Hello and welcome to another Parallel Project Training podcast. My name is Ruth Phillips and I’m here with a new member of the team, Becky Willmott. Becky is one of our Senior Training Consultants, and today we’re going to talk about our careers in project management.
We thought we would do something linked to International Women’s Day, which was on the 8th of March. This year’s theme is “Give to Gain”. If you’ve listened to the Parallel Project Training podcast before, you’ll know that we make these completely free for anyone who is interested in project management. We wanted to give something back to the profession and, hopefully, we all gain by our projects becoming more successful.
Welcome to the podcast, Becky.
Thank you.
So, what was your route into the world of project management?
I started my project management journey when I was probably in my thirties. I actually began in public procurement, putting together framework agreements for the NHS to purchase medical equipment. I then moved into a logistics environment, focusing very much on internal projects. That involved working with finance departments and HR departments, looking at how we could improve their processes, and then taking some of the learnings we had from logistics and applying them to those more functional environments.
I then moved again within the logistics sector, but this time into the Project Management Office, supporting strategic programmes from more of a technical support perspective. After that, I moved into a position as Head of the Project Management Office.
Your background is really interesting because I think that if you say to people, “I work in project management”, nine out of ten people assume that you’re a project manager or somewhere along that career path. But that’s really just one of the many roles that project professionals can hold.
Tell me a bit more about what’s involved in being the Head of a PMO. And secondly, what other roles are there? I know that you managed a team as part of that role, so what did your team do as well?
Well, it’s almost easier to say what isn’t involved in being Head of a PMO. It’s one of the most fulfilling roles I’ve ever had because of the diversity of the work and the range of activities it spans.
It covers everything from delivery through to resourcing, data analysis, reporting, governance and assurance, as well as people management. Training was also a big part of what I did.
I managed a small group of Project Support Specialists. They weren’t administrative support; they provided technical support. They were very knowledgeable about governance, project delivery systems, reporting and data analysis, and they supported the day-to-day activities of our project managers.
It’s really important to make that distinction, isn’t it? I’ve found that people often assume that the role of a PMO – a Project Management Office – is primarily administrative. But actually there isn’t that much administration involved. It’s much more focused on governance, assurance, reporting and financial oversight.
Absolutely. That’s where a PMO really adds value. It provides structure, develops project delivery systems that fit the projects you’re working on, and puts processes in place so they can be tailored to suit the type of project and the type of customers you’re dealing with.
Of course, there is some administration around it, but the real value comes from having specialist roles in place.
Yes, the team within a PMO can have a really diverse range of specialisms. On some of the projects I’ve worked on where I’ve been lucky enough to have a PMO supporting me, I’ve worked with people who were highly skilled in risk management, for example. On one project I worked with a communications specialist within the PMO, which was incredibly valuable. On that project it was vital to ensure strong stakeholder engagement and effective communication.
And as a project manager, you’re often a bit of a jack of all trades, aren’t you? It’s really helpful when the PMO includes people with deep specialist expertise who can complement the project manager’s more generalist role.
Yes, absolutely. They also have the time and focus to ensure that communication is happening with all the right people. For example, if you’re leading a regular project review – something you’d expect a Project Support Specialist to do – you have the time to make sure all the relevant information is gathered and presented properly.
Sometimes there’s an assumption that if you’ve been a project manager you can easily move into a PMO role. But actually, it requires quite a different and specialist skill set.
It really highlights that there’s a huge range of roles around projects, especially large ones, and a wide variety of career paths within project management.
Yes, absolutely. From my own perspective, I followed the more traditional project manager path. I started as a Project Coordinator, which involved some of the more administrative aspects of project management, working with a senior project manager. Then I progressed to Junior Project Manager, Senior Project Manager and so on.
As you move up the ranks, the projects generally become larger and more complex. You’re responsible for bigger budgets and more people.
It’s also worth mentioning programme management and portfolio management. As projects become larger and more complex, you often move into programmes. And then you may oversee multiple programmes or groups of projects at a more strategic level, often supported by the PMO.
Having that broader oversight of how programmes operate really helps when managing multiple projects and programmes together. It gives you a more strategic viewpoint and helps you understand how everything connects. In a PMO role you often get that holistic view, which puts you in a good position to see interdependencies and potential challenges.
It’s probably fair to say that both you and I, having stepped back slightly from what I might call the coalface of project management, still love the profession. We’re clearly happy to talk about it most days of the week!
So what is it about a career in project management that you’ve really enjoyed? If someone leaving school or university asked you what project management could offer them as a career, what would you say?
I think the first thing is to focus on your strengths. If you’re naturally organised and you enjoy working with people, project management can be a fantastic fit.
For me, one of the biggest benefits is that the role aligns well with my natural strengths. I’m very organised, but I’m also a people person. Being able to interact with people and communicate regularly is something that gives me real job satisfaction.
