What does a project leader do?
A project leader is responsible for supervising the team and managing the distribution of tasks to ensure the project's success with the highest efficiency and accuracy. Duties of a project leader include motivating the team, managing the team's needs and concerns, providing effective strategies to improve the team's performance, creating reports, monitoring the team's progress, and maintaining the coordination between team members. A project leader should have exceptional leadership skills to handle the team's operation and identify areas of improvement to deliver excellent results.
Project leader responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real project leader resumes:
- Lead and manage the automation effort for the PeopleSoft financials modules ensuring the desired requirement (s) coverage.
- Lead the installation of VSAM file extension software that facilitate files larger than native VSAM specs.
- Lead sprint planning, daily scrum, sprint review, sprint retrospective, scrum of scrum meetings.
- Play a similar role for an ASP.NET web application (APA) which manages power plant availability information.
- Manage using PMI methodologies though life cycle ensuring projects successfully complete within plan budget, schedule and scope.
- Prepare RFP, evaluate bids, select vendor, negotiate contract, acquire hardware and software, manage development & implementation.
- Work extensively on HTML, XHTML, CSS, JavaScript and JSP for development UI.
- Develop site structures, user-interfaces, and page layouts control via customize and centralize CSS, JavaScript, and components files/scripts.
- Key member and resource during go-live and post production activities.
- Provide risk assessment to leadership for maintenance windows and unplan outages.
- Assess scheme layouts and ISO messaging standards associate with credit cards.
- Collaborate with FAA clients to identify business needs and implement value add services.
- Develop project specific metrics to reflect current spend and forecast compare to actual.
- Participate in the implementation projects and post go-live support projects on AX2009 and AX2012.
- Design the new API layer that help clients create campaigns at their ease and expense.
Project leader skills and personality traits
We calculated that 17% of Project Leaders are proficient in Project Management, Work Ethic, and C++. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Communication skills, and Creativity.
We break down the percentage of Project Leaders that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Project Management, 17%
Implemented a combination of Project Management methodologies including the training and certification of Agile/Scrum and waterfall processes for project delivery cycles.
- Work Ethic, 7%
Project Leaders require immaculate work ethic, personal drive, multitasking ability, and exemplary leadership and initiative.
- C++, 4%
Redesigned an existing navigation software system developed using C++ and persuaded management to accept the change.
- C #, 4%
Developed web pages with ASP.Net, MVC, and C #.
- Project Plan, 4%
Seasoned professional with outstanding project planning, execution, monitoring and resource balancing skills with ability to support multiple simultaneous projects.
- Status Reports, 3%
Provide routine status reports to Project Stakeholders and conduct status meetings to review project status and facilitate critical milestone tracking.
"project management," "work ethic," and "c++" are among the most common skills that project leaders use at work. You can find even more project leader responsibilities below, including:
Analytical skills. The most essential soft skill for a project leader to carry out their responsibilities is analytical skills. This skill is important for the role because "analysts must interpret complex information from various sources and decide the best way to move forward on a project." Additionally, a project leader resume shows how their duties depend on analytical skills: "provided assistance with analysis of interfacing distributed applications and setting up tests of mainframe and distributed application code. "
Communication skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling project leader duties is communication skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "analysts work as a go-between with management and the it department and must explain complex issues in a way that both will understand." According to a project leader resume, here's how project leaders can utilize communication skills in their job responsibilities: "provided telecommunication support for as400 and mainframe communications. "
Creativity. This is an important skill for project leaders to perform their duties. For an example of how project leader responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "because analysts are tasked with finding innovative solutions to computer problems, an ability to “think outside the box” is important." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a project leader: "led a team of three onsite and ten offshore associates to develop web inventory and order tracking application. ".
The three companies that hire the most project leaders are:
- Pegasystems123 project leaders jobs
- Centene90 project leaders jobs
- M.C. Dean74 project leaders jobs
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Compare different project leaders
Project leader 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.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, project leader responsibilities require skills like "work ethic," "strong work ethic," "c++," and "c #." Meanwhile a typical information technology project manager has skills in areas such as "infrastructure," "software development," "risk management," and "technical support." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Information technology project managers tend to make the most money working in the technology industry, where they earn an average salary of $120,713. In contrast, project leaders make the biggest average salary, $118,370, in the professional industry.information technology project managers tend to reach similar levels of education than project leaders. In fact, information technology project managers are 0.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.6% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Project leader vs. Technical project coordinator
Technical Project Assistants are involved in the different projects of the company. They are usually entry-level employees assigned to work with project managers. Technical Project Assistants help in various phases of the project management cycle. They are usually assigned to work on administrative activities related to the technical side of the project. This may include working on research drafts, managing work tools, and creating presentation materials. They may also provide insights into the different activities during the project design and development phase. Technical Project Assistants also help in collating feedback from uses or audience members upon project completion.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real project leader resumes. While project leader responsibilities can utilize skills like "work ethic," "strong work ethic," "c++," and "c #," technical project coordinators use skills like "customer service," "infrastructure," "powerpoint," and "project documentation."
On average, technical project coordinators earn a lower salary than project leaders. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, technical project coordinators earn the most pay in the health care industry with an average salary of $81,501. Whereas project leaders have higher pay in the professional industry, with an average salary of $118,370.technical project coordinators earn lower levels of education than project leaders in general. They're 6.5% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.6% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Project leader vs. Project management specialist
A project management specialist is an individual who manages an entire project and serves as a point of contact for a client or customer. Project management specialists must provide detailed cost analysis and timetable reports to keep projects on schedule and budget. They must ask for frequent updates from all staff assigned so that they can identify potential problems that may keep projects from being completed on time. Project management specialists must also prepare progress reports of projects and create presentations for senior management.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from project leader resumes include skills like "work ethic," "strong work ethic," "c++," and "c #," whereas a project management specialist is more likely to list skills in "pmp," "powerpoint," "program management," and "customer service. "
Project management specialists earn the best pay in the finance industry, where they command an average salary of $88,963. Project leaders earn the highest pay from the professional industry, with an average salary of $118,370.project management specialists typically earn similar educational levels compared to project leaders. Specifically, they're 0.8% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.6% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Project leader vs. Senior analyst/project manager
A senior analyst project manager's main job is to track the milestones of their company's important projects. They also manage the clients' databases. They are responsible for distributing databases to the sales representatives. They also help in automating their company.
Types of project leader
Updated January 8, 2025
