This role description is part of a wider P3M job set which can be viewed
in the P3M Resource Centre or the Health Informatics Career
Framework:
www.connectingforhealth.nhs.uk/p3m
www.hicf.org.uk
PROJECT MANAGER
This generic role description is based on the minimum competences required to
undertake this role. It can be used in recruitment, skill mix reviews, career
progression and team development or restructuring. It must be expanded to
include any specialist or local knowledge and skills required, any background
information or description of work to be undertaken which is not included in this
generic template. The competences have been derived from a variety of sources,
including the Association of Project Management, Skills Framework for the
Information Age and National Occupational Standards. More information, including
indicators, on these competences can be accessed through the P3M Resource
Centre under “Full list of APM competences”.
JOB DETAILS
Career framework
level:
Job Title:
For more details of Career
Framework Levels see below
Project Manager
Department:
Reporting to:
Responsible for:
Location(s):
1
JOB SUMMARY
The Project Manager will provide project management for a portfolio of
projects, identified as part of the organisation’s plans. This will involve the
production of plans, documentation and the provision of guidance for
project teams and ensuring communication is maintained between all
stakeholders throughout the project lifecycle, ensuring all organisational
procedures are adhered to, objectives are identified and met, and benefits
realised from the implementation of the change.
The project manager’s prime responsibility is to ensure that assigned
projects produce the required deliverables within the defined quality, time
and cost constraints and to facilitate full realisation of benefits defined in the
Business Case. This should be achieved by appropriate adherence to the
NHS standard project management methodology: PRINCE2 and best practice
within the profession, involving the production of plans, documentation and
guidance for project teams throughout the project lifecycle and ensuring all
organisational procedures are adhered to.
The Project Manager Level 1 role is appropriate for a Project Manager of
moderate experience, with responsibilities for less complex projects within
the portfolio, and with normally low to moderate budget and risk to the
organisation. The role should provide scope for further development towards
Level 2, e.g. with opportunity provided to shadow/provide support to more
experienced Project Managers and to accept increasing levels of project
management responsibilities.
KEY TASKS
 Project plan and PID development
 Project change control and reviews
 Reporting
 Risks and issue management
 Project closure including the capture of lessons learned
2
3
COMPETENCIES
The following list of competences is a guide to the skills and knowledge required
for this role. The competences are form the Association of Project Management’s
Competence Framework which can be found on the on the P3M Resource Centre
under “Full list of APM competences” (NWW access required)
Applicants should ensure that they are able to provide evidence to the required
level for each competence. A recruitment checklist has been developed to help in
shortlisting and interview which can be found on the P3M Resource Centre under
“Recruitment checklist”
COMPETENCE
DESCRIPTION
LEVEL
REQUIRED*
Behavioural
The element that separate and describe a person’s
characteristics
preferred way of acting, interacting and reacting in a
Level B
variety of situations. They complement knowledge and
experience and are a function of values, beliefs and
identity. They can be used in assessment, engagement
and career advice
Budgeting and
The estimating of costs and the setting of an agreed
cost management
budget, and the management of actual and forecast costs
Level B
against budget
Business case
Providing justification for undertaking a project, in terms
Level B
of evaluating the benefit, cost and risk of alternative
options and rationale for the preferred solution. Its
purpose is to obtain management commitment and
approval for investment in the project, and is owned by
the sponsor
Change Control
management
Creating, maintaining and controlling change of the
Level B
configuration throughout the project life cycle, ensuring
that all changes made to a project’s baselined scope, time,
cost and quality objectives or agreed benefits are
identified, evaluated, approved, rejected or deferred
Communication
Giving, receiving, processing and interpreting of
information, acknowledging own personal style of
communication and the impact it has on others.
Information can be conveyed verbally, non-verbally,
actively, passively, formally, informally, consciously or
unconsciously.
4
Level B
Configuration
Undertaking the technical and administrative activities
management
concerned with the creation, maintenance and controlled
Level B
change of the configuration throughout the project life
cycle
Corporate
This concerns those areas of corporate governance that
governance of
are specifically related to project activities, ensuring that
project
an organisation’s project portfolio is aligned to the
management
organisation’s objectives are delivered efficiently and are
Level B
sustainable. It also includes the determining and applying
of appropriate standards and methods to minimise health,
safety and environmental damage risk during the project
and the operation of its deliverables.
