What Is the Job Description of a Project Manager?

Project managers are essential employees for large organizations. A project manager is responsible for improving communication between departments or groups when working on projects together. He does this by serving as a liaison who communicates feedback and evaluations from one group to the other. According to the Project Management Institute, a 2006 survey revealed that the median salary for a project manager was about $96,000 per year.

Developing Goals

1. A project manager must help all departments or groups involved in a project set realistic goals. Because the project manager works intimately with all groups assigned to assist in a project, he is required to have a solid understanding of the limitations a department might have. He also should understand how a group's resources can benefit other departments within an organization. Project managers often meet with upper-level management to understand these things. They then will create a document that explains what the project will require and what it ultimately should produce.

Planning

2. After initial goals have been developed, the project manager is responsible for helping the groups involved in a project draft plans that detail how the work should be completed. These plans should include budget numbers and time lines. They should also include contingencies in the case time or budget problems arise. These plans often include diagrams that provide a visual representation of the processes that will be implemented as part of the project. These diagrams should show the key points of the project--from start to finish.

Monitoring Progress

3. It is vital for a project manager to not only monitor progress--but also to communicate the progress that has been made. Project managers can do this by providing a daily, weekly or monthly project status update to the stakeholders involved in the project. By consistently providing information on how the project is progressing, a project manager can reduce the risk of the occurrence of major problems.

Changing processes

4. When a project manager becomes aware that there is an established process that is not working as efficiently as it could, it is his responsibility to communicate his ideas about how the inefficiencies can be avoided. Again, this requires communication among many--if not all--of the groups involved in the project. A project manager should write down all changes and include them in the planning document.

Wrapping Up

5. As a project nears completion, a project manager should meet individually with the groups that participated in the project. At this time, the project manager should request feedback on the work he has done. He should find out if the groups he worked with were satisfied with the process and why or why not. He may find out this information by administering surveys or through anecdotal methods.