Engineering Program Manager Responsibilities

Engineering program manager is the whole and sole responsible person for the planning, management, execution and completion of the project within the given time and budget. Engineering program manager responsibilities may basically comprise using the best of his/ her skills, implementing the well-known and advanced techniques to break down the project into phases and supervise its progress. These professionals are capable enough to use specialized computer software that will help in costing, scheduling and analysis of risk.

What are the job responsibilities of an engineering program manager?

The engineering program manager may have to work on any kind and size of project. Their work would typically revolve around:

• Analyzing the requirement of the company as well as the client and preparing strategies to get it accomplished,

• Planning and designing a detailed schedule to overcome each stage of the project

• Agreeing on the costs, timescales and required resources

• Negotiating with the suppliers and contractors for services and materials

• Selecting the team members and assigning them their tasks along with leading their activities

• Ensuring that each phase of the program is progressing in the given budget and time without compromising with the quality standards of the services

• Reporting about the progress of the project to the senior manager and client

• Coordinate with the stakeholders

• Direct project and program resources

• Administer the project and manage its schedule

• Supervise and manage the budget of the project

• Manage the program by taking account integration into account across all fields

• Deal with various operational issues

• Manage and monitor risks allied with the project

• Reporting the leading committee proceedings and meetings, discussing strategic issues and ensuring the required minutes

• Develop plan for project

• Manage the team members and guide them regarding their work

• Ensure that the project meets all the needs and objectives

• Prepare request for project change

• Negotiate and analyze issues related to the various areas of the project and activities

• Organize and lead group meetings in reference to the projects

• Discussing project status with all team members, involved parties, project sponsor and other relevant stakeholders

• Prepare requests for any program change and project status for the steering committee

• Look after the team progress

• Maintain documentation of the project

Engineering Program Manager Skills and Abilities

An engineering program manager should have certain essential competencies:

• Deal with the routine operational facets of the program

• Designing new formats, executing and implementing them in the program

• Updating the program as per the changing needs and requirements

• Ensure the quality assurance process

• Enforce standards of the project by implementing modified processes effectively

• Identify the requirement of the resources and assign tasks to each of them

• Minimize project risks

• Ensure that the project documentation is complete, current, stored and updated efficiently

• Managing budget

• Excellent time management along with organizational planning

• Ability to lead and get the work down in th desired time from the team members

• Good negotiation and communication skills

• Possess technical skills that are essential for the project

• Required IT skills

• Creativity and logical thinking to resolve the issues effectively

Professional Qualities

There are certain professional qualities that are essential to become an efficient program manager:

Team work

• Understanding the potential of each team member and utilizing it effectively

• Consistently keeps track and appreciates contribution of each team member

• Mitigates communication issues and team issues

• Motivates team member for better work pattern and efficiency

• Plans and eases routine team activities of the office

Leadership

• Manages team growth and development by ensuring that each individual is performing their duties

• During their tenure as a mentor or a role model, they should appreciate other team member to develop as leaders

• Motivate coworkers to pursue excellence and achieve goals

• Manage the procedure of modification effectively by ensuring that the project tasks are performed efficiently

• Lead the emerging industry practices

• Identify opportunities for advancement and build constructive suggestions for development

Client Management

• Deal with the routine client interaction

• Set and manage to fulfill expectations of the client

• Keep track of the transactions among the client and the company, identify the client's needs and evaluate alternative solutions of the business

• Creating good rapport with the client by increasing the customer satisfaction opportunities

• Builds a base of knowledge of each client's organization, business and objectives

In addition to all the above responsibilities, a project manager has to look after the internal operations, financial management, project accounting, business development, etc. Engineering program manager responsibilities are vast and hence the program manager must be provided with authority and required support by the senior manager.