A project manager is a professional in the field of project management. The project manager is accountable to the project board and has to run the project daily, by planning and executing the project. He/she is the professional (internal or external to the organisation) assigned to lead the project team for achieving the project objectives.
The role of the Project manager and what they do
The project manager’s main responsibility is to accomplish the project objectives by ensuring the project deliver the product(s) according to the time, quality, cost agreed (within tolerance). The professional should manage the constraints of a typical project which are cost, time, scope and quality.
This person is the professional responsible for leading a project from its starting up to execution. This includes planning, delegating, monitoring and controlling. The PM has to focus on managing the people (communication and people management are key competences), and managing  resources. The PM has full responsibility and authority to complete the assigned project.
The Responsibilities of the Project Manager
The responsibilities of a project manager can vary from business to business. Factors like industry, company size, company maturity and company culture  may affect the specific responsibilities but there are some standard responsibilities that most PMs handle.
The project manager’s common responsibilities are:
- Liaise with stakeholders,suppliers, customers, end users
- Define and communicate the project objectives to the team
- Developing the project plans
- Control, monitoring, reporting
- Procurement of the project requirements – workforce, material, technologies
- Managing and leading the project team
- Establish the project’s procedures: risk management, issue management, change management, communication management
- Budgeting
The Competences of the Project Manager
Core competencies according to the PMBok guide are  identifiable in three main skill sets:
- Technical Project management Competences
- Leadership Competences
- Strategic and Business Management Competences
The Technical Project Management Competencies
The technical Project Management Competencies are the core skills of a Project Manager and include:
- Planning
- Time Management
- Execution
- Decision Making
- Critical Thinking
Leadership Competencies
Leadership skills can support long-range strategic objectives:
- People management
- Communication
- Negotiation
- Team building
Strategic and Business Management Competencies
Strategic and Business Management skills means being knowledgeable about the business, and being able to explain it to the project team and stakeholders:
- Strategy
- Goals and Objectives
- Products and Services
- Priorities
The Trends in Project Management
We live in a fast-paced environment where everything is pervaded by a constant transformation and change is the only common value. The number of organizations which are using Project Management procedures are increasing together with the spreading of tools and methods developed to help project managers and their teams to accomplish successfully their projects.
The key trends in Project Management and their impact on the profession of the Project Manager are:
- Having a strategic vision is pivotal
- Change Management as an asset
- Acquisition of Agiles Methodologies
- Integration of AI in project management
A concrete example of what a Project Manager does
Giulia, Project Manager, is in charge of leading the development of an application for time recording and resource utilisation reporting. In the start-up phase, she drafts the Project Brief with objectives, success metrics, a budget of €750,000 and an estimated time frame of three months. She then convenes the kick-off with IT, marketing, internal development teams and business unit stakeholders, defining the project management team structure and work breakdown structure. During planning, she breaks the work down into 4 phases (prototype, minimum release, enhancements, deployment); estimates costs and time and aligns the SLAs with the IT department.
Giulia executes weekly stand-ups, updates the gantt, monitors the earned-value and maintains the risk register: when the supplier reports a two-week delay, he proposes overtime and the reassignment of two internal developers to get back into the baseline. He also conducts a training workshop for 300 users, collecting feedback and adjusting materials.
At the end, it verifies that the system achieves 98% uptime and a 15% increase in the speed of response to customer requests as per the business case; it draws up the lessons learned report highlighting the need for earlier involvement of the data security team.
How much does a Project Manager earn in Belgium?
The national average is around € 75 000 gross per year, or € 4000 net per month. The range is wide: an entry-level starts at € 55 k, while senior profiles exceed €120 k, with peaks over €140 k in high-tech and pharma. Executive roles on strategic portfolios reach over €130 k.
Three variables matter more than others: seniority, geographical area, and industry sector. Each increase in experience can also be worth up to €15,000. The variable component, including bonuses and performance rewards, can account for an additional 5–10%.
Freelancers, on the other hand, charge rates between €40 and €100 per hour, adjusted based on project complexity. Certifications, especially the PMP®, act as multipliers: they can increase salary by as much as one-third. With 5–7 years of experience, a presence in a strong industrial area, and recognised credentials, a project manager can aim for a gross salary of €65,000 to €95,000. Early career salaries typically start around €40,000, with rapid growth in the first five years.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about the Role of a Project Manager
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