Technical Project Manager Job Description, Skills, and Salary
Are you searching for a technical project manager job description? Get to know about the duties, responsibilities, qualifications, and skills requirements of a technical project manager. Feel free to use our job description template to produce your own. We also provide you with information about the salary you can earn as a technical project manager.
Who is a Technical Project Manager?
A technical project manager is in charge of overseeing projects to make sure the suggested plan stays within the allocated time, money, and scope. They are responsible for meticulous project planning, creating timetables for all stakeholders, and carrying out all project steps.
Technical project managers need to be proficient communicators to give their team members precise instructions on how to approach their work. To obtain requirements or update clients or consumers on ongoing projects, they might also need to interact with them.
Technical Project Manager Job Description
What is a technical project manager job description? A technical project manager job description is simply a list of duties and responsibilities of a technical project manager in an organization. Below are the technical project manager job description examples you can use to develop your resume or write a technical project manager job description for your employee. Employers can also use it to sieve out job seekers when choosing candidates for interviews.
A technical project manager’s duties can range widely and include the following:
- Talk to other team members, such as engineers, designers, suppliers, and other interested parties to coordinate work and find solutions.
- Keep track of project deadlines and milestones to make sure that projects are finished on schedule.
- Coordinate with other parties like clients or vendors to make sure all communication is effective, clear, and consistent.
- Assess the risks and create backup strategies in case something goes wrong.
- Make a thorough project plan that lists all of the tasks required for the project, their projected prices, and their time.
- Give direction to other team members on how to efficiently and successfully execute their tasks.
- Make sure all project documentation is up to date, including meeting minutes and status reports.
- Assess the risks involved in the project to make sure they can be managed before approving a project proposal.
Qualifications
The following credentials are normally required for a technical project manager:
- Education: A bachelor’s degree in a related field, such as computer science, information technology, engineering, or a similar discipline, is typically required by companies for technical project managers. Candidates with a four-year bachelor’s degree or a two-year associate’s degree in a relevant profession may be hired by some employers.
- Experience: On-the-job training is customary for technical project managers. The policies and practices of the business, the software and technology they employ, and the process for accomplishing tasks may all be covered during this training. Another option for training is to observe a technical project manager in action or take a lesson from a superior.
- Licensing and certifications: Technical project managers with experience can obtain professional qualifications to gain access to jobs for mid to senior-level projects. There are various certification choices available to aspiring technical project managers. The Project Management Institute is the most well-known institution that offers certification to technical project managers. The PMI’s most popular general certifications are:
- Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM): A technical project manager’s understanding of project management principles and procedures is certified by the CAPM. Candidates who don’t meet the requirements to become certified Project Management Professionals (PMPs) might choose the CAPM certificate to open up job options in the sector and continue to build their expertise before earning their PMP credentials. A high school diploma or its equivalent, an associate’s degree, and 23 hours of project management coursework are requirements for becoming a certified CAPM.
- Project Management Professional: Professional technical project managers with the PMP certification are eligible to work in a wide range of industries. A certified PMP must earn 60 hours of professional development credits every three years to keep its certification current. Technical project managers need a high school diploma or GED, 7,500 hours of managing projects, and 35 hours of project management study to become certified PMPs. They could also have a bachelor’s degree or above, 4,500 project management experience hours, and 35 hours of project management training.
The PMI also provides credentials in disciplines like business analysis, scheduling, and risk management. The American Academy of Project Management, the A/E/C Project Management Association, and the International Association of Technical Project Managers are further organizations that offer project management certificates.
Essential Skills
To succeed, technical project managers need the following abilities:
- Skills in Effective Communication: The act of passing information from one person to another is known as effective communication. You interact with numerous individuals as a technical project manager, including your team, clients, and stakeholders. Because it enables you to deliver key information to the appropriate individuals and guarantees that everyone is on the same page, effective communication is essential to your success as a technical project manager.
- Leadership Skills: Your team can be inspired and encouraged to collaborate to accomplish project goals with your guidance. You can use your leadership abilities to support your team as they overcome obstacles and maintain motivation. You can help your team through change, which can be prevalent in project management, by using leadership abilities.
- High Levels of Organization: The capacity to manage several projects and deadlines simultaneously is known as organization. You can have more than one project to manage as a technical project manager. Strong organizing abilities might facilitate managing several projects at once.
- Skills in negotiations: A technical project manager needs to be skilled in settling disputes with vendors, customers, and other parties. When working with your team, you must also use negotiating skills to resolve interpersonal problems or bring everyone in line with the team’s strategic goals.
