Table 1Transition record

project support officertoprogramme manager

A project support officer already meets 27% of what the programme manager role asks for. The move turns on 16 required skills not yet in the profile.

From project support officer

27%

Overlap1

To programme manager

9 Skills carried over

16 Required, not held

75 Difficulty2

Career overlap Distant match

27%

Learning distance A rebuild

75/ 100

Easy adjacentmoderatesubstantialcareer change Hard

1 Share of the programme manager role’s weighted skill requirement already met by the project support officer profile. Required skills count in full, supplementary skills at 0.35. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs. 2 Combines what is missing with how specialised it is, so a gap of general skills scores easier than the same number of narrow ones.

Why

Why this move works

A programme manager role treats 8 of its required skills as things a project support officer already does. These are the ones it depends on most.

ensure equipment availability
follow company standards
liaise with managers
manage budgets
manage project information
manage project metrics

What stands in the way is 16 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 9 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A programme 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.

Skill the target role also needs Area

already held project management methodology (PM²) business, administration and law
already held manage project information information skills
already held manage project metrics information skills
already held provide cost benefit analysis reports information skills
already held follow company standards assisting and caring
already held perform risk analysis information skills

All 9 carried skills, including the 8 the programme manager role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you would need to learn

The 36 missing skills fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered below in the order worth working in: the areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the supplementary ones.

Skill to acquire Tier

01 management skills 9 required, 9 supplementary

required, not held ensure equipment maintenance required
required, not held establish daily priorities required
required, not held manage logistics required
required, not held manage several projects required
required, not held manage staff required
required, not held manage supplies required
required, not held plan schedule required
required, not held supervise daily information operations required
required, not held utilise economies of scale in projects 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 make investment decisions optional
optional, not held make strategic business decisions optional
optional, not held manage profitability optional
optional, not held plan health and safety procedures optional
optional, not held shape organisational teams based on competencies optional
optional, not held strive for company growth optional

02 information skills 4 required, 5 supplementary

required, not held evaluate project plans required
required, not held assess financial viability required
required, not held identify legal requirements required
required, not held perform resource planning required

optional, not held analyse external factors of companies optional
optional, not held analyse financial performance of a company optional
optional, not held analyse internal factors of companies optional
optional, not held estimate profitability optional
optional, not held interpret financial statements optional

03 business, administration and law 3 required

required, not held program management required
required, not held corporate social responsibility required
required, not held project management required

04 communication, collaboration and creativity 5 supplementary

optional, not held implement corporate governance optional
optional, not held advise on efficiency improvements optional
optional, not held align efforts towards business development optional
optional, not held impart business plans to collaborators optional
optional, not held support managers optional

05 assisting and caring 1 supplementary

optional, not held integrate headquarter's guidelines into local operations optional

Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a programme 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 9 skills that carry over

Skill Type

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 manage project information skill
already held manage project metrics skill
already held perform risk analysis skill
already held provide cost benefit analysis reports skill
already held project management methodology (PM²) knowledge

20 supplementary skills, helpful but not required

Skill to acquire Tier

optional, not held develop revenue generation strategies optional
optional, not held implement corporate governance optional
optional, not held advise on efficiency improvements optional
optional, not held align efforts towards business development optional
optional, not held analyse external factors of companies optional
optional, not held analyse financial performance of a company optional
optional, not held analyse internal factors of companies optional
optional, not held budget for financial needs optional
optional, not held control financial resources optional
optional, not held estimate profitability optional
optional, not held impart business plans to collaborators optional
optional, not held integrate headquarter's guidelines into local operations optional
optional, not held interpret financial statements optional
optional, not held make investment decisions optional
optional, not held make strategic business decisions optional
optional, not held manage profitability optional
optional, not held plan health and safety procedures optional
optional, not held shape organisational teams based on competencies optional
optional, not held strive for company growth optional
optional, not held support managers optional

31 held skills the programme 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 carry out project activities skill
not needed by the target role conduct quality control analysis skill
not needed by the target role create a financial report 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 estimate duration of work 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 manage standard enterprise resource planning system 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 perform project management skill
not needed by the target role project configuration management knowledge
not needed by the target role project management principles knowledge
not needed by the target role quality assurance methodologies knowledge
not needed by the target role quality standards knowledge
not needed by the target role train employees skill
not needed by the target role use ICT ticketing system skill

3 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 acquire Tier

required, not held program management required
required, not held corporate social responsibility required
required, not held project management required

Index

Other moves recorded from project support officer

Full index of moves from project support officer

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.