WHAT DOES A PROJECT MANAGER DO?

Published: Dec 22, 2025 - The Project Manager oversees project planning, execution, and delivery to ensure objectives are achieved within scope, time, and budget. This role coordinates cross-functional teams, manages resources, and communicates progress and risks to stakeholders. The manager also ensures quality standards, mitigates issues, and drives continuous improvement throughout the project lifecycle.

A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Project Manager

1. Project Manager Duties

  • Project Leadership: Take full accountability for projects in scope while taking a leading position in driving best practices in project delivery across the team.
  • Team Coordination: Play an active and leading role in the IT team by providing direction, support, and advice to ensure efficient and effective delivery of project deliverables.
  • Portfolio Planning: Scope an agreed portfolio of projects.
  • Project Planning: Formulate and update project plans and maintain schedules.
  • Governance Standards: Lead the creation and adoption of best practice project governance standards across the delivery community and apply them to projects in the portfolio.
  • Progress Monitoring: Review and monitor progress against project plans and schedules to ensure outputs are delivered on time and meet quality specifications.
  • Risk Management: Maintain RAID logs and drive preemptive actions to mitigate risks, avoid issues, and ensure commitments are met.
  • Budget Management: Establish and manage project budgets including robust analysis of financial risks, scenario planning, and budget change management.
  • Reporting Improvement: Take a leading role in the continuous improvement of reporting standards.

2. Project Manager Details

  • Project Leadership: Provide leadership and direction on commercial construction projects.
  • Construction Control: Monitor and control construction through administrative direction of on-site and corporate staff to ensure the project is built on schedule and within budget.
  • Team Planning: Work with the Project team to develop a work plan, establish priorities, and assign tasks.
  • Schedule Planning: Coordinate the preparation of the schedule and long-term planning.
  • Schedule Management: Implement, monitor, update, and communicate the progress schedule and its periodic revisions.
  • Contract Finance: Manage financial aspects of contracts.
  • Budget Review: Review and approve budgets, cost reports, rental equipment, and expenses.
  • Cost Reporting: Conduct the final review of internal items, including Cost Analysis, Monthly Billing, Master Cost Breakdown, and Monthly Reports.
  • Subcontractor Management: Manage subcontractor schedules, quality of work, coordination with other trades, and payments.
  • Site Safety: Create and maintain a safe and secure job site environment.
  • Design Review: Review and approve drawings and samples before submittal.
  • Team Development: Train and develop the Project team and schedule project resources.

3. Project Manager Responsibilities

  • Project Scheduling: Responsible for project scheduling and project decisions based upon the owners’ objectives.
  • Project Execution: Oversee project implementation and execution through completion of construction.
  • Project Management: Manage small ground-up projects including programming, design, entitlements, bidding, permitting, and construction management.
  • Capital Programs: Oversee capital improvement and asset preservation programs with design and construction processes at multiple sites through local resources with minimal oversight.
  • Budget Development: Develop or assist in developing the project budget including hard and soft costs.
  • Budget Management: Begin to manage or assist in managing project budgets for subject properties and maintain monthly forecasts and cash flow analysis.
  • Team Assembly: Assist in assembling and managing required teams of consultants and contractors.
  • Contract Negotiation: Negotiate contracts with each team member.
  • Stakeholder Coordination: Interface with architects, client staff, property managers, and vendors.
  • Client Relations: Maintain client relationships and assist in or manage conflict resolution.
  • Site Supervision: Provide an appropriate level of on-site supervision to ensure project performance criteria are being met.
  • Vendor Evaluation: Develop relationships with consultants, contractors and vendors and evaluate their performance.
  • Independent Work: Operate independently on activities relevant to the project.

4. Project Manager Accountabilities

  • Policy Compliance: Defer policy issues and employment-related issues to higher management levels.
  • Risk Awareness: Identify and address areas of concern regarding potential liabilities and risk including fees, reputation, and errors and omissions, to the Manager or Project Lead.
  • Best Practices: Assist Market Leader and Regional Management in establishing and refining best practices and standards of excellence.
  • Profit Support: Assist the local PDS team in meeting profit targets at the Market, Regional, and National level as determined annually by the Management Team.
  • Client Engagement: Participate periodically in client meetings or business development presentations as part of a team to help demonstrate capabilities.
  • Marketing Support: Assist with the development of marketing materials and supporting information and data.
  • Service Knowledge: Maintain a working knowledge of the business unit’s available product and service offerings.
  • Receivables Control: Ensure all accounts receivable are maintained at a level that does not exceed the planned working capital charge as set by corporate finance, the project team, or the Regional Operations Manager.
  • Accounting Coordination: Work with the accounting team to ensure inventory is accurate and timely.

