Project manager — Kieran Blatchford

Kieran's project management apprenticeship provided him with the knowledge to quickly progress to a project manager 2 (PM2) role

How did you get into project management?

I studied a two-year L4 Associate Project Management apprenticeship at Exeter College one day a week while working four days a week.

When I completed my apprenticeship  I successfully obtained a project manager 1 role at the Met Office. Since then, I have progressed to a project manager 2 position by showing I am competent under the professional competencies aligned in the Project Delivery Capability Framework (PDCF), a government framework in the profession.

What are your main work activities as a project manager?

My days are varied, and my tasks are determined by what point my projects are at in the project lifecycle.

My main priority is driving the delivery of the project by ensuring the project team is on track with tasks.

In the early stage of a project, this may involve me checking that requirements are accurately captured and defined, in alignment with the project and organisational strategic goals.

Whereas, in the implementation phase of a project, I focus on making sure the team is on track for full delivery, helping with any challenges that arise and keeping the project on track to deliver what has been set out.

How has your role developed and what are your career ambitions?

As I have progressed from apprentice, to PM1 and now to PM2, the level of responsibility in my role has increased. With each progression, I'm expected to handle a more pressured workload, and the project is of a higher value and level of importance.

The main metric that the organisation grades a project on is complexity, therefore the projects that I am responsible for are now much more complex than when I started my career.

My career ambition is to obtain RICS chartership, as this will confirm and evidence my competence in managing high-profile and high-value construction projects. For now, I will build the relevant experience needed for this process.

What do you enjoy about working as a project manager?

A large part of project management is problem solving, which is the element that I most enjoy. It’s satisfying to work collectively with the expertise of my team to overcome a problem and ensure the successful delivery of a project.

The variety of my role is also important to me as I do not enjoy repetitive work. Each new challenge that arises helps me develop personally, as well as professionally.

What are the most challenging aspects?

Working in the public sector means that governance plays a big part in all projects. Ensuring that the correct governance is being followed and processes are being adhered to, not only by the internal project team but also by external contractors and suppliers, is sometimes a challenge.

It can mean that a process can take longer than expected, so realistic expectation setting is vital. Managing expectations while driving to deliver a project is a fine balance, sometimes this becomes more of a factor than  first expected and it can lead to some difficult conversations.

Prioritising requirements from the various stakeholders involved in a project can also be a challenge and sometimes there are conflicting priorities. This can be tricky to navigate, especially when some stakeholders are more senior than others.

Establishing agreed project aims and expected outputs is essential at the start of a project, as it can help shape the direction of the project and ensure that there is no creep in scope.

What advice do you have for someone who wants to be a project manager?

If a career in project management appeals to you then try to identify a role that relates to your experience. Project management is a vast and growing profession and there are varying types of projects.

Although technical knowledge and experience within a specific field are not required for getting into this role, it can help if you have some experience or knowledge of the area you wish to work in. For example, someone with an IT-related background would have an advantage working in an IT project manager role.

Invest some time into gaining knowledge in project management methodologies. Depending on the sector and the organisation you’re looking at, the two main project management qualification providers are APM and Prince2.

Project management is as much about soft skills as it is about qualifications and direct project management experience. It’s about problem solving, being good at making decisions, being efficient with your time management, having the ability to communicate well and managing conflict and building positive relationships with people. If you feel that you are good at these things then give it a go.

Find out more

• Read all about being a project manager.
• Take a look at the business, consulting and management sector.