How To Become A Senior Engagement Manager: What It Is and Career Path

What is a senior engagement manager and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted experts

Dr. Laura Deeter PhD,

Meaghan Goodman Ph.D.

A Senior Engagement Manager leads the teams of migration of production systems to manage private cloud environments and maintenance. They lead a large cross-functional team to deliver a winning RFP and manage key engagement. They also develop and manage software, maintain quality assurance, and comply with all procedures. You will need to have project management experience, client relationship experience, and a portfolio of managed operation innovations to qualify for this role.

You need to know computer systems and be exert in working with the Cloud. You will need communication skills to explain work to top executives. You also need to have good leadership skills to lead and motivate teams or departments to be effective. Most Senior Engagement managers have a least a bachelor's degree or a master's degree in a business or financial field. The median salary you may expect per year is $132,000.

What general advice would you give to a senior engagement manager?

Dr. Laura Deeter PhD

Professor of Practice: Horticulture and Crop Science, Ohio State University

Be open to learning and trying something outside of your comfort zone.
Be willing to work hard and don't expect to be project manager right out of school. Hard work will get you there fast enough.

ScoreSenior Engagement ManagerUS Average

Salary

8.1

Avg. Salary $120,823

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 15.47%

Black or African American 6.49%

Hispanic or Latino 9.74%

Unknown 5.18%

White 62.91%

Gender

female 29.96%

male 70.04%

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 senior engagement manager

Explore senior engagement manager education requirements

Most common senior engagement manager degrees

Bachelor's

68.1 %

Master's

23.3 %

Associate

3.5 %

Start to develop specific senior engagement manager skills

Skills	Percentages
Project Management	8.79%
Client Relationships	5.49%
Strong Project Management	4.87%
Portfolio	4.68%
Digital Marketing	4.67%

Complete relevant senior engagement manager training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New senior engagement managers 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 senior engagement manager based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real senior engagement manager resumes.

Gain additional senior engagement manager certifications

Senior engagement manager certifications can show employers you have a baseline of knowledge expected for the position. Certifications can also make you a more competitive candidate. Even if employers don't require a specific senior engagement manager certification, having one may help you stand out relative to other applicants.

The most common certifications for senior engagement managers include Project Management Professional (PMP) and IT Information Library Foundations Certification (ITIL).

More About Certifications

Research senior engagement manager duties and responsibilities

Manage customer stakeholders at onsite effectively during bid phase to deliver quality proposal.
Establish an active alumni association and regional advisory council to manage affinity benefits, plan events, and coordinate giving opportunities.
Design digital payments strategy in retail, government and healthcare sectors for top global bank.
Assist in development of templates for the client solution such as CRM application specifications, statements of work and requirements documents.

Get senior engagement manager experience

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

Prepare your senior engagement manager resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your senior engagement manager 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 senior engagement manager resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable senior engagement manager resume templates

Build a professional senior engagement manager 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 senior engagement manager resume.