Senior Project Manager Job Description

What can a Senior Project Manager job description do for you?

If you've been managing projects for several years and are interested in advancing your career to the next level, a role as a Senior Project Manager may be just what you're looking for. However, to land that job, you'll need a tailored resume that conveys the right message to your prospective employer.

To create that resume, you need clear insight into what qualifications and qualities the employer is looking for in their next hire – insight you can obtain from a Senior Project Manager job description.

In this Senior Project Manager job description guide, we'll explain how a great job description can help you improve your job search results. We'll also provide an example of a great Senior Project Manager job description and offer some key tips that can help you create the tailored resume you need to land your next job.

Find the keywords you need in the Senior Project Manager job description

When you're creating a resume that's tailored to the job you're seeking, you need to include specific keywords related to job skills and other qualifications. Those keywords are vital for getting your resume past applicant tracking systems, so it's important to know which words and phrases to add. Fortunately, a Senior Project Manager job description will typically include those vital keywords.

To decode the job description, you need to carefully analyze the job posting and identify any words related to skills, educational requirements, and other qualifications. Then create a list of the exact terms used by the employer. By including those exact terms in your resume, you can:

Make sure your resume gets past the ATS
Catch the attention of hiring managers who may be skimming your resume in search of those terms
Ensure your resume highlights the qualifications the employer wants to see

Related reading: How to Pass the 6-Second Resume Test

The Senior Project Manager is responsible for leading teams to deliver projects that span across one or more business units. Will manage resources, schedules, and financials throughout the project's life cycle. This includes management of issues, risks, and project change requests to ensure successful and on-time project delivery.

The Senior Project Manager will run the project on a day-to-day basis, make sure that the project produces the required deliverables within the specified constraints of time and cost, and achieve the desired results.

Senior Project Manager Responsibilities:

Manage a portfolio of complex initiatives that span one or multiple lines of business
Provide on-site leadership for project team by building and motivating team members to meet project goals
Full project life cycle ownership: successful project delivery will include full implementation from initiation to deployment for one or more initiatives simultaneously
Report on project success criteria results, metrics, testing, and deployment management activities
Work creatively and analytically in a problem-solving environment demonstrating teamwork, innovation, and excellence
Participate in establishing practices, templates, policies, tools, and partnerships that facilitate project success
Prepare estimates and detailed project plan for all phases of the project
Procure and manage adequate resources to achieve project objectives in planned timeframes
Manage the day-to-day project activities and resources
Monitor staff performance and complete performance reviews
Provide status reporting regarding project milestones, deliverable, dependencies, risks, and issues
Understand interdependencies between technology, operations, and business needs
Manage ongoing quality control and participate in quality issue resolution
Assist in dispute, negotiation, arbitration, or litigation, as needed
Support formal/informal schedules to manage the engagement contract
Delegate tasks and responsibilities to appropriate personnel
Coach, mentor, motivate, and supervise project and program team
Effectively communicate with superiors, team members, clients, and other stakeholders
Continue professional development in order to keep abreast of emerging technologies, methods, and best practices

Senior Project Manager Qualifications:

Bachelor's Degree in appropriate field of study or equivalent work experience
5+ years of project management experience, including tracking and planning projects
3+ years of experience with full product lifecycle with understanding of development lifecycle and various technology methodologies that support that lifecycle
Intermediate level of proficiency with MS Project, Excel, Visio, PowerPoint, and SharePoint, with experience presenting to stakeholders and / or Senior Leadership
Interpersonal skills to influence and spur change, facilitate, and enhance performance within a cross- functional environment
Demonstrate decisiveness in resolving business problems, making decisions, and identifying priorities
Experience negotiating vendor contracts
Experience drafting and submitting budget proposals and recommending subsequent budget changes where necessary
Experience in successfully leading projects and programs on-time, on-schedule. and within budget parameters
Experience leading, motivating, and managing various project and program team sizes, including internal and external resources, while holding team accountable for performance
Experience influencing and gaining buy-in from executives, sponsors, team members, stakeholders, and peers

Senior Project Manager top skills and proficiencies:

Developing Budgets
Coaching and mentoring
Quality analysis and control
Staffing and team building
Project management best practices
Process Improvement
Strategic planning
Performance management
Attention to detail
Data analysis
High stress tolerance
Time and resource management
Documentation and reporting
Risk analysis and mitigation

Use the Senior Project Manager job description to create a tailored resume

So, how do you use that Senior Project Manager job description to tailor your resume and align it with the employer's needs? What's the best strategy for adding those keywords to your resume? The following tips can help.

Tailor the resume headline

The resume headline can be a great place to begin your tailoring effort. This single-line headline is the first thing employers read once they get past your contact details. It consists of a single line of text that announces your desired job title, along with some descriptive language designed to boost your candidacy. For example:

“Senior Project Manager Focused on Team Building and Consistent Success”

Related reading: 27 Great Resume Headline Examples to Stand Out

Use keywords in your resume profile

You should also include some of these keywords in your resume profile, right below that headline. The profile is a brief summary of the resume and your qualifications, so it's important to mention one or two key skills in this paragraph, along with a key achievement that highlights your value. For example:

Dynamic Senior Project Manager with nine years of experience directing multiple projects to successful conclusions. Skilled multitasker, team builder, project developer, and negotiator. Experienced in client engagement, resource allocation, deadline management, and quality control. Led thirty-person team at ABC Corp., simultaneously directing and overseeing up to seven simultaneous projects, with 100% record of on-time and on-budget deliverables.

Related reading: Resume Profile Explained (with Examples)

Include skill keywords in your skills section

As you might expect, the core competencies section is another important opportunity for keyword placement. In fact, the skill keywords you find in the Senior Project Manager job description can form the foundation of your resume's skill list. Try to include a balanced mix of hard and soft skills in this section, using bullet points and columns to format your list.

Add keywords to your work experience achievement statements

Finally, you'll also want to add some of these skill keywords to the bullet point achievement statements that you include in your work experience section. Try to include real numbers in those accomplishments, to emphasize the quantifiable value of the results you achieved. For example:

Designed and oversaw multiple simultaneous projects at ABC Corp, with an average value of $2 million per project
Created new workflow for projects, incorporating agile delivery techniques and reducing average project cost by 15%
Reimagined stakeholder information flow, resulting in 20% increase in client engagement, 30% team productivity boost, and 8% improvement in delivery times

Use the Senior Project Manager job description to align your resume to employer needs

The most important thing that you can do for job search success is to align your resume with the employer's needs. By using the Senior Project Manager job description to identify relevant keywords, you can help your resume beat the ATS, capture hiring managers' interest, and demonstrate that you're the best candidate for the job. That's the surest way to earn the interview you need to land a great job offer!

Need help decoding a Senior Project Manager job description to perfect your resume? Why not get your free resume review and let our experts provide the assistance you need?

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Senior Project Manager Job Description: All Key Roles & Duties

Find the keywords you need in the Senior Project Manager job description