Project Officer: the design specialist

Within a company it is, by now, common that figures are employed to manage the project component of the company. They not only have to coordinate the team, but also plan the projects, monitor them, evaluate their suitability (both beforehand and during construction), make changes if necessary, and so on.

At present there is much confusion around the profile of the 'project manager'. By this very general definition, in Italian, reference is often made to the Project Manager, the Project Leader, and the Project Officer. However, these professional figures cannot be identified in a single profile. That is why it is worth knowing the meaning of the English formulations.

Let's be clear: in this article you will be introduced to the professional profile of the Project Officer. If you are interested in discovering the characteristics of the other two categories, please consult the section of our website dedicated to the description of the professional figures of the Project Leader and the Project Manager.

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Who is the Project Officer?

The Project Officer is the head of the Project Management Office (PMO), or project management office. He or she has a central role in aligning strategies and structuring them within the company and is one of the cornerstones of the corporate culture.

The Project Officer provides essential support to a project and works in cooperation with the Project Manager and other team members in order to achieve project success.

In principle, the project officer can assume the competences of both the project manager and the project leader. In fact, there are no clear boundaries between the different categories. In general, however, it can be said that while the Project Manager deals with processes related to a single project, the Project Leader deals with the people involved in its realisation, while the Project Officer deals with the administration of the company's projects as a whole .

What role does he/she play within the company?

The Project Officer plans and coordinates the company's project activities and supports the Project Managers and Project Administrators.

☝ Often this professional figure can be confused with the Project Manager. The competences are similar. However, the Project Officer is not responsible for monitoring the internal activities of one specific project, but is in charge of managing several projects.

In fact, he/she has to monitor a set of projects within a division or department of the company. He must, then, examine the cumulative value that each project is providing to the business and ensure that the objectives of the project itself are in line with the overall strategy of the company in the medium and long term.

The key to the project officer's role lies in his administrative and technological skills, which allow him to monitor several projects at the same time in order to assess their suitability for the company's objectives.

What qualifications must he or she possess?

The Project Officer can be employed in a wide range of industry types. For example, this professional figure is active in sectors such as construction, engineering, communication and technology, event management and the public sector. In short, the Project Officer is in demand wherever there is a need to develop and stick to projects.

Precisely because of this broad scope of this professional category, the Project Officer may find himself working in different types of PMOs. This implies that a professional who wants to devote himself to this occupation will have to prove that he possesses different characteristics depending on the area of employment. If, for instance, a project officer is sought after in the field of public relations, a professional with specialised skills in this field will be needed for this job.

However, in general, the core activity of the project officer profession is to ensure that projects are well routed, proceed in the right way and do not conflict with the company's objectives.

Therefore, in order to exercise the profession of project officer, it is not per se necessary to possess specific training.

In fact, it is possible to hold such a position without holding certain formal qualifications. It is true, however, that many employers prefer successful candidates to have qualifications in the field of project management.

These include:

• A project management certification. Examples could be: a PMI® (Project Management Institute) certification, an Italian Institute of Project Management (ISIPM) certification, an IPMA (International Project Management Association) certification or a PRINCE2 (PRoject IN Controlled Environment) certification.
• Professional training courses for Project Managers;
• University education in accordance with the area of application of the future Project Officer;
• Work experience in relevant fields.

What are his tasks and responsibilities?

The project officer plays a vital role in corporate project management. In fact, he is in charge of innumerable tasks. These include activities that are also very different from each other. Some of them are listed below:

• Collection of data regarding budget and expenditure;
• Managing the project calendar;
• Scheduling project meetings ;
• Organising meetings;
• Assisting leadership in determining the right approach to resource utilisation;
• Careful evaluation of all executive choices;
• Transversal analyses;
• Identifying new trends and proposing changes in execution patterns;
• Suggesting new planning tools;
• Co-ordination of project activities ;
• Gathering feedback and reports to enable continuous progress for the company;
• Drafting presentations;
• Organising up-to-date and innovative training ;
• Document management;
• Facilitating communication around projects;
• Identifying problems and risks.

Ultimately, the Project Officer acts as the manager of the company's projects, which he directs and supervises. He is the contact person who helps teams to achieve project success and the one who calls meetings and briefings to have a continuous update on the situation of the various projects. The Project Officer also contributes to the cross-management of the execution schedules of all projects and can supervise the utilisation of the respective budgets.

How much does he/she earn?

The average salary of a Project Officer is estimated by Glassdoor to be EUR 42,293 per year.

This is an approximate figure, which must be calibrated according to several parameters, such as: the Project Officer's level of preparation, his experience, the company's inclinations, market trends, the financial situation of the business, and so on.

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What skills make him unique?

The ideal profile of a Project Officer is difficult to delineate, as it involves the coexistence of countless different characteristics and skills. These include the following skills

• Ability to interact intelligently with stakeholders;
• Sensitivity in managing interpersonal relationships;
• Analytical thinking;
• Skill in the use of computer programmes (e.g. spreadsheets or project planning software);
• Competent organisation of time;
• Autonomy;
• Inclination to teamwork;
• Skill in customer management.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities under pressure;
• Disinterest in problem solving;
• Punctuality in carrying out tasks and meeting objectives, even in the long term;
• Familiarity with financial and accounting documents;
• Excellent written and oral communication skills ;
• Strong critical sense as well as clear creative skills;

  Ultimately, the Project Officer is an analytical thinker with excellent problem-solving skills. He/she is a multifaceted personality capable of performing different types of tasks simultaneously. He/she is able to work at a high pace and in a competitive working environment.