In-demand skills for Projects and Change

Many industries and sectors are faced with a skills shortage and are finding it difficult to hire professionals with the right skills. By understanding the key skills for Project Management, Transformation and Change, you can streamline your recruitment efforts for the year.

On the other side of things, it has never been more important for professionals to upskill and strengthen their career prospects - whether they are moving jobs and looking for the next step up or simply future-proofing themselves for potential transformation in their industry.

As part of our new salary guide, we identified some of the most important skill sets that employers globally look for when hiring into their Projects & Change teams. Here’s what we found…

Key Project Management skills:

Methodologies and approaches

Agile

Agile is a methodology that empowers the most effective management of a project by breaking it down into sprints (or phases) so that it is easier to focus on results and successful delivery. Agile is particularly relevant in today’s rapidly changing business world.

End-to-End Delivery (PMs)

End-to-end delivery project managers who are skilled in handling projects strategically and efficiently from start to finish are an asset to companies. They oversee the allocation of resources, monitor advancement, guarantee adherence to the scope, and overcome obstacles to produce projects that are successful and compliant with regulations.

PMO - Governance & Reg

Within project environments, Project Management Offices (PMOs) are the guardians of regulation and governance. PMO operations specialists can manage risks, enforce compliance policies, and put frameworks in place to keep projects on schedule and compliant with standards.

Scrum master

Experience as a scrum master gives a professional direct exposure to the enhancement and streamlining of processes within a team. They facilitate sprints, maintain quality standards, uphold compliance checkpoints, and empower teams to embrace iterative development while adhering to responsible practices.

Transformation and Change:

Digital/Technology Transformation

Digital/technology transformation experience is hotly in demand as many companies are on the journey to implement and embed new technologies to increase efficiency and agility.

As part of technology or digital transformation, the key areas of experience that are in focus right now include large-scale Data migration, ERP implementations, automation, and Machine Learning/AI.

Finance Transformation

Companies always want to optimise their financial performance, and finance transformation plays a big role in that. Proven experience in transforming a finance function’s strategy, processes, internal controls and reporting is a huge asset for a professional in this space.

Organisational Design/Change

Experts in organisational design and change should possess the vision to reimagine organisational structures and cultures. A skilled change professional will improve organisational structures and cultures while fostering a compliance-focused atmosphere and ingraining ethical behaviour into the company's ethos.

Business analysis

In search of continual improvement, business analysis is crucial to identifying an organisation’s needs and determining solutions to problems in line with wider business goals.

Interpersonal, soft skills:

As well as the more technical Project Management skills outlined above, there are a few key interpersonal, soft skills for Project Management and Change Management that will help improve an individual’s success.

• Proactive communication
• Stakeholder management in projects
• Process improvement
• Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
• Business development
• Delegation and Time Management

If you are looking to hire someone in Projects & Change, get in touch today.

Equally, if you are a professional in this area and are looking for your next career move, we have a range of jobs available - you can browse them here.