5. Project Manager Functions

  • Project Oversight: Maintain a complete understanding of project requirements, costs, invoicing, and associated revenues and support reporting numbers to the wider Catalent Network.
  • Project Delivery: Help plan, coordinate, and undertake client projects to ensure delivery to agreed quality standards and client specifications within agreed deadlines and budget.
  • Revenue Tracking: Generate and manage accrual tracking sheets to forecast and record revenue recognition for each aspect of the project and update them as project activities dictate.
  • Client Coordination: Liaise with the Business Development team to provide a seamless and integrated approach to project management from a client perspective.
  • Status Reporting: Provide progress reports and project financial updates to the Head of Project Management.
  • Client Liaison: Act as a point of contact for clients during the project lifecycle and communicate client interactions to the Business Development and Technical team.

6. Project Manager Overview

  • Agenda Management: Develop and prioritize agenda topics, follow up on action items, and manage the closure of open items.
  • Meeting Coordination: Coordinate agenda activities around project plans, financial results, stakeholder engagement, and critical issues and opportunities.
  • Meeting Planning: Plan critical meetings including schedule management, pre-work, meeting topics, supporting materials, and follow-ups.
  • Program Delivery: Develop and execute program deliverables relevant to DPS product lines.
  • Action Tracking: Track action plans and develop communication on progress.
  • Issue Resolution: Work through challenges, identify bottlenecks and dependencies, and unblock teams for execution.
  • Status Communication: Work daily with cross-functional teams to gather and communicate project status, progress, milestones, deliverables, outcomes, and lessons learned to all applicable parties through various communication channels.
  • Operations Oversight: Oversee department operational and administrative functions, including ensuring departmental compliance with standard operating procedures.
  • Daily Support: Provide general day-to-day support to adapt prioritization and execution of business objectives in a fast-paced and changing environment.
  • Influence Management: Manage through influence with modest management authority.

7. Project Manager Details and Accountabilities

  • Stakeholder Alignment: Identify and work with relevant project stakeholders to define the scope of required deliverables and identify total costs, issues, risks, opportunities, and dependencies.
  • Budget Management: Create and manage project budgets.
  • Progress Control: Establish and maintain clear and effective progress monitoring, reporting, and control mechanisms and report on project status internally and externally.
  • Risk Escalation: Identify, manage, and escalate issues and risks that cause the project to deviate from agreed tolerances.
  • Change Control: Effectively apply change control management to avoid scope and cost creep while increasing service revenue.
  • Review Leadership: Lead and facilitate frequent progress review meetings between relevant stakeholders and vendors.
  • Vendor Tracking: Track all vendor commitments to ensure projects are completed within the agreed time frame and all deliverables meet specifications.
  • Status Reporting: Utilize project management tools to track and regularly report project status to management.
  • Process Documentation: Assist in the documentation of procedures utilized throughout the company.
  • Continuous Improvement: Lead reviews of lessons learned to foster a culture of continual improvement.

8. Project Manager Tasks

  • Project Planning: Work with the project team to review requirement specifications, create the project task list, set priorities, and generate a project plan.
  • Documentation Control: Create and maintain project-related documentation.
  • Risk Assessment: Perform project risk assessments and develop risk mitigation proposals.
  • Resource Coordination: Coordinate internal and external resources to execute the project as planned.
  • Status Reporting: Monitor project progress and report project status to management.
  • Schedule Management: Manage the project schedule and deliverables to meet internal and external customer goals.
  • Issue Resolution: Work with the project team to resolve project issues and keep the project on schedule.
  • Lifecycle Control: Control the entire project life cycle and ensure handover to the sustaining function.