Definition
The evaluating and optimising of the preferred solution
Level B
which can affect requirements and the project’s scope,
time, cost and quality objectives. Involvement in the
production of key Programme/Project documentation such
as the mandate, brief, PID and the project management
plan which states how resources required during the
implementation phase will be identified.
Handover and
Handing over the final project deliverables to the sponsor
closeout
and users and finalising all project matters, carrying out
Level B
final project reviews, archiving project information ad
redeploying the project team
Implementation
The practical executing, monitoring and control of the
Level B
project management plan, where the design is finalised
and used to build the deliverables.
Information
Using intelligence and presenting it in an appropriate
management and
format which includes the formal communication of
reporting
project information to stakeholders. -
Negotiation
Searching for agreement, and seeking acceptance,
Level B
Level B
consensus and alignment of views, both formally and
informally
Organisational
Understanding , identifying and defining the
structure and
organisational structural environment in which the project
roles
is taking place and the organisational roles performed by
Level B
individuals and groups within the project, including
hierarchical structure, accountabilities, relationships and
decision-making responsibilities
Professionalism
Professionalism is demonstrating awareness and
and ethics
application of qualities and competences covering
knowledge, appropriate skills and behaviours. Ethics
covers the conduct of moral principles recognised as
appropriate within the project and programme
management profession
5
Level B
Project life cycles
Understanding the concept of project lifecycles, the use of
Level B
project phases and contributing to the support of this
process which allows the project to be considered as a
sequence of phases and which provides the structure and
approach for progressively delivering the required
outputs.
Project
Bringing together all the plans for a project in order to
management
document the outcomes of the planning process and to
planning
provide the project management plan for managing the
Level B
project
Project quality
Discusses and agrees quality expectations with
management
stakeholders, develops quality approach and project
Level B
quality plan, executes plan and recommends and applies
improvements and corrective actions.
Project risk and
Understanding, identifying and proactively managing
issue
individual risk and issue events and overall project risk by
management
minimising threats and maximising opportunities
Project success
Satisfying stakeholder needs, measured by the success
and benefits
criteria as identified and agreed at the start of the project.
management
Benefits management is the identification of the benefits
Level B
Level B
at an organisational level and the monitoring and
realisation of those benefits
Scope
Identifying and defining the deliverables and work to
management
produce them. Identifying and defining the scope must
Level B
describe what the project will include and what it will not
include, i.e. what is in and out of scope
Stakeholder
The systematic identification, analysis and planning of
management
actions to engage with, communicate with, negotiate with
Level B
and influence stakeholders.
Team work
The process whereby people work collaboratively towards
Level B
a common goal, as distinct from other ways that
individuals can work within a group
Conflict
Identifying and addressing differences that, if unmanaged,
Management
would affect project objectives. Preventing differences
Level C
becoming destructive elements in a project
Estimating
Ability to produce estimates of project time and cost
targets which are reviewed and revised as necessary
throughout the project life cycle, possibly in liaison with
other functional areas and expertise
6
Level C
Procurement
The acquiring of the resources (goods and services)
(may be
undertaken by a
procurement
team where
available)
required by a project including the development of the
Project Review
Ensuring effective project reviews are set up and used
Level C
procurement strategy, preparation of contracts, selection
and acquisition of suppliers and management of the
contracts
Level C
during and after the project is complete, to check the
likely or actual achievement of objectives specified in the
project management plan and the benefits detailed in the
business case.
Scheduling &
Determining the overall project duration, when activities
Resource
and events are planned to happen, including the
Management
identification of activities and their logical dependencies,
Level C
and estimation of activity durations, taking into account
requirements and availability of resources. Identifying and
assigning resources to activities so that the project is
undertaken using appropriate levels of resources and
within an acceptable duration
Technology
Managing the relationship between available and emerging
Management
technologies, the organisation and the project and
Level C
managing the enabling technologies used to deliver and
manage the project, and the technology of the project
deliverables
Value
Applying a structured approach to defining what value
management
means to the organisation and the project, allowing the
Level C
needs, problems or opportunities to be defined and then
enabling the review of the initial project objectives to
ensure the optimal approach and solution
Benefits
Satisfying stakeholder needs, measured by the success
management
criteria as identified and agreed at the start of the project.
Level D
Identifying the benefits at an organisational level and the
monitoring, collecting of results and ensuring the
realisation of those benefits
Business analysis
The methodical investigation, analysis, review and
Level D
documentation of all or part of a business in terms of
business functions and processes, the information used
and the data on which the information is based
Business process
The planning, design, management, execution and
testing
reporting of business process tests and usability
evaluations. The establishment, clarification and
communication of non-functional requirements for
usability (for example, screen design/layout/consistency,
response times, capacity).
