Project support officer to operations manager
A project support officer already meets 19% of what the operations manager role asks for. The move turns on 18 required skills not yet in the profile.
85/ 100
1 How much of what an operations manager is expected to do is already part of a project support officer’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 operations manager role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An operations manager role treats 6 of its required skills as things a project support officer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- ensure equipment availability
- follow company standards
- liaise with managers
- manage budgets
- perform project management
- quality standards
What stands in the way is 18 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 15 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An operations manager role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a project support officer background worth leading with.
- already held manage project information information skills
- already held manage standard enterprise resource planning system working with computers
- already held manage project metrics information skills
- already held create a financial report information skills
- already held estimate duration of work information skills
- already held provide cost benefit analysis reports information skills
All 15 carried skills, including the 6 the operations manager role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 76 missing skills fall into 8 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.
- still to learn apply change management required
- still to learn develop staff required
- still to learn ensure equipment maintenance required
- still to learn establish daily priorities required
- still to learn evaluate employees required
- still to learn make strategic business decisions required
- still to learn manage logistics required
- still to learn manage profitability required
- still to learn manage staff required
- still to learn manage supplies required
- still to learn strive for company growth required
- still to learn supervise daily information operations required
- optional, not held develop revenue generation strategies optional
- optional, not held budget for financial needs optional
- optional, not held control financial resources optional
- optional, not held create project specifications optional
- optional, not held develop business case optional
- optional, not held make investment decisions optional
- optional, not held manage facilities services optional
- optional, not held manage maintenance operations optional
- optional, not held manage several projects optional
- optional, not held meet deadlines optional
- optional, not held oversee the facilities services budget optional
- optional, not held perform quality audits optional
- optional, not held plan buildings maintenance work optional
- optional, not held recruit employees optional
- optional, not held set quality assurance objectives optional
- optional, not held shape organisational teams based on competencies optional
- optional, not held supervise work optional
- still to learn corporate social responsibility required
- still to learn operations management required
- still to learn project management required
- still to learn supply chain management required
- optional, not held facilities management in the organisation optional
- optional, not held insourcing strategy optional
- optional, not held internal risk management policy optional
- optional, not held organisational resilience optional
- optional, not held outsourcing strategy optional
- optional, not held accounting optional
- optional, not held contract law optional
- optional, not held employment law optional
- still to learn build business relationships required
- optional, not held advise on utility consumption optional
- optional, not held implement corporate governance optional
- optional, not held maintain relationship with customers optional
- optional, not held maintain relationship with suppliers optional
- optional, not held promote facilities management services optional
- optional, not held promote innovative infrastructure design optional
- optional, not held advise on efficiency improvements optional
- optional, not held align efforts towards business development optional
- optional, not held create solutions to problems optional
- optional, not held handle customer complaints optional
- optional, not held impart business plans to collaborators optional
- optional, not held liaise with government officials optional
- optional, not held maintain customer service optional
- optional, not held negotiate terms with suppliers optional
- optional, not held negotiate with stakeholders optional
- optional, not held perform procurement processes optional
- optional, not held support managers optional
- optional, not held write work-related reports optional
- still to learn energy conservation required
- optional, not held manufacturing processes optional
- optional, not held assess supplier risks optional
- optional, not held evaluate project plans optional
- optional, not held assess financial viability optional
- optional, not held control of expenses optional
- optional, not held estimate profitability optional
- optional, not held interpret financial statements optional
- optional, not held make data-driven decisions optional
- optional, not held perform resource planning optional
- optional, not held adhere to organisational guidelines optional
- optional, not held manage major incidents optional
- optional, not held oversee quality control optional
2 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an operations manager role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 corporate social responsibility study this
- 02 operations management study this
- 03 project management study this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 15 skills that carry over
- already held ensure equipment availability skill
- already held follow company standards skill
- already held liaise with managers skill
- already held manage budgets skill
- already held perform project management skill
- already held quality standards knowledge
- already held create a financial report skill
