What does a program/project manager do?
The program manager and project manager are two important positions within a company that are thought to be similar. However, program managers direct diverse projects and programs while project managers head the team who is responsible for ensuring a project is completed on time and within budget. Program managers are responsible for the conveyance of the company goals and generally act as a customer interface that helps clients get their desired update and change of a project. Project managers, on the other hand, focus on the project's schedule, scope, and resources needed to complete it on time.
Program/project manager responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real program/project manager resumes:
- Plan and manage infrastructure installations and enterprise hardware and software upgrades of classify systems while balancing resources to manage troubleshooting/maintenance actions.
- Facilitate daily scrum meetings and collaborate with product owners to prioritize and manage backlog.
- Utilize SharePoint, the company's document repository engine to manage access and documentation reviews.
- Manage, monitors and measures project portfolio status, recommending corrective action as necessary and communicate portfolio status to their management.
- Promote to positions base on demonstrate skills in business analysis, project management, portfolio management and customer relationship management.
- Provide program and project management support for applications and infrastructure systems monitoring as well as enhancements and maintenance of existing systems.
- Provide SME frameworks in daily scrum meeting to discuss any roadblocks or impediments in the project path.
- Ensure information systems operate within USNORTHCOM are implemented and operate in a secure design and in compliance with DoD policy.
- Conduct security assessments using DoD and commercial tools.
- Develop plans, business requirements, process and governance procedures and documentation.
- Centralize SharePoint allow cross-functional team members and management the ability to access and share information efficiently.
- Develop implementation strategy and execute on plan to create PMO office base on feedback obtain from business leadership.
- Assist senior level management in refining PMO standard operating procedures, status reporting and controls for client implementation projects.
- Assist in the establishment of the portfolio management role including the identification and development of project governance activities and artifacts.
- Collaborate with departmental project managers as well as contracted partners to implement new process work flows that positively impact Medicare patients.
Program/project manager skills and personality traits
We calculated that 18% of Program/Project Managers are proficient in Project Management, Program Management, and PMP. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Business skills, and Organizational skills.
We break down the percentage of Program/Project Managers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Project Management, 18%
Established Project Management framework and business requirement strategy for portal management and structured/unstructured data conversions and archiving for acquired financial institutions.
- Program Management, 7%
Developed, implemented, and evaluated management controls to facilitate effective program management to achieve the agency's goals and objectives.
- PMP, 6%
Trained over 60 PMP candidates between Pentagon and corporate headquarters, with first time pass-rates of 90-100%.
- Status Reports, 5%
Manage the organization of project documentation such as systems documentation, application assessment forms, quality assurance checklists, and status reports
- Infrastructure, 4%
Provided program and project management support for applications and infrastructure systems monitoring as well as enhancements and maintenance of existing systems.
- Portfolio, 4%
Voice Telecommunications Governance/International Project Management/Enterprise Portfolio Management/Unified Web PM.
Most program/project managers use their skills in "project management," "program management," and "pmp" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential program/project manager responsibilities here:
Analytical skills. One of the key soft skills for a program/project manager to have is analytical skills. You can see how this relates to what program/project managers do because "it managers must analyze problems and consider and select the best ways to solve them." Additionally, a program/project manager resume shows how program/project managers use analytical skills: "program management duties also included business development, inventory control, and financial analysis including npi. "
Business skills. Many program/project manager duties rely on business skills. "it managers must develop and implement strategic plans to reach the goals of their organizations.," so a program/project manager will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways program/project manager responsibilities rely on business skills: "provided program management advice and support and operational experimentation support to validate the nato logistics business processes for operations. "
Organizational skills. This is an important skill for program/project managers to perform their duties. For an example of how program/project manager responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "some it managers must coordinate the work of several different it departments to make the organization run efficiently." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a program/project manager: "maintain and update vp organizational website, requirements management website, document management system and archiving. ".
Communication skills. A big part of what program/project managers do relies on "communication skills." You can see how essential it is to program/project manager responsibilities because "it managers must explain their work to top executives and give clear instructions to their subordinates." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical program/project manager tasks: "manage multiple federal government projects for the division of network systems, and telecommunications program management office. "
Leadership skills. Another common skill required for program/project manager responsibilities is "leadership skills." This skill comes up in the duties of program/project managers all the time, as "it managers must lead and motivate it teams or departments so that workers are efficient and effective." An excerpt from a real program/project manager resume shows how this skill is central to what a program/project manager does: "demonstrated leadership in risk assessment and mitigation activities, assessed products quality and provided guidance/input in program management activities. "
The three companies that hire the most program/project managers are:
Choose from 10+ customizable program/project manager resume templates
Build a professional program/project manager resume in minutes. Our AI resume writing assistant will guide you through every step of the process, and you can choose from 10+ resume templates to create your program/project manager resume.
Compare different program/project managers
Program/project manager vs. Manager, program management
A program management manager is an individual who guides project managers and oversees and coordinates an organization's projects, products, and other strategic initiatives. The day-to-day responsibilities of a program manager include planning the overall program, managing the program's budget and the main program documents, and defining the program governance. The requirements to qualify for the program manager position including possessing a good managerial, business, and problem-solving skills and possessing a bachelor's or master's degree in business, management, or a related field.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, program/project manager responsibilities require skills like "program management," "pmp," "portfolio," and "resource management." Meanwhile a typical manager, program management has skills in areas such as "oversight," "continuous improvement," "customer service," and "cloud." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Managers, program management tend to make the most money working in the technology industry, where they earn an average salary of $126,000. In contrast, program/project managers make the biggest average salary, $123,832, in the professional industry.On average, managers, program management reach similar levels of education than program/project managers. Managers, program management are 2.2% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.9% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Program/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.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real program/project manager resumes. While program/project manager responsibilities can utilize skills like "project management," "program management," "pmp," and "scrum," project managers/scrum master use skills like "sprint planning," "scrum meetings," "agile scrum," and "user stories."
Project managers/scrum master earn a lower average salary than program/project managers. But project managers/scrum master earn the highest pay in the media industry, with an average salary of $99,469. Additionally, program/project managers earn the highest salaries in the professional with average pay of $123,832 annually.In general, project managers/scrum master achieve higher levels of education than program/project managers. They're 5.5% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.9% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Program/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.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, program/project managers are more likely to have skills like "program management," "pmp," "portfolio," and "logistics." But a information technology project manager is more likely to have skills like "technical support," "customer service," "technical program management," and "excellent interpersonal."
Information technology project managers earn the highest salary when working in the technology industry, where they receive an average salary of $120,713. Comparatively, program/project managers have the highest earning potential in the professional industry, with an average salary of $123,832.When it comes to education, information technology project managers tend to earn similar degree levels compared to program/project managers. In fact, they're 2.6% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.1% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Program/project manager vs. Manager, project management
The role of a project management manager involves the planning, execution, monitoring, control, and closure of projects. Project managers oversee the scope of the entire project, the team, success or failure, and its resources. They facilitate productivity and commitment, remove obstacles, and motivate their team members. Their skills should include leadership, critical thinking, communication, negotiating, and risk management. They should also know about cost management, scheduling, and task management.
Types of program/project manager
Updated January 8, 2025
