Career Overlap Transition record
RecordMove

Project manager to security manager

A project manager already meets 39% of what the security manager role asks for. The move turns on 15 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional
From project manager
39 % overlap
Distant match
To security manager
13 You already bring
15 Still to learn
44 Skills in the target role2
Learning distance Substantial retraining

67.1/ 100

1 How much of what a security manager is expected to do is already part of a project manager’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the security manager role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.

Why

Why this move works

A security manager role treats 13 of its required skills as things a project manager already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

  • corporate social responsibility
  • ensure equipment availability
  • ensure equipment maintenance
  • establish daily priorities
  • follow company standards
  • internal risk management policy

What stands in the way is 15 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.

Table 2

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 13 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A security manager role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a project manager background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held internal risk management policy business, administration and law
  • already held supervise daily information operations management skills
  • already held establish daily priorities management skills
  • already held manage logistics management skills
  • already held ensure equipment maintenance management skills
  • already held strive for company growth management skills

All 13 carried skills, including the 13 the security manager role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 31 missing skills fall into 9 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.

Skill to pick up Tier
01 management skills 5 required, 3 supplementary
  • still to learn establish site security routines required
  • still to learn lead disaster recovery exercises required
  • still to learn manage disaster recovery plans required
  • still to learn manage the security team required
  • still to learn oversee planning of security systems required
  • optional, not held define security policies optional
  • optional, not held manage outsourced security optional
  • optional, not held plan health and safety procedures optional
02 information skills 4 required, 3 supplementary
  • still to learn investigate security issues required
  • still to learn write security reports required
  • still to learn maintain incident reporting records required
  • still to learn manage security equipment required
  • optional, not held inspect government policy compliance optional
  • optional, not held perform internal investigations optional
  • optional, not held undertake employee screening optional
03 business, administration and law 2 required, 1 supplementary
  • still to learn organisational resilience required
  • still to learn legal use-of-force required
  • optional, not held consultation methods optional
04 services 2 required, 1 supplementary
  • still to learn security regulations required
  • still to learn security threats required
  • optional, not held cyber security optional
05 assisting and caring 1 required, 2 supplementary
  • still to learn handle surveillance equipment required
  • optional, not held maintain facility security systems optional
  • optional, not held protect important clients optional
06 engineering, manufacturing and construction 1 required
  • still to learn security engineering required

3 further areas in the appendix

Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a security manager role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.

Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.

Appendix

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 13 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held corporate social responsibility knowledge
  • already held ensure equipment availability skill
  • already held ensure equipment maintenance skill
  • already held establish daily priorities skill
  • already held follow company standards skill
  • already held internal risk management policy knowledge
  • already held liaise with managers skill
  • already held manage budgets skill
  • already held manage logistics skill
  • already held manage staff skill
  • already held manage supplies skill
  • already held strive for company growth skill
  • already held supervise daily information operations skill
The 3 learning areas not shown above
Skill to pick up Tier
07 communication, collaboration and creativity 3 supplementary
  • optional, not held advise on strengthening security optional
  • optional, not held liaise with government officials optional
  • optional, not held liaise with security authorities optional
08 information and communication technologies (icts) 2 supplementary
  • optional, not held ethical hacking principles optional
  • optional, not held information confidentiality optional
09 working with computers 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held implement ICT security policies optional
16 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to pick up Tier
  • optional, not held advise on strengthening security optional
  • optional, not held consultation methods optional
  • optional, not held cyber security optional
  • optional, not held define security policies optional
  • optional, not held ethical hacking principles optional
  • optional, not held implement ICT security policies optional
  • optional, not held information confidentiality optional
  • optional, not held maintain facility security systems optional
  • optional, not held inspect government policy compliance optional
  • optional, not held liaise with government officials optional
  • optional, not held liaise with security authorities optional
  • optional, not held manage outsourced security optional
  • optional, not held perform internal investigations optional
  • optional, not held plan health and safety procedures optional
  • optional, not held protect important clients optional
  • optional, not held undertake employee screening optional
55 held skills the security manager role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role Agile project management knowledge
  • not needed by the target role Prince2 project management knowledge
  • not needed by the target role analyse business plans skill
  • not needed by the target role apply change management skill
  • not needed by the target role apply conflict management skill
  • not needed by the target role build business relationships skill
  • not needed by the target role business processes knowledge
  • not needed by the target role communication principles knowledge
  • not needed by the target role control of expenses skill
  • not needed by the target role create a financial report skill
  • not needed by the target role create project specifications skill
  • not needed by the target role crowdsourcing strategy knowledge
  • not needed by the target role customise project methodologies skill
  • not needed by the target role design wayside signalling interlockings skill
  • not needed by the target role develop business plans skill
  • not needed by the target role draft project documentation skill
  • not needed by the target role ensure compliance with legal requirements skill
  • not needed by the target role estimate duration of work skill
  • not needed by the target role find a replacement for stage manager skill
  • not needed by the target role identify legal requirements skill
  • not needed by the target role insourcing strategy knowledge
  • not needed by the target role lean project management knowledge
  • not needed by the target role legal studies knowledge
  • not needed by the target role maintain a central project repository skill
  • not needed by the target role maintain relationship with suppliers skill
  • not needed by the target role manage project changes skill
  • not needed by the target role manage project information skill
  • not needed by the target role manage project metrics skill
  • not needed by the target role manage several projects skill
  • not needed by the target role manage standard enterprise resource planning system skill
  • not needed by the target role mathematics knowledge
  • not needed by the target role negotiate with stakeholders skill
  • not needed by the target role office administration knowledge
  • not needed by the target role organise project meetings skill
  • not needed by the target role outsourcing strategy knowledge
  • not needed by the target role perform PESTEL analysis skill
  • not needed by the target role perform project management skill
  • not needed by the target role perform resource planning skill
  • not needed by the target role perform risk analysis skill
  • not needed by the target role plan schedule skill

15 further entries not listed here

9 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice

Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.

Skill to pick up Tier
  • still to learn organisational resilience required
  • still to learn security regulations required
  • still to learn legal use-of-force required
  • still to learn security engineering required
  • still to learn security threats required
  • optional, not held consultation methods optional
  • optional, not held cyber security optional
  • optional, not held ethical hacking principles optional
  • optional, not held information confidentiality optional
Index

Other moves recorded from project manager

Full index of moves from project manager

FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can a project manager become a security manager?

Yes, and it is a substantial move. A project manager already covers 39% of what a security manager is expected to do: 13 skills carry over, 13 of which the security manager role treats as required.

What skills does a project manager need to become a security manager?

15 required skills are missing, plus 16 optional ones. They fall into 9 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by management skills. The single most important is establish site security routines.

How hard is the move from project manager to security manager?

Its learning distance is 67.1 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.

Note

How this record was compiled

Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.