- Team leadership abilities: A technical project manager must be able to unite a team and steer them in the same direction while balancing their objectives with the organization. Effective delegation of tasks, dispute resolution, performance evaluation, and coaching of team members to enhance skills are all examples of team management skills.
- Effective time management: Many chores must be completed in a short period because deadlines are attached to every project. Technical project managers need to be able to establish a timeline for the project and stick to it throughout its entire duration.
- Skills in risk management: Risks are unavoidable during a project even if they are often hidden, thus a technical project manager needs to have the expertise and aptitude to identify potential problems and put a risk mitigation plan in place. They need to be able to challenge their team’s assumptions and repeatedly reaffirm deadlines, choices, and dependencies. To identify possible risks and create risk mitigation plans, they need also be able to employ professional risk management technologies.
- Skills in managing a budget: Making a workable budget and managing it throughout the project’s lifecycle are two of the project manager’s most crucial duties. For project managers to properly pinpoint where expenditures are going over budget and what adjustments are necessary to keep costs under control, they typically need expertise. They must be able to keep track of expenses, create spreadsheets, and make decisions about how to spend or not use the budget.
- Motivation Skills: A technical project manager needs to be able to motivate their team when deadlines are drawing near to keep them happy and motivated. Utilizing praise, positive reinforcement, and team-building exercises are tactics. They must be able to foster an environment that is upbeat, enjoyable, and cooperative.
- Skills in technical writing: The goal of technical writing is to take high-level details and describe them in a way that is both understandable and clear. To develop prospective deliverables, circulate memoranda, target product releases, or issue news updates, project managers employ this writing style.
- Flexibility: Your ability to adapt to changes in your environment depends on your adaptability skills. Project managers need to be flexible enough to adjust to changing user demographics, new technology, and other factors. At the material level, this is a particularly crucial talent because they must guide entire teams on the right path.
- Technical expertise: Technical skills are traits that can be developed through practicing and becoming an expert in carrying out manual or digital operations. You can accelerate your team’s production by being tech-savvy and having first-hand knowledge of the newest tools. You might be able to boost productivity and your team’s efficiency by understanding how to adapt to current technological trends.
- Abilities to listen actively: Technical project managers may connect with team members, improve connections with clients, and manage the expectations of key stakeholders by using effective communication techniques, which include active listening. They can fully comprehend and sympathize with the viewpoint of the person they are speaking to when they are actively listening.
- Strong research abilities: Finding an answer to a query or a solution to a problem requires research abilities. By using their research abilities, project managers can fill up any knowledge gaps that might prevent them from completing the project more successfully or efficiently.
- People abilities: Self-assurance, relationship management, and collaborative abilities are examples of interpersonal skills. Being able to work well together as a team enables the team to be more productive and finish the project more quickly. To establish and maintain connections with clients, suppliers, and team members, the project manager needs to possess strong relationship management abilities. The correct amount of self-confidence can also boost the team’s confidence, boosting morale and enabling better performance.
- Knowledge of Project management methodologies: A set of procedures called a project management technique is utilized to finish significant job tasks. Methodologies for project management can help structure, standardize, and organize how significant work activities are carried out. Throughout a project’s lifecycle, a good project manager must be able to use frameworks and methodologies like agile and scrum.
- Conflict Resolution skills: The capacity to defuse tension between team members and clients is conflict resolution. Conflicts over the project’s scope, schedule, or resources frequently require the mediation of project managers. Maintaining a nice work atmosphere and making sure your projects are successful can both be facilitated by having great dispute-resolution skills. In cases when there are problems fulfilling contractual duties, you could also need to settle disputes between suppliers and subcontractors.
- Problem-solving skills: Your ability to detect and address problems that come up throughout the planning and execution of a project depends on your problem-solving abilities. Finding solutions to issues that affect the project’s timeline, money, or quality requirements may fall under your purview as a project manager. Your team and you can achieve project goals and increase the project’s overall success by using your abilities to recognize and fix problems.
- Ability to Delegate Duties: Due to their frequent heavy workloads, project managers must be adept at delegation. They must be able to delegate duties to members of their team and then keep track of those tasks to make sure they are carried out correctly. Project managers can save time by focusing on the most crucial facets of their work and ensuring that all necessary work is completed by being effective delegators.
- Scheduling Skills: The process of arranging and allocating resources to activities is scheduling. You can be in charge of planning meetings, conference calls, training sessions, client presentations, and other job activities as a project manager. Making decisions on which tasks should go first, second, or simultaneously requires scheduling. It also entails determining the resources required to finish each activity.