- already held estimate duration of work skill
- already held manage project information skill
- already held manage project metrics skill
- already held manage standard enterprise resource planning system skill
- already held perform risk analysis skill
- already held provide cost benefit analysis reports skill
- already held quality assurance methodologies knowledge
- already held train employees skill
The 2 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held database quality standards optional
- optional, not held information confidentiality optional
- optional, not held security regulations optional
58 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held advise on utility consumption optional
- optional, not held assess supplier risks optional
- optional, not held database quality standards optional
- optional, not held develop revenue generation strategies optional
- optional, not held evaluate project plans optional
- optional, not held facilities management in the organisation optional
- optional, not held implement corporate governance optional
- optional, not held information confidentiality optional
- optional, not held insourcing strategy optional
- optional, not held internal risk management policy optional
- optional, not held maintain relationship with customers optional
- optional, not held maintain relationship with suppliers optional
- optional, not held organisational resilience optional
- optional, not held outsourcing strategy optional
- optional, not held promote facilities management services optional
- optional, not held promote innovative infrastructure design optional
- optional, not held security regulations optional
- optional, not held accounting optional
- optional, not held adhere to organisational guidelines optional
- optional, not held advise on efficiency improvements optional
- optional, not held align efforts towards business development optional
- optional, not held assess financial viability optional
- optional, not held budget for financial needs optional
- optional, not held contract law optional
- optional, not held control financial resources optional
- optional, not held control of expenses optional
- optional, not held create project specifications optional
- optional, not held create solutions to problems optional
- optional, not held develop business case optional
- optional, not held employment law optional
- optional, not held estimate profitability optional
- optional, not held handle customer complaints optional
- optional, not held impart business plans to collaborators optional
- optional, not held interpret financial statements optional
- optional, not held liaise with government officials optional
- optional, not held maintain customer service optional
- optional, not held make data-driven decisions optional
- optional, not held make investment decisions optional
- optional, not held manage facilities services optional
- optional, not held manage maintenance operations optional
18 further entries not listed here
25 held skills the operations manager role does not ask for
- 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 carry out project activities skill
- not needed by the target role conduct quality control analysis skill
- not needed by the target role customise project methodologies skill
- not needed by the target role document project progress 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 introduce new employees skill
- not needed by the target role lean project management knowledge
- not needed by the target role maintain a central project repository skill
- not needed by the target role maintain financial records skill
- not needed by the target role maintain internal communication systems skill
- not needed by the target role manage administrative systems skill
- not needed by the target role manage project changes skill
- not needed by the target role manage relationships with stakeholders skill
- not needed by the target role monitor the conformance to the project methodology skill
- not needed by the target role office software knowledge
- not needed by the target role organise information on availability of the team skill
- not needed by the target role organise project meetings skill
- not needed by the target role perform PESTEL analysis skill
- not needed by the target role project configuration management knowledge
- not needed by the target role project management methodology (PM²) knowledge
- not needed by the target role project management principles knowledge
- not needed by the target role use ICT ticketing system skill
17 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn corporate social responsibility required
- still to learn operations management required
- still to learn project management required
- still to learn energy conservation required
- still to learn supply chain management required
- optional, not held database quality standards optional
- optional, not held facilities management in the organisation optional
- optional, not held information confidentiality optional
- optional, not held insourcing strategy optional
- optional, not held internal risk management policy optional
- optional, not held organisational resilience optional
- optional, not held outsourcing strategy optional
- optional, not held security regulations optional
- optional, not held accounting optional
- optional, not held contract law optional
- optional, not held employment law optional
- optional, not held manufacturing processes optional
Common questions about this move
Can a project support officer become an operations manager?
Yes, and it is a career change move. A project support officer already covers 19% of what an operations manager is expected to do: 15 skills carry over, 6 of which the operations manager role treats as required.
What skills does a project support officer need to become an operations manager?
18 required skills are missing, plus 58 optional ones. They fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by management skills. The single most important is corporate social responsibility.
How hard is the move from project support officer to operations manager?
Its learning distance is 85 out of 100, which is the career change band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
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.