7/8/22, 12:49 PM Roles and responsibilities of the Project Manager | Department of Finance

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Roles and responsibilities of the Project Manager
Topics: Programme and project management and assurance (/topics/programme-and-project-management-and-assurance)
, Roles and responsibilities in programmes and projects (/topics/programme-and-project-management-and-
assurance/roles-and-responsibilities-programmes-and-projects)

The Project Manager is responsible for delivering the project,

with authority and responsibility from the Project Board to run
the project on a day-to-day basis.

On this page
Role of the project manager
Specific responsibilities of the project manager
Skills and attributes needed to be a project manager
Important to note

Role of the project manager

The project manager is the individual responsible for delivering the project. The
individual leads and manages the project team (/articles/roles-and-responsibilities-programme-or-project-
team) , with authority and responsibility from the project board (/articles/roles-and-responsibilities-
, to run the project on a day-to-day basis. In the NI public sector,
project-board)

PRojects IN Controlled Environments2 (PRINCE2 (https://www.axelos.com/best-practice-

solutions/prince2.aspx)) is the standard project management method and is applicable to all

project types.

As well as the formal responsibilities set out in methods such as PRINCE2, the
project manager has an important role in interfacing between the project and the
business area. This is important for communicating (/articles/programme-and-project-management-
communication) and encouraging the need for transformation and change (/articles/programme-
and-project-change-management) within the business area in tandem with the delivery of new
capabilities from the project. The readiness of the business to exploit the new
capability is crucial to success. Without this state of readiness in the business, there
are likely to be disruptions and delays in the plan for benefits realisation
(/articles/programme-and-project-benefits-management).

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Specific responsibilities of the project manager

The project manager, operating within agreed reporting structures, is responsible for:

designing and applying appropriate project management standards for

incorporation in the NI Gateway Review Process (/articles/northern-ireland-gateway-review-process)
managing the production of the required deliverables
planning (/articles/programme-and-project-planning) and monitoring the project
adopting any delegation and use of project assurance roles within agreed
reporting structures
preparing and maintaining project, stage and exception plans (/publications/templates-
programmes-or-projects) as required
managing project risks (/articles/programme-and-project-risk-management), including the
development of contingency plans
liaison with programme management (/articles/roles-and-responsibilities-programme-manager) (if the
project is part of a programme (/articles/programme-management)) and related projects to
ensure that work is neither overlooked nor duplicated
monitoring overall progress and use of resources, initiating corrective action
where necessary
applying change control and configuration management (/articles/programme-and-project-
configuration-management) processes
reporting through agreed lines on project progress through highlight reports and
end-stage assessments (/publications/templates-programmes-or-projects)
liaison with appointed project assurance representatives to assure the overall
direction and integrity of the project
maintaining an awareness of potential interdependencies with other projects and
their impact
adopting and applying appropriate technical and quality (/articles/programme-and-project-quality-
management) strategies and standards
identifying and obtaining support and advice required for the management,
planning and control of the project
managing project administration
conducting a project evaluation review to assess how well the project was
managed
preparing any follow-on action recommendations

In construction projects the  project manager also provides the interface between
the project sponsor and the supply side of the project team.

Skills and attributes needed to be a project manager

The project manager should be able to:
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apply a PRINCE2 project management approach to the specific requirements of

the project
establish a good working relationship with the Senior Responsible Owner
(/articles/roles-and-responsibilities-senior-responsible-owner)

direct, manage and motivate the project team

develop and maintain an agreed project plan and detailed stage plans
understand and apply business case (/articles/programme-and-project-business-cases) and risk
management processes
tailor expert knowledge to meet specific circumstances
plan and manage deployment of physical and financial resources to meet project
milestones
build and sustain effective communications with other roles involved in the project
apply quality management principles and processes

Important to note
The project manager should be appropriately trained in project management
techniques and processes. For substantial projects, accredited training such as
PRINCE2 Practitioner should be considered. It is essential that the skills and
experience of the project manager are matched to the requirements of the project
and the business should fund appropriate training.

Related articles
- List of key roles in programme or project management (/articles/list-key-roles-programme-or-project-management)
- Role of the programme and project management offices (/articles/programme-and-project-management-offices)
- Roles and responsibilities of the Business Change Manager (/articles/roles-and-responsibilities-business-change-manager)
- Roles and responsibilities of the Investment Decision Maker (/articles/roles-and-responsibilities-investment-decision-
maker)

- Roles and responsibilities of the Programme Board (/articles/roles-and-responsibilities-programme-board)

- Roles and responsibilities of the Programme Director (/articles/roles-and-responsibilities-programme-director)
- Roles and responsibilities of the Programme Manager (/articles/roles-and-responsibilities-programme-manager)
- Roles and responsibilities of the Programme or Project Team (/articles/roles-and-responsibilities-programme-or-project-
team)

- Roles and responsibilities of the Project Board (/articles/roles-and-responsibilities-project-board)

More related articles

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