Career Overlap Transition record
RecordMove

Supply chain manager to programme manager

A supply chain manager already meets 38% of what the programme manager role asks for. The move turns on 13 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional
From supply chain manager
38 % overlap
Distant match
To programme manager
14 You already bring
13 Still to learn
45 Skills in the target role2
Learning distance Substantial retraining

65.5/ 100

1 How much of what a programme manager is expected to do is already part of a supply chain 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 programme manager role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.

Why

Why this move works

A programme manager role treats 11 of its required skills as things a supply chain manager already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

  • assess financial viability
  • corporate social responsibility
  • ensure equipment availability
  • follow company standards
  • liaise with managers
  • manage budgets

What stands in the way is 13 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 14 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 supply chain manager background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held estimate profitability information skills
  • already held control financial resources management skills
  • already held manage logistics management skills
  • already held perform resource planning information skills
  • already held strive for company growth management skills
  • already held assess financial viability information skills

All 14 carried skills, including the 11 the programme manager role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 31 missing skills fall into 5 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 6 required, 7 supplementary
  • still to learn ensure equipment maintenance required
  • still to learn establish daily priorities required
  • still to learn manage several projects required
  • still to learn plan schedule required
  • still to learn supervise daily information operations required
  • still to learn 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 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
02 information skills 6 required, 4 supplementary
  • still to learn evaluate project plans required
  • still to learn manage project information required
  • still to learn identify legal requirements required
  • still to learn manage project metrics required
  • still to learn perform risk analysis required
  • still to learn provide cost benefit analysis reports 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 interpret financial statements optional
03 business, administration and law 1 required, 1 supplementary
  • still to learn program management required
  • optional, not held project management methodology (PM²) optional
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 14 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held assess financial viability skill
  • already held corporate social responsibility knowledge
  • 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 logistics skill
  • already held manage staff skill
  • already held manage supplies skill
  • already held perform resource planning skill
  • already held project management knowledge
  • already held control financial resources skill
  • already held estimate profitability skill
  • already held strive for company growth skill
18 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to pick up 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 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 project management methodology (PM²) optional
  • optional, not held shape organisational teams based on competencies optional
  • optional, not held support managers optional
85 held skills the programme manager role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role accurately estimate work hours skill
  • not needed by the target role advise on risk management skill
  • not needed by the target role advise on sustainable management policies skill
  • not needed by the target role analyse business plans skill
  • not needed by the target role analyse consumer buying trends skill
  • not needed by the target role analyse economic trends skill
  • not needed by the target role analyse logistic changes skill
  • not needed by the target role analyse logistic needs skill
  • not needed by the target role analyse market financial trends skill
  • not needed by the target role analyse supply chain strategies skill
  • not needed by the target role analyse supply chain trends skill
  • not needed by the target role apply change management skill
  • not needed by the target role apply for government funding skill
  • not needed by the target role assess supplier risks skill
  • not needed by the target role assist in planning production scheduling skill
  • not needed by the target role attend trade fairs skill
  • not needed by the target role business strategy concepts knowledge
  • not needed by the target role calculate purchasing levels of raw materials skill
  • not needed by the target role carry out statistical forecasts skill
  • not needed by the target role carry out tendering skill
  • not needed by the target role conflict management knowledge
  • not needed by the target role control trade commercial documentation skill
  • not needed by the target role coordinate purchasing activities skill
  • not needed by the target role develop professional network skill
  • not needed by the target role direct logistical functions skill
  • not needed by the target role economics knowledge
  • not needed by the target role ensure cross-department cooperation skill
  • not needed by the target role estimate costs of required supplies skill
  • not needed by the target role estimate duration of work skill
  • not needed by the target role financial forecasting knowledge
  • not needed by the target role forecast dividend trends skill
  • not needed by the target role forecast economic trends skill
  • not needed by the target role forecast future levels of business skill
  • not needed by the target role forecast production quantities skill
  • not needed by the target role forecast products' demand skill
  • not needed by the target role forecast sales over periods of time skill
  • not needed by the target role forecast workload skill
  • not needed by the target role geographical routes knowledge
  • not needed by the target role human resource management knowledge
  • not needed by the target role identify key processes of traceability systems skill

45 further entries not listed here

2 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 program management required
  • optional, not held project management methodology (PM²) optional
Index

Other moves recorded from supply chain manager

Full index of moves from supply chain manager

FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can a supply chain manager become a programme manager?

Yes, and it is a substantial move. A supply chain manager already covers 38% of what a programme manager is expected to do: 14 skills carry over, 11 of which the programme manager role treats as required.

What skills does a supply chain manager need to become a programme manager?

13 required skills are missing, plus 18 optional ones. They fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by management skills. The single most important is program management.

How hard is the move from supply chain manager to programme manager?

Its learning distance is 65.5 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.