Business project manager
Business project managers plan tasks and organise people and resources to complete work projects on time and on budget.
Also known as: Commercial project lead, project manager
- Starter salary£29,000 a year
- Experienced£75,000 a year
- Typical hours37 to 42 a week
- Green jobPotential
What you'll do
As a business project manager, you will:
- develop detailed plans, using project management tools, to deliver what the client wants
- set up and lead a multi-skilled project team
- work out timescales, resources and costs
- monitor and report on progress, issues, quality and risks
- deal with problems and adapt plans to meet changes during the project lifecycle
- work closely with the senior management team
Working environment
You could work in an office, at a client's business or from home.
Skills and knowledge you'll need
You'll need:
- leadership skills
- business management skills
- persistence and determination
- the ability to monitor your own performance and that of your colleagues
- to be thorough and pay attention to detail
- to be flexible and open to change
- the ability to organise your time and workload
- excellent verbal communication skills
- to be able to use a computer and the main software packages confidently
How to become a business project manager
You can get into this job through:
- a university course
- an apprenticeship
- working towards this role
- applying directly
University
You can study for a degree in any subject, then either:
- join an organisation's graduate management training scheme
- complete a postgraduate qualification in project management
Entry requirements
You'll usually need:
- 2 to 3 A levels, or equivalent, for a degree
- a degree in any subject for a postgraduate course
Apprenticeship
You could get into this career by doing an apprenticeship, such as:
- Associate Project Manager Level 4 Higher Apprenticeship
- Project Manager Level 6 Degree Apprenticeship
These take between 2 and 4 years to complete.
Entry requirements
You'll usually need:
- 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) and A levels, or equivalent, for a higher or degree apprenticeship
Work
You may be able to become a project manager in your organisation, if you've worked for some time in a project support role. You'll need to complete project management qualifications on the job.
Direct application
In certain sectors, for instance, engineering, construction or cyber security, you may be able to apply directly for jobs if you have an in-depth knowledge of the industry gained through several years' experience.
Skills in planning, business analysis and data management could also give you an advantage.
Career path and progression
You can develop your career by completing professional qualifications through the:
- Association for Project Management (APM)
- Project Management Institute (PMI)
- Chartered Management Institute (CMI)
With experience, you could become:
- a senior project manager, co-ordinating several projects
- a freelance consultant, advising businesses on the best way forward
- an operations manager, with overall responsibility for products and services
For multi-sector project management in engineering and manufacturing, you could do a Project Controls Professional Level 6 Degree Apprenticeship.
Career tips
You could take a course covering project management methods, like PRINCE2 and Agile to help you understand these approaches.
Guides for this industry
Related roles
- Job roleBusiness analyst
- Job roleIT project manager
- Job roleIT security co-ordinator
- Job roleManagement consultant
- Job roleConstruction manager
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0