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Standard Org Chart and Role Descriptions

Introduction
This job aid supports completion of the Human Resources Plan section of a Project Plan,
which calls for an organization chart and role descriptions for different team members.
If you are writing a Project Plan, this job aid provides some materials to get you started.
The generic organization chart can be your starting point just customize the
organization chart to reflect the size and structure of your project
Like the organization chart, the role descriptions provided here can be customized to
develop role descriptions for project team members
If you are unfamiliar with Project Sponsors, Steering Committees, Advisory
Committees, and Project Management Offices, some introductory information is
provided for basic orientation
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Standard Organization Chart for a Project
(Insert Name)
Project Manager
(Insert Name)
Project Sponsor
Steering Committee
(Insert Member Names
or Titles)
Advisory Committee
(Insert Member Names
or Titles and Orgs)
(Insert Name of Team) (Insert Name of Team)
(Insert Name)
Team Member
(Insert Name)
Team Member
(Insert Name)
Team Member
(Insert Name)
Team Member
Project Management Office
(Insert Name)
PMO Lead
(Insert Name)
Administrative Assistant
(Insert Name)
Team Lead
(Insert Name)
Team Lead
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Example Organization Chart for a Project
Dr. Nawal Al-Taweel
Project Manager
Shiekh Faisal Al-Thani
Secretary General
Project Sponsor
Steering Committee
Dr. M Al-Asiri, Director of Finance
Ms. A Al-Qadi, Director of HR
Mr. H Al-Humaidi, Director of IT
Mr. K Al-Mannai, Director of Policy
Advisory Committee
Mr. R Al-Muhannadi, MOH
Mr. S Al Rashed, MOI
Ms. T Al-Sada, SEC
Mr. H Al-Rumaihi, SCFA
Mr. S AlAmmar, MOF
Design Team Research Team
Ms. Sarah Al-Malki
Team Member
Mr. Ali Al-Kaabi
Team Member
Mr. Jabor Al-Kuwari
Researcher
Mr. Mohammed Al-Qadi
Researcher
Project Management Office
Mr. Rashed Al-Ammari
PMO Lead
Mrs. Hanna Gahl
Administrative Assistant
Ms. Hind Al-Naama
Design Team Lead
Dr. Hamad Al-Kulfi
Research Team Lead
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Sponsor
Sponsor Background:
The Project Sponsor is the manager or executive within
an organization who oversees a project and delegates
authority to the Project Manager.
Sponsor Characteristics:
Generally provides the project budget
Has sufficient authority to direct all the staff
involved in a project or as many as possible
Has sufficient authority or influence to get the
cooperation of key stakeholders
Sponsor Role Description:
Approves Plan, Schedule, and Budget
Ensures project is aligned with organizational
strategy and compliant with policy
Ensures project makes good use of assets
Maintains project focus on its goal and outcomes
Verifies project progress against its Plan
Monitors effectiveness of Project Manager
Chairs the Steering Committee
Approves final deliverables
Removes any roadblocks to project success
Approves significant changes to the project scope,
timeline, budget, or quality
Communicates about the project inside the agency
and with external stakeholders
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Steering Committee
Steering Committee:
A group of senior managers responsible for business
issues affecting the project
They may:
Have budget approval authority
Make decisions about changes in goals and scope
Be the highest authority to resolve issues or
disputes
Steering Committee Role Description:
Ensures project is aligned with organizational
strategy and compliant with policy
Ensures project makes good use of assets
Assist with resolving strategic level issues and risks
Approve or reject changes to the project with a high
impact on timelines and budget
Assess project progress and report on project to
senior management and higher authorities
Provide advice and guidance on business issues
facing the project
Use influence and authority to assist the project in
achieving its outcomes
Review and approve final project deliverables
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How do Sponsors and Steering
Committees Govern Projects?
How is project governance carried out?
Review project documents, such as Plans and
Status Reports, looking for evidence that the
project is in the interests of the organization and
uses assets responsibly
In discussions and decisions, advocate for what
you believe is best for the organization and its
stakeholders
Require that the Project Manager and team
demonstrate competence, ethics, and compliance
with organizational policy
Who can govern a project?
Senior manager of the funding organization as a
SPONSOR
Senior mangers of the funding organization or
stakeholder representatives as STEERING
COMMTITEE MEMBERS
Who cannot govern a project?
Project Manager or other team member
They will not be seen as objective judges of
their own work and conduct
What is Governance?
Oversight to ensure that Directors and Managers
Act in the interests of the organization
Are accountable for their use of assets
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Advisory Committee
Advisory Committee Background
An Advisory Committee is a group of people who
represent key project stakeholders and provide
advice to the Project.
Like Steering Committees, Advisory Committees
are generally made up of Managers often quite
senior ones. Unlike Steering Committees,
Advisory Committees do not make decisions
regarding a project.
Advisory Committee Role
Provide insights to the team regarding
Stakeholder interests
Technical advice
Other relevant initiatives
Assist with resolving issues and risks
Use influence and authority to assist the
project in achieving its outcomes
Communicate about the project in their
organizations
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Role of a Project Manager
Project Manager Background
Project Managers have overall responsibility for meeting
project requirements within the agreed to time, cost,
scope and quality constraints outlined in the Project
Plan.
