Programme Management

This is not always a natural progression for a successful Project Manager although that is often assumed. At this level the practitioner is responsible for driving through longer-term change within business units, organisations, communities and beyond. Strong organisation skills are still central, but these individuals also need to be key influencers and politicians.

Technically at this level, Programme Managers need to apply similar skills to those honed in project management, just on a bigger scale. Project schedules, budgets, procurement contracts, risks, issues and benefits need to be aggregated to control costs and ensure the decisions made complement the strategic direction of the change. Programme managers need to be able to apply more demanding technical skills including uncertainty and risk modelling and change management. Programme Managers need to be driven by the benefits accrued from groups of projects and can not be content solely with outputs delivered according to the plan.

The most significant difference between Programme and Project Management is the ability to lead, negotiate and influence at the highest levels of management and stakeholder activity. Programme managers need to appreciate the wider context of the change environment and align resources and personnel accordingly. The Programme manager must be an accomplished leader with extensive industry and commercial acumen.

Skills Development

Technical

• Establishing the Programme
• Portfolio Selection
• Resource Allocation & Smoothing
• Programme Budgeting
• Benefits Profiling
• Issue & Change Aggregation
• Uncertainty & Risk Modelling
• Business Continuity Planning

Professional

• Advanced Leadership
• Stakeholder Optimisation & Power Mapping
• Benefits Management
• Advanced Negotiation
• Programme Governance
• Recruitment & Selection
• Outsourcing & Off-shoring