People and Roles in PMO
PMO Training for All Levels of PMO Professionals
At PMO Learning, we offer certified and tailored training and development opportunities for everyone working within a PMO, from entry-level positions to senior leadership roles. As there are various types of PMOs, there are also a wide range of roles within them.
Our courses are designed to meet the needs of professionals at all stages of their careers, whether you’re just starting as a Project Support Officer or you’re leading the PMO as a Director.
Let’s explore the different roles you can find in a PMO:
PMO Administrators
PMO Administrators – also sometimes called Project Support Officers or Project Assistants – are the people who support projects. They can be working within a PMO structure – most often a Project Office. Alternatively they also work outside a PMO structure and are assigned to a Project Manager and project team. The title can also change if the work is primarily supporting programmes to that of a Programme Support Officer. When people first start working in a project support role, this is the job they carry out. For more information on the PMO Administrator:
[What is a PMO Administrator?]
[What Does a PMO Administrator Do?]
[Training Options for Project Support Officers]
Looking to find out more about entry level PMO roles? Read more in our How to Get Started in PMO eBook.
PMO Analysts
The PMO Analyst role has numerous different titles from Project Co-ordinator to Programme Office Co-ordinators, PMO Planners and Controls and Reporting Co-ordinator. The list really does go on. The PMO Analyst role can be supporting projects, programmes and portfolios and whilst they are normally seen within a PMO structure, many organisations without a PMO will still hire PMO Analysts. The role also varies depending on what the organisation needs, for example, in highly regulated industries there may be a heavy emphasis on monitoring and reporting.
This role can also attract people with very different levels of seniority depending on their experience and the services required to be carried out. Many people working in PMO at this level are quite happy to stay working closely with projects and programmes without wanting to progress to management in PMO or indeed become Project Managers.
The vast majority of people working in PMO today are working at this level. Find out more about PMO Analysts:
PMO Managers
PMO Managers – also sometimes referred to as PMO Leads – are those people who are managing the PMO function. They can be managing project, programme or portfolio level PMOs and as such their skillsets and experience will differ. PMO Managers can also be managers in the people management sense of the word and will be accountable for the performance of PMO practitioners in their PMO. Not all PMO Managers have people management responsibilities though.
Due to the type of PMO they are managing, their level of seniority will vary. Find out more about PMO Managers:
PMO Directors
PMO Directors, sometimes also called Head of PMO, Enterprise PMO Manager, Director of Project Management, again the list goes on for the many variations of people who are responsible for the entire organisation’s portfolio of projects, programme and portfolio. This senior-level role is an executive-level role with responsibilities for ensuring the organisation’s capability for delivering change is robust; aligned to organisational strategies and prioritised. With the PMO Director level, there is likely to be a responsibility for numerous PMOs across the business and often includes the management of Project Managers as well as the PMO staff. The level of seniority is closely linked to the size of an organisation’s portfolio of change activities and the accountabilities bestowed.
Choose How to Get Trained
You can attend open public scheduled courses or bring a course in-house and train the whole PMO team
What Course to Choose
PMO Learning offers courses for PMO practitioners at different levels of their career and experience levels.