Project Managers report to Project Sponsors, who have
delegated their authority to the Project Manager.
Project Manager Role Description
Supervise and provide technical direction to project
team
Provide weekly Project Status Reports to the
Project Sponsor
Chair Advisory Committee meetings
Chair weekly team status meetings
Chair Risk and Change Control Committees (if
these exist for a project)
Attend Steering Committee meetings and prepare
supporting materials with the Project Sponsor
(agendas, presentations)
Execute project management processes: risk,
issues, change, quality, and document management
Ensure Project Plan, Schedule, and Budget are up-
to-date; detect and manage variances
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Team Lead
Team Lead Background
A Team Lead is a person responsible for managing one
part of a project, or a subproject. This position only
exists on larger projects.
Team Leads ideally have project management skills,
including human resource management, in addition to
relevant technical skills.
Team Lead Role Description
Supervise and provide technical direction to sub-
team members
Review all sub-team deliverables
Hold regular sub-team status meetings
Provide regular status reports to Project Manager
Attend Team Lead meetings and Project Status
Meetings
Manage and resolve team-level risks, issues, and
changes
Ensure team is using the project management
processes outlined by the PMO in its Process Plans
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Team Member
Team Member Background
A person assigned to a team who is responsible for
performing some of the project activities.
Team members may:
Report directly or indirectly to the project manager
Be assigned to work part-time or full-time on the
project
Team Member Role Description
In your role description for a team members, list the:
Major activities they will do
Deliverables they will produce
You can list other responsibilities and expectations, such
as:
Attendance at status meetings or other meetings
Compliance with standards
Participation in project management processes
such as risk, issue, and document management
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Why are PMOs are Needed on Large
Projects?
Frees time of Project Manager to focus on
Priority risks
Priority issues
Stakeholder alignment
Technical challenges
Ensures administrative tasks are completed
Projects often have trouble competing for the time of administrative support staff
in the permanent organization
Brings Subject Matter Experts needed in larger, more complex projects
Financial management
Human resource management
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A PMO Can Have Two Roles
1. Project Management Role
Support Project Manager by helping:
Mobilize the team (project start up)
Write and update PM deliverables:
Project Definition Document
Project Plan, Schedule, Budget
Project Manual
Status Reports
Manage project management processes:
Risk management
Issue management
Change control
Quality management
Document management
Configuration management
Project evaluation
Support and track approvals
2. Administrative Role
Maintain budget/bookkeeping
Process expenses
Arrange travel
Manage facilities
Procure supplies and equipment
Manage contracts
Manage documents filing project deliverables,
meeting minutes, contracts, logs
Support status meeting for team, Steering and
Advisory Committee facilities, agenda, minutes
Managing HR -- recruiting, orienting, and arranging
training for team members, keeping vacation
schedules, conducting exit interviews
A PMO can have two roles: (i) project management support and (ii) administration. Every time a PMO is established,
it must define its role. Use the lists below as a checklist or menu to choose from when determining the role for your
PMO.
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Project Management Office (PMO) Lead
PMO Lead Background
The PMO Lead supervises the team that provides
project management and administrative support to the
Project Manager.
The PMO should have strong project management
technical skills, including the human resources
management skills to supervise others working in the
PMO effectively.
PMO Lead Role Description
To construct the PMO Lead role description:
Select from the menu of potential PMO
responsibilities on the PMOs Have Two Roles
slide
If the PMO has a team working in it, include the
responsibilities found in the Team Leader slide
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Other Project Role Descriptions 1 of 2
Project Director
The Project Director reports to the Project Sponsor and
supervises the Project Manager. This position is
normally held by a senior manager with responsibility for
more than one project.
It is common to use Project Directors when the Project
Manager is an External Consultant.
Responsibilities are as follows:
Oversee projects and work of Project Manager
Ensure integration of project with other projects
and organizational priorities
Change Control Committee
A committee responsible for approving or rejecting
changes to the Project Plan. It is typically seen on IT
projects, and members typically represent program and
project management; software and hardware
engineering; testing; documentation; customer support;
and marketing.
Responsibilities are as follows:
Review and approve the Change Control Plan
Ensure the change control process is executed
effectively
Review changes and make decisions within the
limits of authority (re budget and timeline)
Escalate changes to senior management that
require decisions above the committees level of
authority
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Other Project Role Descriptions 2 of 2
Risk Manager
The Risk Manager reports either to the Project Manager
or PMO Lead and takes responsibility for executing the
risk management process for a project. This role is
usually only seen on large and sensitive projects.
Responsibilities are as follows:
Identifying risks
Analyzing (quantifying and prioritizing) risks
Planning responses to risks
Ensures response plans are executed
Documenting and tracking risks
Writing Contingency Plans
Involving the team and external stakeholders in
the process as required
Risk Control Committee
A committee responsible for overseeing and
participating in the projects risk management process.
Members should have business knowledge relevant to
the project and should represent key stakeholders.
Responsibilities are as follows:
Review and approve the Risk Management Plan
Ensure the Risk Management Plan is executed
effectively
Assist with identification of risks
Advise on how to respond to risks