IT Program Manager

Education and Training: Bachelor’s degree in business, information systems, or computer science
Average Salary: $110,000
Job Outlook: Very good

The IT program manager supervises the team of information system professionals who are engaged in different projects. They build up and maintain plans, policies, and procedures for all project phases. They manage the overall risk of the program, including conducting risk, cost and benefit analyses, and developing strategies to manage unexpected crises and uncertain risks.
Common Responsibilities for IT Program Manager are as follows:

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• Describing the necessities and planning the project lifecycle deployment
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• Describing resources and schedule for program execution
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• Strategize for risk mitigation and contingency planning
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• Planning and scheduling project goals and milestones
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• Professionally solving project issues
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• Designing and preserving technical as well as project documentation
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• Administers the vendor selection process, such as developing the requests for proposal (RFP) and requests for information (RFI)
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• Reviewing submitted bids from contractors
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• Ensures technical expertise and productivity of the staff and arranges for training as required
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• They are responsible for running complex programs from basic design and development till the production
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• They are the in charge of presenting the team assessment and evaluations
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• They must show the leadership qualities to define requirements for project risk
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• They must keep an eye on program milestones to keep continuous alignment of program scope with strategic business
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• They should ensure that the projects within the program are completed within established time and budget
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• They must be capable of managing and resolving conflicts or confrontations in a constructive manner

Education and Training Requirements

To be an IT program manager one needs to have a degree of technical knowledge, with the focus on highlighting business management skills. The minimum requirement for this job is a Bachelor’s degree in business, information systems, or computer science. A Project Management Professional certification or equivalent is ideal for this job and a Masters degree in any IT field or completing an MBA degree in information technology management is usually essential for the growth into a management role.

Getting the Job

To be an IT Program manager, along with the required qualifications, they should have good communication skills, good leadership skills, and should also have good presentation and customer service skills. A minimum of five years experience is required for this job. Individuals with suitable experience and required qualifications should try newspaper classified ads and Internet sites for managerial jobs. Employment agencies may also offer job leads. If interested in a government job, they should apply to take the necessary civil service examination.

Job Prospects, Employment Outlook and Career Development

IT Program managers are expected to be in increasing demand for their combined business and technical expertise. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics forecasts job prospects for IT program managers are excellent. They expect the employment of IT Program managers to increase by 17 percent from 2008-2018 and their demand will increase and new growth areas will also continue to arise from fast evolving technologies.

Working Conditions and Environment

IT program managers usually work in clean and comfortable offices. They normally have to work late evenings and weekends in order to meet deadlines or solve unexpected problems. They have to travel frequently for meetings and their work can involve pressure due to multiple calls and inquiries. As they spend significant time using computers, they are susceptible to eyestrain, back discomfort, and hand and wrist problems.

Salary and Benefits

The salary of an IT program manager vary based on the area of expertise, experience, education, level of responsibility, the geographic location, size and industry of the employer. Big companies normally ensure competitive salaries, with lots of benefits and a large number of opportunities for future growth and promotions. As this is a very competitive field, the rewards will be plentiful and worthwhile. Median annual salary earned by an IT program manager is $110,000. As per salary information from PayScale their annual salary usually varies from $72,114 to $153,314.

Where to Go for More Information

Association for Computing Machinery
1515 Broadway
New York, NY 10036
(212) 626-0500
http://www.acm.org

Association for Information Systems
PO Box 2712
Atlanta, GA 30301-2712
(404) 651-0348
http://www.aisnet.org

IEEE Computer Society
1730 Massachusetts Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20036
(202) 371-0101
http://www.computer.org