Now, as I step away slightly from the day-to-day delivery, what I find most satisfying is passing on the knowledge I’ve gained over the years and supporting others. Seeing people develop and progress is a really rewarding experience.
If you want a career that is dynamic, interesting and different every day, project management is a great profession to enter. You’ll never be bored.
Absolutely. I’d definitely echo that. There are so many industries, companies and roles within project management. You might have a technical background in engineering, IT or construction, and there are roles for you. Or you might be a more generalist project manager who specialises in organising and delivering work, whatever the subject matter.
I also really enjoy the combination of process, organisation and tasks, combined with working through people to achieve outcomes. It’s a great mix.
Another thing I’d say is that it’s a very flexible career. At some points in my career I’ve travelled the world working on projects – passport in one hand and laptop in the other. At other times I’ve worked on short-term contracts or taken breaks between roles. It offers a lot of variety and flexibility.
Yes, absolutely. I worked flexibly when my family was growing up. I worked part-time for periods, and for the last fifteen years I’ve worked predominantly from home. It allows a level of flexibility that many careers simply don’t offer.
Right, we’ve done the sales pitch for project management now! Hopefully everyone listening is thinking, “Yes, this is for me.”
So if someone wants to move into project management, or they’re in the early stages of their career and want to progress, what would your top tips be?
My main tip would be to follow what you enjoy and what you feel comfortable doing. I’ve seen Project Support Specialists become fantastic project managers. I’ve also seen people working in project teams decide they’d like to try managing projects themselves.
There’s nothing stopping you. If you have strong organisational and people skills, you can pursue it from wherever you sit within the project environment.
It’s such a diverse profession that you can come into it from many different angles.
My top tip would be that if you’re not currently working in project management, start looking for projects within your current organisation. They’re everywhere.
Even if you’re not working in construction or software development, organisations like local authorities, hospitals and charities run projects all the time. Any form of change being delivered within an organisation can essentially be considered a project.
Keep your eyes open for opportunities and ask your line manager if you can get involved. See if you enjoy it and start small.
Yes, and project management skills are highly transferable. You can move between industries relatively easily.
I’d also strongly encourage shadowing opportunities. If you can spend time with a project manager or within a PMO, it helps you understand which aspects of the work you enjoy most.
People might also be wondering about formal qualifications. I’d suggest two things. First, there are lots of introductory training courses available, such as the APM Project Fundamentals Qualification. These provide a great introduction.
Secondly, if you’re more serious about pursuing project management as a career, becoming an Associate Member of the APM is a great step. It provides access to networking opportunities, resources and a supportive professional community.
Yes, and the APM resource library is fantastic. If you’re interested in specific areas such as risk management, there’s a wealth of guidance available.
From your experience, what have you seen organisations do well when it comes to supporting people’s development in project management?
The most encouraging thing is when organisations genuinely invest in professional development. That might include internal training, external courses, shadowing opportunities or mentoring.
When organisations actively support employees in developing their skills, it makes a huge difference.
Absolutely. Some organisations also do a great job of building internal communities of project managers. They run networking events, webinars and knowledge-sharing sessions so that project professionals can connect with each other.
That helps people feel part of a broader professional community within the organisation.
Yes, and increasingly organisations recognise project management as a discipline in its own right. That recognition helps raise its profile and encourages further investment in capability.
To finish, let’s look to the future. Two letters we haven’t mentioned yet are AI.
You can hardly open LinkedIn these days without seeing predictions about how AI will automate jobs. I think there’s actually a real opportunity for project management here.
AI will probably take over some of the administrative elements of project management. But that means project managers can focus more on leading people, managing change and delivering value.
Yes, I think we need to embrace AI. It can help with data collection, reporting and analysis. Tasks that used to take hours could potentially be done in minutes.
That frees us up to focus on the things that really matter: managing people, managing risk and improving the quality of project outcomes.
Exactly. And aspects like change management and organisational transformation will become even more important.
If AI can reduce administrative workload, project managers can focus on stakeholder engagement, benefits realisation and supporting people through change. That should ultimately help projects become more successful.
Yes, the future looks bright.
And circling back to International Women’s Day, I think this shift presents a huge opportunity for women. Research still shows an under-representation of women in project roles. The latest APM survey suggested around seventy per cent of project roles are held by men and thirty per cent by women.
As the profession evolves towards areas such as change, transformation and benefits realisation, it opens up opportunities for more diverse participation.
I strongly believe that project management skills are highly transferable. I’ve worked across healthcare, continuous improvement, logistics and training.
At the end of the day, what we’re really doing is managing people and managing risk.
Absolutely.
That’s a fantastic message to end on.
Thank you very much for joining me today, Becky. It’s been great talking to you.
And there will be more podcasts coming your way very soon.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
