How To Become A Program Management Office Director: What It Is and Career Path

What is a program management office director and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Meaghan Goodman Ph.D.

Program management office directors are responsible for directing and overseeing the program management office (PMO) to ensure IT programs and projects meet organization goals and requirements. They manage a departmental sub-function within a broader departmental function and are tasked with creating functional strategies and specific sub-function objectives. They also develop and implement PMO processes and policies while directing project management staff.

Program management office directors earn a median sum of $126,000 annually or $61 per hour. Their duties include overseeing business projects and ensuring they are completed on time and within budget. They collaborate with other department leaders to define, prioritize, and develop projects and plan project management, including setting deadlines, prioritizing tasks, and assigning team members to various deliverables.

Program management office directors typically hold a bachelor's or master's degree in business, project management, or other related fields. They are expected to have some years of experience as an office director or in a similar role. Some employers prefer candidates with an in-depth knowledge of the managed sub-function and solid knowledge of the overall departmental function.

What's a day at work look like for a program management office director?

Meaghan Goodman Ph.D.

Program Director & Assistant Professor, Maryville University

A bachelor's in communication sciences and disorders can prepare you for three different tracks. First, it can prepare you to become a licensed Speech-Language Pathology Assistant (SLPA). This is someone who works under a fully credential speech-language pathologist. Often times, they carryout intervention plans developed by a fully credentialed speech-language pathologist. If graduate school is on your horizon, a bachelor's degree in communication sciences and disorders will prepare you for acceptance into a Speech-Language Pathology program, or an Audiology program. If you are not accepted into a graduate program right away, working as a speech-language pathology assistant (SLPA) is a great way to get experience in the field!

ScoreProgram Management Office DirectorUS Average

Salary

8.5

Avg. Salary $135,536

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.6

Growth rate 16%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

1.7

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.21%

Asian 12.59%

Black or African American 6.81%

Hispanic or Latino 10.22%

Unknown 5.22%

White 64.95%

Gender

female 35.80%

male 64.20%

Age - 47

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 47

Stress level

8.6

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.7

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.1

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a program management office director

Explore program management office director education requirements

Most common program management office director degrees

Bachelor's

64.0 %

Master's

24.3 %

Associate

6.4 %

Start to develop specific program management office director skills

Skills	Percentages
Customer Satisfaction	11.80%
Cloud	9.58%
ITIL	8.30%
Oversight	7.95%
Continuous Improvement	5.10%

Complete relevant program management office director training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New program management office directors learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a program management office director based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real program management office director resumes.

Research program management office director duties and responsibilities

Identify and manage departmental goals and performance metrics (KPIs . )
Handle intake process, obtain insurance authorizations, supervise utilization and management of Medicaid behavioral health manage care services.
Provide oversight for all projects relate to overall program, which includes multiple business strategy and technology initiatives.
Provide oversight and guidance to all project managers to ensure on-time, per specification delivery of strategic corporate initiatives.

Get program management office director experience

Generally, it takes 6-8 years to become a program management office director. The most common roles before becoming a program management office director include senior project manager, project manager team lead and program manager.

Prepare your program management office director resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your program management office director resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a program management office director resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable program management office director resume templates

Build a professional program management office director resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your program management office director resume.