9. Project Manager Roles

  • Project Definition: Define all project documents including scope and financial plans, schedules, and risk management plans.
  • Progress Control: Monitor and control project progress, resources, and financials.
  • Risk Management: Identify and manage risks while ensuring all opportunities are identified and pursued.
  • Team Coordination: Coordinate with the Procurement, Production, and Logistics teams to procure required services, materials, and equipment.
  • Stakeholder Relations: Build and maintain strong relationships with stakeholders while acting as a contact point for customer enquiries and an escalation point for project issues.
  • Financial Control: Monitor and control project financials including invoicing status, costs, expenses, and cash flow.
  • Project Closure: Drive the formal acceptance of the project, contract close-out, and customer acknowledgement.

10. Project Manager Additional Details

  • Delivery Support: Assist the Project Lead to ensure on-time delivery within budget and to the required quality standards.
  • Resource Support: Assist the Project Lead with effective resourcing and management of client stakeholder relationships across the wider team and affiliated groups.
  • Quality Assurance: Maintain quality assurance for project documentation.
  • Meeting Coordination: Send invitations and agendas for all regular and ad hoc meetings.
  • Risk Support: Assist the Project Lead with risk management related to reporting.
  • Progress Reporting: Monitor and report progress while communicating clearly with clients and key stakeholders.
  • Vendor Coordination: Work with main vendors and sub vendors.
  • Client Communication: Assist the Project Lead in working and communicating directly with clients on all project deliverables.
  • Partner Coordination: Liaise with and manage coordination of partners and working groups engaged in project work including third-party suppliers and client internal stakeholders, to ensure smooth project delivery.
  • Process Compliance: Adhere to departmental process guidelines to manage all projects and team responsibilities.
  • Process Improvement: Work with the Operations Lead, Business Lead and Project Lead to continuously improve ways of working through documentation processes and best practices.
  • Risk Mitigation: Proactively identify risks and develop, communicate and manage contingency solutions.
  • Change Control: Manage change control and escalate issues to the Project Lead.
  • Status Updates: Provide regular status reports to the Project Lead or Operations Lead.
  • Schedule Control: Ensure each step of the project is delivered on time and within budget according to the project execution plan.

11. Associate Project Manager Essential Functions

  • Project Ownership: Own end-to-end projects or a collection of projects or business areas within CEG with global coverage.
  • Project Initiation: Initiate a plan and drive projects to improve CEG efficiency and support Agoda's business objectives.
  • Business Readiness: Ensure CEG readiness to support new business initiatives by working with CEG teams and cross-functional Agoda teams including Product Marketing, Strategic Partnership Partner Services, Finance and Legal.
  • Opportunity Analysis: Identify problems and opportunities through data analysis and collaboration to improve critical operational metrics and propose solutions.
  • Stakeholder Alignment: Design project plans and work with stakeholders to gain buy-in and commitment.
  • Solution Delivery: Work closely with Product Management and Technology teams to design solutions, configure systems, support testing, manage rollout, analyze results and ensure adoption and impact of tools.
  • Stakeholder Communication: Ensure continuous communication and alignment between project teams and stakeholders at regular intervals.
  • Global Communication: Support large-scale communication for geographically dispersed teams to ensure understanding of project rationale, progress and impact.
  • Change Leadership: Drive implementation and manage organizational change.
  • Milestone Management: Ensure timely progress and achievement of milestones by coordinating workstreams, identifying risks, troubleshooting issues and proposing mitigation plans.
  • Accountability Leadership: Act at all times as the ultimate owner of the project.
  • Outcome Analysis: Analyze project outcomes and impact, collect feedback and drive continuous improvement.
  • Collaborative Support: Work collaboratively as a thought partner and support other projects to enable shared success.
  • Strategic Vision: Set long-term vision strategy and short-term goals for the team to maximize impact.
  • Talent Development: Build talent and capability within the team.
  • Team Coaching: Support team member development through coaching and feedback.