- Ability to Build Trust: Any manager’s relationship with their staff must be based on trust. Project managers that are adept at creating trust can support their teams in feeling free to ask questions and share ideas. Your team may be more willing to take chances in a trusting environment, which may result in creative solutions that are advantageous to the business.
- Skills in Making Decisions: A project manager needs to be able to decide promptly and with assurance. You might need to choose which tasks to prioritize, how to distribute resources, or what to do if a problem emerges. You can keep your staff motivated while saving time and money by making rapid, educated decisions.
How to Become a Technical Project Manager
The following are the processes that most people take to become technical project managers:
- Earn a degree: While most technical project managers need a bachelor’s degree, individuals can get started in the field with just a high school diploma or associate’s degree and relevant experience. Most aspirant technical project managers major in business management. However, after gaining expertise in their chosen profession, they can decide to specialize in engineering or marketing and obtain a project management certification. For instance, a technical project manager who wants to work in IT project management may decide to first get a degree in computer science and build work experience before earning a project management credential.
- Amass useful professional experience: Even if it is not project management experience, technical project managers need to have worked in a certain discipline. A marketing manager, for instance, could use their experience running marketing campaigns to launch a career in project management.
- Earn a certification: Technical project managers who obtain certification from a company like the Project Management Institute attest to their possession of the hard and soft skills required to work as a professional technical project manager. Technical project managers have easier access to mid-to senior-level project management positions by earning a qualification.
- Make a job application: Technical project managers should submit applications for positions in industries in which they are knowledgeable or experienced. They should update their CV with the pertinent experience and abilities required for the job, and they should customize their cover letter to fit any open opportunities.
Where to Work as a Technical Project Manager
The effective planning, execution, and completion of technical projects are the responsibility of technical project managers. To ensure that projects are finished on schedule, within budget, and following the requirements, they collaborate with teams of engineers and other technical professionals. Technical project managers frequently travel to project locations but also operate in an office setting. They typically work standard business hours, although occasionally they may need to stay late to fulfill deadlines or fix issues. Technical project managers need to be able to cope with stress and perform well under time constraints. Additionally, they must be able to manage several activities and projects at once and be adaptable to changing conditions.
Technical Project Manager Salary Scale
In the USA, the average technical project manager earns $114,997 per year or $58.97 per hour. Most experienced workers earn up to $152,354 per year, while entry-level positions start at $95,000.
In London, England, the average gross pay for a technical project manager is £72,537, or $35 per hour. This is 24% more than the typical technical project manager salary in the UK (+£14,055). They also receive an average bonus of £1,618. Wage projections based on anonymous employee and employer responses to a salary survey conducted in London, United Kingdom. A technical project manager with 1-3 years of experience at entry level makes, on average, £52,024. The average salary for a senior-level technical project manager (8+ years of experience) is £89,512.
The average gross pay for a technical project manager in Canada is $116,758, which works out to $56 an hour. Additionally, they receive a $2,604 bonus on average. Compensation estimates are based on data from anonymous Canadian employees and employers via salary surveys. The typical compensation for a technical project manager at entry level (1-3 years of experience) is $83,740. On the other hand, the average pay for senior-level technical project managers (8+ years of experience) is $144,080.
In Cork, Ireland, the average gross pay for a technical project manager is €90,137, or €43 per hour. This is 2% (-€2,122) less than Ireland’s national average for technical project managers. Additionally, they receive a bonus that is typically €7,860. Wage projections are based on anonymous employee and employer responses to a salary survey conducted in Cork, Ireland. The typical compensation for an entry-level technical project manager (1-3 years of experience) is €62,648. The average compensation for a senior-level technical project manager (8+ years of experience) is €112,179.
In Australia, the average gross pay for a technical project manager is $131,745; this equates to a $63 hourly wage. Additionally, they receive a $2,938 bonus on average. Wage estimates based on data from anonymous Australian employees and employers via salary surveys. The typical compensation for a technical project manager at entry level (1-3 years of experience) is $94,643. The average salary for a senior-level technical project manager (8+ years of experience) is $162,840.
German technical project managers make an average gross compensation of 77.352 euros or about 37 euros per hour. Additionally, they receive a bonus that is typically 1.72 Euros. Wage projections based on anonymous employee and employer responses to a salary survey conducted in Germany. The typical compensation for an entry-level technical project manager (1-3 years of experience) is 55.477 euros. The average pay for a senior-level technical project manager (8+ years of experience) is 95.453 euros.
In Nigeria, the average monthly salary for a technical project manager is roughly 412,000 NGN. The lowest salary is 198,000 NGN, and the highest is 647,000 NGN.