 43% less than in massachusetts.
   • Seniority. Entry-level managers, project director earn 58% less than senior-level managers, project director.
   • Certifications. A manager, project director with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in a manager, project director's salary.

   Average manager, project director salary

   $104,614yearly

   $50.30 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level manager, project director salary

   $67,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 30, 2026

   Average manager, project director salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Massachusetts	$131,832	$63
   2	Connecticut	$124,300	$60
   3	New York	$120,972	$58
   4	California	$119,752	$58
   5	New Jersey	$116,012	$56
   6	Delaware	$113,841	$55
   7	Maryland	$106,675	$51
   8	New Hampshire	$106,538	$51
   9	Montana	$104,608	$50
   10	Nevada	$102,999	$50
   11	Washington	$102,356	$49
   12	Iowa	$102,238	$49
   13	Pennsylvania	$100,465	$48
   14	Texas	$96,924	$47
   15	West Virginia	$95,797	$46
   16	Michigan	$94,631	$46
   17	Colorado	$94,494	$45
   18	Louisiana	$93,800	$45
   19	Ohio	$92,688	$45
   20	District of Columbia	$89,961	$43

   Average manager, project director salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Cambridge Associates	$162,730	$78.24
   2	Capgemini	$155,709	$74.86	66
   3	Ameresco	$154,291	$74.18	5
   4	Bristol-Myers Squibb	$139,582	$67.11	221
   5	iTradeNetwork	$137,044	$65.89
   6	Moody's	$135,512	$65.15	6
   7	AIG	$132,401	$63.65	7
   8	Fluor Corporation	$131,260	$63.11	28
   9	UBS	$130,575	$62.78	4
   10	Guidehouse	$114,506	$55.05	338
   11	KLN Manufacturing	$106,083	$51.00
   12	Population Services International	$104,410	$50.20
   13	HNTB	$96,702	$46.49	206
   14	Cronus Technology	$93,440	$44.92
   15	Accion	$91,467	$43.97
   16	Swedish Hospital	$87,387	$42.01
   17	Everest Holdings LLC	$86,938	$41.80
   18	Snc-lavalin Project Services, Inc.	$86,086	$41.39	2
   19	Kinsley Power Systems	$85,992	$41.34	2
   20	CBRE Group	$85,863	$41.28	433

4. Writing a manager, project director job description

   A manager, project director job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. To help get you started, here's an example of a manager, project director job description:

   Manager, project director job description example

   Project Manager, Business Agility/Agile-Scrum (Client Technology) (Assistant Director) (Multiple Positions), Ernst & Young U.S. LLP, Alpharetta, GA.
   
   Ensure that technology projects and programs forming part of specific internal client portfolios are completed on time and on budget. Maintain project plans, anticipates, mitigates and manages project risks and creates and implements strategies to mitigate shortfalls in project timeline and budget. Facilitate Agile ceremonies such as the Daily Stand-up, Iteration Planning, System Demos, and Iteration Retrospective. Support the Product Owner to manage the backlog and guide the team in balancing the priorities and scope. Define and maintain realistic project plans and monitoring progress against agreed quality and performance criteria in both traditional and Agile methodologies. Review project financial management and reporting to relevant parties and make recommendations for improved cash management, revenue improvement and cost recovery opportunities. Facilitate requirements gathering sessions and documents functional requirements / specifications to capture business needs and validates and obtains sign off from business representative. Develop positive relationships across the business to facilitate open dialogue and identifies the communication needs of each interested party, ensuring engagement and obtaining formal agreement from relevant parties on scope, requirements and delivery.
   
   Manage and motivate teams of professionals with diverse skills and backgrounds. Consistently deliver quality client services by monitoring progress. Demonstrate in-depth technical capabilities and professional knowledge. Maintain long-term client relationships and networks. Cultivate business development opportunities.
   
   Full time employment, Monday - Friday, 40 hours per week, 8:30 am - 5:30 pm.
   MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:
   
   Must have a Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Computer Science, Engineering, Finance, Management Information Systems, or a related field and 5 years of progressive, post-baccalaureate related technology project management experience. Alternatively, will accept a Master's degree in Accounting, Computer Science, Engineering, Finance, Management Information Systems, or a related field and 4 years of related technology project management experience.
   
   Must have 4 years of experience in a globally-matrixed environment at a financial services, professional services, or consulting firm.
   
   Must have 4 years of experience measuring project performance using appropriate tools and techniques to monitor the progress of the project, identify and quantify any variances, perform any required corrective actions, and communicate to all stakeholders.
   
   Must have 4 years of experience with project management tools, including Team Foundation Server (Azure DevOps), Jira, or Microsoft Project.
   
   Must have 4 years of experience using spreadsheets to analyze earn vs. burn rate, earnings variances, and other project financials.
   
   Must have 4 years of experience with one or more of the following virtual collaboration tools as part of cross-functional and distributed development, test and operational teams: SharePoint, Confluence, Rally, Resultspace and/or virtual boards.
   
   Must have 4 years of experience working under Agile methodologies, including Scrum, Kanban, SAFe, and DevOps.
   
   Must have 3 years of experience working in an Agile (SAFe, Scrum or Kanban) project environment on enterprise technology projects in an Agile framework, including managing onshore, remote and offshore teams to work towards development best practices.
   
   Must have 3 years of experience reporting on program status and milestone deliverable status to ensure timely project delivery & communication of updates to internal and external stakeholders.
   
   Must have 1 year of experience supervising junior project managers or software developers, including providing performance feedback and career coaching.
   
   Requires travel up to 15%, to serve client needs.
   
   Employer will accept any suitable combination of education, training or experience.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find managers, project director for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any managers, project director they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level managers, project director with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your manager, project director job on Zippia to find and recruit manager, project director candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting managers, project director requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new manager, project director

   Once you have selected a candidate for the manager, project director position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize the agreement with a contract.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new manager, project director. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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