Project Management Specialist Hiring Guide

by | December 29, 2020

If you are a business or a company implementing new projects, onboarding a project specialist is one of the best decisions. A project specialist brings a wealth of experience and expertise essential for gaining competencies and competitive advantage. Because of their varied backgrounds, high experience, and an in-depth understanding of project implementation procedures, their market knowledge goes beyond that of your regular employees.

Typically, project management specialists are responsible for managing work from the start to the end through the specific application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques. They play a crucial role in implementing changes that will encourage business growth and propel your organization forward.

What does a project management specialist do?

Although Project management specialist roles vary depending on the project at hand, this position requires specialized knowledge in a specific career field. Ideally, project management specialists design action plans to increase productivity, keep projects on schedule for completion, and manage project costs. It is a top management job that requires the right person to lead entire project staff teams and keep project goals well-coordinated. Project management specialists also ensure the projects are completed in time and within the budget. They report to supervisors and top-level company managers.

Where to find remote freelance project management specialists?

Hiring freelance project management specialists offer you an opportunity to work with highly talented individuals on specific projects you need them for. Freelancers also enable you to keep your overhead to a minimum while gaining access to skills sets from a large pool of talented workforce. The following are some of the ideal platforms where you can find the perfect freelancer with the specific skills set you are looking for:

  • Zirtual- Zirtual is a top-notch recruiting platform that matches employers with highly talented remote workers, including exceptional project management specialists. The platform provides employers with convenient and affordable options to hire outstanding talent for all kinds of projects.
  • LinkedIn– LinkedIn is one of the top websites to find talented freelancers. The website provides essential background information, testimonials, and other crucial information about the specific freelancers who can handle a particular project.
  • Upwork, Freelancer, and Fiverr– you can rely on websites like Upwork.com, Freelancer.com, and Fiverr.com to find the ideal freelancer for your projects. These platforms enable you to filter through candidates based on their reviews, job success rates, and other crucial criteria.
  • Remote job boards– you can post your jobs on remote specific sites such as RemoteWorkHub.com and FlexJobs.com to identify top talent to help manage your projects.

 Other hiring platforms to consider include:

Top Responsibilities for Project Managers

The essential duties and responsibilities of a project management specialist include:

Analysis of project needs

The project management specialist identifies products and personnel needed to complete a project at hand. They also design an action plan and identify implementation and management tools that guarantee that the project runs smoothly and is completed within time.

Manage schedules and budgets

A critical role of a project management specialist is to ensure the project at hand runs as per the schedule and doesn’t overshoot the budgets. They are required to provide a detailed cost analysis and timetable reports regularly to their superiors.

Determine project priority

An essential duty of a project management specialist is dividing tasks according to priority. They determine which projects are most crucial to the company and divide available resources based on project urgency.

Analysis of reports

The project management specialist must receive regular updates and reports on projects’ status from all the staff assigned to various projects and analyze the information. This information helps identify potential problems so that timely intervention is done and projects are completed within time and budget.

Creation of presentations

Project management specialists are also required to create visual and written presentations on projects’ status through pout different stages. These presentations are used to update supervisors, clients, and project staff team members on the project’s status at a given time.

Monitor project performance

A project management specialist monitors projects’ status and the team’s performance around the clock to ensure everything is done as planned and within the scheduled time.

Assigning duties

As the lead person in charge of the project being implemented, the specialist assigns duties and tasks to project staff depending on their experience and qualifications. This guarantees the team coordinates seamlessly to ensure continuous and efficient working.

Tools and Platforms To Help Your New Project Management Specialist Get On-boarded quickly

Employee onboarding is crucial for both the worker and the employer. If you are hiring and training a remote project management specialist, every critical business detail, from the company culture to basic management procedures, has to be passed through the internet. This process can be quite confusing and frustrating for you and your new hire. But you can use the following onboarding tools to streamline your onboarding processes:

  • Slack– Slack is an ideal video chat app that allows you to communicate with your workers through chats seamlessly. You can also launch informal conferences and co-working sessions when need be
  • ProProfs Knowledge Base– ProfProfs app is designed to be simple, powerful, and feature-rich. It helps you create an online employee handbook to familiarize new employees with work vision, mission, policies, culture, and dynamics. It is an ideal tool for creating a company-wide knowledge platform. Your team can access the platform through tablets, mobile phones, and laptops.
  • Obie.ai–  Obie.ai is a learning software that ingrates with essential business applications like slack, Dropbox, Google doc. Your new hire can ping the chatbots to get answers to all of their pertinent questions.
  • Zenefits– this platform offers free HR automation benefits, including payroll, compliance oversight, and productivity oversights. The employees can also use the platform to view their next pay date, complete paperwork, and review pay stubs.

 Other top onboarding tools to consider are:

  • Gusto
  • Kisssflow
  • Asana
  • Scoro
  • IDoneThis
  • Basecamp
  • BambooHR

Key Takeaway

As your business grows, so does your need for highly specialist workers. If you are undertaking a new project in 2021, consider bringing on board an ideal project management specialist to keep your projects on course and ensure it is being conducted according to your specifications or clients’ needs. If you need help hiring a remote project management specialist, don’t hesitate to contact Zirtual. Zirtual features a top-notch recruiting platform that matches employers with highly talented remote workers.