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

What is a senior process manager and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

The primary role of senior process managers is to evaluate and make improvements to business processes. They ensure the efficiency of business operations and create and implement changes or modifications as needed. They also generate documentation of existing processes and progress and forecast expected process changes, or other methods as required.

A bachelor's degree is required in business administration, logistics, or a degree closely related to the industry. Some employers prefer candidates with more advanced qualifications, such as a master's degree in business administration and extensive experience.

Senior process managers will be employed in a business department and used across all industries, though they are most often seen in manufacturing or production. They can expect $131,000 per year as their income for this position.

ScoreSenior Process ManagerUS Average

Salary

8.4

Avg. Salary $132,034

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

9.6

Growth rate 6%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.47%

Asian 6.35%

Black or African American 6.17%

Hispanic or Latino 15.15%

Unknown 4.34%

White 67.53%

Gender

female 41.37%

male 58.63%

Age - 44

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 - 44

Stress level

9.6

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

9.2

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

3.6

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a senior process manager

Explore senior process manager education requirements

Most common senior process manager degrees

Bachelor's

69.7 %

Master's

17.8 %

Associate

7.5 %

Start to develop specific senior process manager skills

Skills	Percentages
Project Management	11.97%
Lean Six Sigma	8.08%
Sigma	7.93%
Continuous Improvement	6.89%
Business Process	6.43%

Complete relevant senior process manager training and internships

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

Gain additional senior process manager certifications

Senior process 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 process manager certification, having one may help you stand out relative to other applicants.

The most common certifications for senior process managers include Six Sigma Green Belt and Project Management Professional (PMP).

More About Certifications

Research senior process manager duties and responsibilities

Lead an efficiency project to eliminate unnecessary documentation, saving development teams hours of time while complying with SOX controls.
Consult clients on designing SharePoint websites and managing contents in SharePoint to maximize efficiency.
Coordinate an effort to automate warehouse and relate logistics processes for a marketing services company supporting supermarkets and retailers.
Manage the validation activities associate with expansion of both manufacturing and laboratory facilities, while maintaining oversight of calibration activities.

Get senior process manager experience

Generally, it takes 4-6 years to become a senior process manager. The most common roles before becoming a senior process manager include project manager, senior project manager team lead and processing manager.

Prepare your senior process manager resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your senior process 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 process 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 process manager resume templates

Build a professional senior process 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 process manager resume.