7
Level D
Earned Value
Using a project control process based on a structured
Management
approach to planning, cost collection and performance
Level D
measurement to facilitate the integration of project scope
and time and cost objectives, and the establishment of a
baseline plan for performance measurement
Leadership
The ability to establish vision and direction, to influence
Level D
and align others towards a common purpose and to
empower and inspire people to achieve project success. It
enables the project to proceed in an environment of
change and uncertainty
Manage business
Managing business processes to make sure the
processes
organisation delivers outputs that meet customers’ needs
Level D
and stakeholders’ needs, and organisational and legal
requirements
The following are competences that have been developed to fulfil apparent
gaps in the current National Occupational Standards and competency
frameworks that were analysed as part of the wider P3M Improvement
Programme. These competences are still under development and are being
tested and reviewed accordingly.
Dependencies
Understanding and active management of the internal and external
and critical
linkages and inter-dependencies (e.g. political or legislative
path analysis
changes, structural or organisational plans etc) across programmes
and/or projects, and incorporating any changes into the
project/programme plan.
Indicators
Ability to differentiate between external and internal
dependencies and to prioritise these by
importance/impact on the project/programme
Awareness of dependences between the
project/programme and its benefits and actively
managing these in liaison with the Benefits Manager
Ability to identify the critical path of tasks within a
project/programme and to manage this
Knowledge of risk and issue management processes and
utilising these to ensure that all dependencies and the
risks that these may pose to the project/programme are
minimised
Ability to appropriately take account of any
dependencies during project/programme re-planning
Knowledge of matrix management and the interdependencies that this way of working has
8
Level C
Service
Designing a new service/or model, or re-designing an existing
modelling
model to align with and deliver on policies or strategies, can be
linked with other projects (e.g. new build, or to support a new care
pathway, etc)
Indicators
Ability to work with service staff and to facilitate senior
management to help identify the best design of a new
or changing service/model
Ability to ensure all parts of the service area are aligned
to the new or changing service/model
9
Level D
LEVEL DESCRIPTIONS
LEVEL
APM DESCRIPTION
MAPPED TO
SUMMARY
OTHER
FRAMEWORKS
Level A
Can successfully execute all
the indicators by directing
the management of complex
Career
Framework
level 8-9;
Displays extensive and substantial
experience and applied knowledge of
the subject. Significant managerial
projects and/or programmes
experience and may be at the top of
for an organisation or
their profession in the skill area.
functional unit
Level B
Has successfully executed
most of the indicators by
managing a complex project
Career
Framework
level 5-7;
Displays detailed knowledge of the
subject and are capable of providing
guidance and advice to others, based
on significant commercial experience
and qualifications
Level C
Has successfully executed at
least some of the indicators
by management of a project
Career
Framework
level 3-5;
with limited complexity
Demonstrates behaviours and
outcomes above the Awareness level
but have not had sufficient
opportunity or experience to put the
skill into practice to merit Practitioner
level
Level D
Has the knowledge required
and may execute some of the
indicators in supporting a
Career
Framework
level 1-2;
Ability to understand key issues and
their implications and able to ask
relevant and constructive questions
project manager and or
on the subject. Are early in their PPM
project team
career or a practitioner of another
profession with some involvement in
PPM, or the subject may not be a
priority skill area within their current
role.
10
PERSON SPECIFICATION
ESSENTIAL
DESIRABLE
Relevant degree level qualification
plus post graduate diploma, or
equivalent experience
Knowledge of a project planning &
implementation & management
gained through experience using
formal project planning tools and
recognised project management
methodology
Demonstrable experience of
working in a complex change
environment with multiple
stakeholders and securing their
engagement to deliver change
Knowledge of change management
Foundation/Certificate in IS Project
and workforce & business re-design
Management (ISEB)
Knowledge of developing and
Evidence of continuing professional
implementing policies and
development
procedures
Experience of influencing staff at all
levels to ensure that all members of
the team including users and
stakeholders own project objectives
Experience of working across
Experience in managing budgets /
organisational boundaries to
effective resource management
achieve results
Ability to work collaboratively with
staff of all disciplines to promote
and develop service improvement
projects
Skilled in negotiation and
11
influencing techniques including the
ability to challenge and reality test
other’s positions constructively
Experience of training and
facilitating group discussions, and
supporting training, education and
development opportunities
Experience in business case
development
12
13
14