12. IT Project Manager Role Purpose

  • Project Delivery: Manage assigned IT projects with detailed plans and schedules to deliver quality outcomes.
  • Resource Planning: Define source estimate and allocate required project resources and budgets.
  • Budget Control: Manage and report on project budgets, analyze budget variances and scope changes associated with IT projects.
  • Status Reporting: Conduct regular assessments of project status for timely reporting to sponsors, stakeholders and governance committees.
  • Quality Assurance: Manage daily tasks and evaluate them to ensure the overall quality of project delivery before handover to the customer.
  • Risk Control: Control and manage issues, risks, dependencies and scope changes associated with IT projects and project teams.
  • Issue Escalation: Establish mitigation and resolution plans and escalate promptly for decision-making.
  • Record Management: Track and maintain updated records of project budgets, schedules, scope and resources.
  • Business Analysis: Prepare business cases for IT investment projects for the bank.
  • Solution Evaluation: Jointly evaluate the selection of IT solutions and vendors.
  • Vendor Management: Develop and manage vendor contracts and agreements for projects under management.
  • Technology Research: Study new technologies and industry trends and acquire banking domain knowledge.
  • Team Development: Communicate, share and train project team members to improve IT project management and change management skills.
  • Process Improvement: Contribute to improving IT project management processes and guidelines.

13. Project Manager General Responsibilities

  • Project Execution: Ensure projects are executed according to the project plan to meet identified business needs within agreed cost, duration and quality parameters.
  • Business Analysis: Analyze Super Port's needs, scope the problem and develop a business case to address the problem.
  • Solution Evaluation: Document requirements, source and evaluate alternatives and recommend the solution that best fits Super Port's needs.
  • Solution Adoption: Work with Super Port line units to ensure smooth deployment and adoption of the solution.
  • Schedule Planning: Develop a project schedule and activities based on the appropriate project implementation methodology.
  • Risk Management: Identify potential project risks and their implications to the organization and recommend mitigating measures to manage risks and provide reasonable assurance.
  • Change Planning: Establish the project organization structure and define change management and communication plans to engage stakeholders and set expectations.
  • Service Management: Engage and manage internal and external service providers to deliver ICT solutions and services.
  • Policy Compliance: Understand IT management quality management and security policies to ensure development processes, systems, and procedures comply with guidelines.
  • Executive Communication: Communicate and present project progress and issues to senior decision makers, stakeholders and management forums in relation to business objectives.
  • Operational Support: Support application maintenance and support services including contract management, SLA management, service requests, problem management, audit and security services.

14. Digital Project Manager Key Accountabilities

  • Project Ownership: Maintain and own end-to-end projects for delivery across digital website design and build.
  • Client Communication: Liaise with clients regularly to manage and maintain project expectations.
  • Team Coordination: Brief and communicate across the UX design and development teams to ensure a clear understanding.
  • Proposal Writing: Successfully write proposals and assist confidently in pitching.
  • Operations Management: Manage day-to-day operations to meet project schedules and timelines.
  • Financial Planning: Independently scope and plan budgets and report project financial status against current strategy estimates.
  • Production Coordination: Work closely with the video production agency to ensure best-in-class delivery.
  • Supplier Management: Facilitate relationships between external and internal suppliers and ensure communication is up-to-date and relevant.
  • Strategic Decision: Make appropriate decisions, think strategically and multitask while problem-solving effectively.

15. Project Manager Roles and Details

  • Project Support: Support Project Management by accessing and reviewing drawings and project pricing details.
  • Customer Management: Manage customers and orders.
  • Order Processing: Create sales orders and manage sales orders.
  • Purchase Orders: Create and submit purchase orders for approval.
  • Work Orders: Release work orders after review and submission by the PM.
  • Vendor Invoicing: Process vendor invoices after review and submission by the PM.
  • Customer Invoicing: Process customer invoices after review and submission by the PM.
  • Invoice Submission: Submit invoices to customers with all supporting documentation and follow up to ensure payment.
  • Financial Close: Review and provide support during the month-end financial close.
  • Invoice Forecasting: Manage invoicing forecasts by updating reports when customer invoices are reprocessed.
  • Process Improvement: Actively participate in internal teams that focus on continuous improvement of the business.

16. Site Project Manager Responsibilities and Key Tasks

  • Site Management: Manage construction site projects.
  • Quality Monitoring: Conduct site checks to monitor progress and quality standards.
  • Team Guidance: Advise and give direction to the team.
  • Issue Resolution: Resolve problems that may arise and manage risk management activities.
  • Safety Compliance: Ensure compliance with safety regulations and building codes.
  • Subcontractor Management: Manage subcontractors and consultants within the project team.
  • Community Relations: Handle environmental or local community issues during a project.

