Westpac work perks up PMs

If you're a project manager in Australia, there's good and bad news for you on the employment front. The on-going Westpac/St George integration is driving demand for PMs in an otherwise quiet hiring market, but banks have raised the recruitment bar and compensation is falling.

"All roads have led to Westpac," in terms of both the supply and demand of project managers, says Andre Waitsman of Dean & Ling Executive Search.

"It has been in the most fortunate position of having the pick of hundreds of project managers, change managers and business analysts, most of whom have approached it directly," he adds.

Westpac and, to a lesser extent CBA after its Bankwest takeover, need PMs because integration generates work that can't be put on hold, even in the current cost-cutting environment. And across the banking industry, PM roles have arisen almost exclusively in essential projects, such as IT legacy system replacements, process reengineering, and procurement.

As banks retreat to their core projects in the wake of the financial crisis, PM vacancies have fallen overall compared to a year ago. And with demand dwindling, firms can afford to be fussier about who their hire.

Waitsman explains: "About 12 to 18 months ago, projects were booming across all sectors and provided that candidates had previously demonstrated some PM capability, they had a good chance of securing a role. Currently, companies are being very specific about subject-matter expertise and accreditation of project management methodologies."

It's now more difficult to move into project management without experience, so don't assume you can become a PM just because you've managed staff in a line capacity.

"Banks are coming to us with a bit of a shopping list of expectations for their PMs. They are particularly after lifer, hands-on project managers who have come up though the ranks," says Andrew Blades, a team manager at Aristotle.

Successful candidates will usually be PMs with banking backgrounds. "This is due to a number of factors including product knowledge, credibility and how the project manager manages risks. There is currently a perception that the market is candidate rich and locating project managers with banking and finance experience should be possible," adds Waitsman.

Banks also want two-in-one candidates for their IT roles. Blades gives the example of someone who understands PM methodologies, but can also "get stuck in and cut code or help lay infrastructure."

Most contracts are fixed-term, typically lasting three to 12 months, and then rolling depending on the project. "This means PMs are not getting the luxury of contracting rates, but are not getting the certainty of being permanently employed either," says Blades.

Waitsman adds that some project managers claim they are being paid about 15 to 20 per cent below what they were getting a year ago.