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What does a project management associate do?

Updated January 8, 2025
5 min read

Project Management Associates assist project managers with various tasks needed to complete a project. They are involved in all phases of the project management cycle.They usually act as the liaison between the project management team and other external departments. They coordinate with other departments to follow up documents and other necessary items for the project. They also work on the administrative requirements needed in the project, which may include filing of paperwork, managing documentation, taking minutes of meetings, and overseeing records management.

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Project management associate responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real project management associate resumes:

  • Manage preparation of RFP and review of vendor proposals.
  • Manage key PMO projects and operations at bio-pharmaceutical production site.
  • Streamline and centralize usage of project management tools to manage dependencies and transparent delivery milestones for highly complex SaaS platforms
  • Prepare reports, minutes, presentations, and post all project documentation on SharePoint.
  • Update and post status reports to SharePoint for client review.
  • Provide subject matter expertise to PMs on project management tools.
  • Perform final QA review of withheld/produce documents to ensure documents are logged in accordance with project specifications.
  • Provide analysis and documentation to incorporate the new desktop model into the network architecture, security model and disaster recovery plan.
  • Define technical strategy for integrating SaaS applications with other CRM/ERP applications and data sources.
  • Streamline and centralize usage of project management tools to manage dependencies and transparent delivery milestones for highly complex SaaS platforms

Project management associate skills and personality traits

We calculated that 32% of Project Management Associates are proficient in Project Management, PowerPoint, and SharePoint.

We break down the percentage of Project Management Associates that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Project Management, 32%

    Provided hands-on project management defining business process, application, and technology requirements for multiple applications across all business units.

  • PowerPoint, 12%

    Created manuals on Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint Presentations for staff.

  • SharePoint, 6%

    Managed a SharePoint production project for international business in the Middle East & Africa.

  • Process Improvement, 6%

    Worked closely with Quality Improvement to develop, implement, and monitor Balanced Scorecard projects for process improvement initiatives.

  • Client Facing, 3%

    Plan and coordinate highly visible projects related to client facing new implementations and internal stabilization projects to enhance the overall performance.

  • Resource Management, 3%

    Maintain professional services automation software platforms (Projector and Quick Arrow), such as revenue reconciliation and resource management.

Most project management associates use their skills in "project management," "powerpoint," and "sharepoint" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential project management associate responsibilities here:

All project management associate skills

Compare different project management associates

Project management associate vs. Associate vice president

An associate vice president's role is to implement the company's policies and regulations, all while overseeing the business operations within a particular area. Typically responding to a president or stakeholders, an associate vice president's responsibilities revolve around supervising management officials, devising strategies to boost sales and public brand awareness, liaise with external key suppliers and agencies, and craft new policies when necessary. Furthermore, an associate vice president must promptly respond to issues and concerns and develop a budget for the company.

We looked at the average project management associate salary and compared it with the wages of an associate vice president. Generally speaking, associate vice presidents are paid $48,400 higher than project management associates per year.While their salaries may differ, the common ground between project management associates and associate vice presidents are a few of the skills required in each roleacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities. In both careers, employee duties involve skills like project management, process improvement, and client facing.

There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, project management associate responsibilities require skills like "powerpoint," "sharepoint," "resource management," and "project scope." Meanwhile a typical associate vice president has skills in areas such as "healthcare," "oversight," "portfolio," and "avp." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.

Associate vice presidents tend to make the most money working in the retail industry, where they earn an average salary of $140,546. In contrast, project management associates make the biggest average salary, $99,927, in the media industry.associate vice presidents tend to reach similar levels of education than project management associates. In fact, associate vice presidents are 3.8% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 3.9% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.

Project management associate vs. Associate director

An associate director oversees the daily activities and business operations within a particular area. They are primarily responsible for devising strategies that aim for growth in profit and customer satisfaction, implementing policies and standards, evaluate the workforce, providing support to various departments, and setting goals in terms of budget and sales. Furthermore, they must regularly report progress to the director and coordinate with managers and supervisors in the joint effort to reach the vision and mission of the company.

Associate director positions earn higher pay than project management associate roles. They earn a $24,679 higher salary than project management associates per year.A few skills overlap for project management associates and associate directors. Resumes from both professions show that the duties of each career rely on skills like "project management," "sharepoint," and "process improvement. "

Each career also uses different skills, according to real project management associate resumes. While project management associate responsibilities can utilize skills like "powerpoint," "resource management," "project scope," and "administrative tasks," associate directors use skills like "patients," "healthcare," "oversight," and "portfolio."

On average, associate directors earn a higher salary than project management associates. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, associate directors earn the most pay in the pharmaceutical industry with an average salary of $143,618. Whereas project management associates have higher pay in the media industry, with an average salary of $99,927.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Associate directors tend to reach higher levels of education than project management associates. In fact, they're 6.0% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 3.9% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Project management associate vs. Senior project coordinator

A senior project coordinator is responsible for analyzing client accounts and determining efficient project management systems and processes according to business requirements and client specifications. Senior project coordinators ensure that the team meets the project goals by providing and assessing every progress of the project's milestones and adjust plans as necessary. They also consider the project's budget limitations in strategizing techniques that would drive more revenue resources for the business and increase the company's brand image to the market.

On average scale, senior project coordinators bring in lower salaries than project management associates. In fact, they earn a $27,665 lower salary per year.Using the responsibilities included on project management associates and senior project coordinators resumes, we found that both professions have similar skill requirements, such as "project management," "powerpoint," and "sharepoint.rdquo;

The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, project management associates are more likely to have skills like "resource management," "operational aspects," "project issues," and "capm." But a senior project coordinator is more likely to have skills like "purchase orders," "project support," "data collection," and "visio."

Senior project coordinators earn the highest salary when working in the technology industry, where they receive an average salary of $69,175. Comparatively, project management associates have the highest earning potential in the media industry, with an average salary of $99,927.When it comes to education, senior project coordinators tend to earn similar degree levels compared to project management associates. In fact, they're 3.1% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.4% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Project management associate vs. Communications project manager

A communications project manager is in charge of overseeing the development of internal and external communication materials. Their responsibilities typically revolve around performing research and analysis to identify client or company needs, developing effective communication strategies, coordinating different teams to ensure the quality and accuracy of projects, setting objectives and goals, and managing schedules and budgets. Furthermore, as a manager, it is essential to lead and encourage the team to reach goals, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations, including its vision and mission.

Communications project managers typically earn lower pay than project management associates. On average, communications project managers earn a $4,370 lower salary per year.According to resumes from project management associates and communications project managers, some of the skills necessary to complete the responsibilities of each role are similar. These skills include "project management," "powerpoint," and "sharepoint. "While some skills are required in each professionacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities, there are some differences to note. "process improvement," "client facing," "resource management," and "administrative tasks" are skills that commonly show up on project management associate resumes. On the other hand, communications project managers use skills like web content, status reports, communications projects, and strategic communications on their resumes.communications project managers enjoy the best pay in the manufacturing industry, with an average salary of $81,929. For comparison, project management associates earn the highest salary in the media industry.The average resume of communications project managers showed that they earn similar levels of education compared to project management associates. So much so that theyacirc;euro;trade;re 1.8% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 0.8%.

Types of project management associate

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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