17. Project Manager Duties and Roles

  • Stakeholder Communication: Confidently and effectively communicate with customers and internal teams throughout all stages of a project.
  • Project Coordination: Plan and coordinate projects for customers within agreed time, cost and quality expectations.
  • Project Planning: Create detailed project and milestone plans that meet timelines agreed with the customer.
  • Schedule Support: Assist in planning and scheduling project timelines and milestones using appropriate tools while identifying dependencies and pathways.
  • Risk Handling: Identify risk issues and dependencies and act accordingly.
  • Service Delivery: Support the delivery implementation and transition into live service for each project.
  • Team Support: Assist other project managers in delivering projects on time with defined quality.
  • Tool Utilization: Use tools such as Gantt charts, Smartsheet, GSuite and MS Teams to create and visualize communications and project plans.
  • Task Management: Use a task management system to support and organize projects, ensuring all tasks are kept up to date.
  • Project Closure: Close projects and evaluate successes and challenges with the wider delivery team to enhance learning for future projects.
  • Lessons Review: Attend project lessons learned sessions to contribute to improving processes and approaches.
  • Business Growth: Contribute to growth and expansion by helping build a business network and increase brand recognition.
  • Meeting Support: Attend meetings and customer workshops, prepare agendas, minutes and act on outcomes.

18. Project Manager Roles and Responsibilities

  • Project Coordination: Plan, manage and coordinate tasks, resources and provide project management on specific projects.
  • Team Guidance: Provide guidance and support to teams and project leaders for effective project delivery on time, within budget and to required quality standards.
  • Multi-Project: Provide project management support and guidance across multiple projects with efficiency, effectiveness and good time management.
  • Design Support: Assist Design Teams with project management tasks, procedures and documentation including progress reports, schedules for task resourcing, RFIs, client comment responses, change requests and risk registers.
  • Schedule Programming: Assist Design Teams with project programming using MS Project and support maintenance of a high-level project portfolio master programme.
  • Process Compliance: Monitor Design Team compliance with project management procedures.
  • Quality Compliance: Monitor and assist the Design Team's compliance with QAQC and documentation procedures in accordance with Cracknell ISO9001 2015 compliant QMS.
  • Change Management: Assist with change requests, maintain change registers and coordinate between Design Teams and Commercial Team to manage client change submissions.
  • Risk Reporting: Monitor and report to the PM Director and relevant departments on projects at risk relating to time, cost and quality.
  • Risk Support: Support teams with effective risk management by coordinating risk reporting, mitigation, recovery planning and maintaining risk registers.
  • Procurement Support: Facilitate project-specific procurement of sub consultants and coordinate and manage their performance and deliverables for selected projects.

19. Project Manager Duties

  • Stakeholder Voice: Represent the voice of internal HR and cross-functional stakeholders.
  • Project Leadership: Lead project-based work and manage interdependencies between various programs and implementations.
  • Partner Communication: Communicate effectively with cross-functional partners including conflict management and prioritizing and delivering stakeholder requests.
  • Executive Presentation: Present to groups at all levels and answer questions with poise and confidence while relating in an approachable manner.
  • Workflow Management: Develop drafts and manage complex workflows while planning and coordinating across multiple delivery teams against aggressive timelines.
  • Requirements Gathering: Partner with systems and business teams to gather technical and functional requirements and help others adapt to new tools and processes.
  • Process Improvement: Highlight inefficiencies in tools, processes and workflows to key partners to close gaps.
  • Data Analysis: Assist in retros and data analysis to drive proactive planning for future development.

20. Project Manager Details

  • Steering Management: Organize regular Steering Committee meetings and monitor and implement recommendations, technical reviews and audits required at key steps of the project.
  • Action Tracking: Follow up actions decided by the Steering Committee and continuously share progress with Steering Committee members.
  • Safety Monitoring: Establish monitoring schedules including measurement methods and frequency, to ensure transparency of structure safety and provide regular updates to the Steering Committee.
  • Project Coordination: Manage and coordinate all actions required to complete detailed engineering procurement, supply, construction, commissioning and handover to the operator.
  • Execution Planning: Implement the Project Execution Plan or detailed Scope of Work with the engineer and the relevant Project Quality Plan to meet project requirements.
  • Team Leadership: Define the project team organization and set up and lead a multidisciplinary project team within the affiliate.
  • Competency Assurance: Ensure personnel have the required level of competency and appropriate training.
  • Organizational Support: Ensure the affiliate receives the necessary support from Headquarters or the zone.
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