Program Manager
Position Summary
Program Manager is responsible for the initiating, planning, executing, monitoring/controlling, and closing of projects through the project life cycle, while remaining aligned with strategy, commitments and goals of the organization. The project life cycle is comprised of 5 phases.
1. Project Initiation - Initiation is the first phase of the project lifecycle, typically developed during the proposal phase where the project’s requirements, initial budget and preliminary schedule are created.
2. Project Planning – The Program Manager develops a solid plan to guide the team, as well as keep them on time and on budget. The Program Manager develops detailed budgets and schedules used by the team to understand the cost, scope and timeframe of the project giving the team direction for producing quality outputs, handling risk, creating acceptance, communicating benefits to stakeholders.
3. Project Execution - Execution is all about building deliverables that satisfy the customer. The Program Manager is responsible to make this happen by allocating resources and keeping team members focused on their assigned tasks. The Program Manager is responsible for communicating status to the customer, establishing design reviews, and identifying and budgeting for scope changes.
4. Project Monitoring and Control - Monitoring and control are sometimes combined with execution because they often occur at the same time. The Program Manager is responsible for monitoring tasks to prevent scope creep, calculate key performance indicators and track variations from allotted cost and time. This constant vigilance helps keep the project moving ahead smoothly.
5. Project Closure -Teams close a project when they deliver the finished project to the customer, communicating completion to stakeholders and releasing resources to other projects. This vital step in the project lifecycle allows the team to evaluate and document the project and move on to the next one, using previous project mistakes and successes to build stronger processes and more successful teams.