A typical career path involves starting as a PMO Analyst, then moving on to Specialist, and finally managing complex portfolios. Direct project experience, leadership soft skills and international credentials are essential.

Project portfolio management suites (e.g. MS Project Online, Clarity, Jira), collaboration tools (Teams, Slack) and reporting platforms (Power BI, Tableau).

Mainly in IT, telecommunications, banking, pharmaceuticals and large utilities, but it is also growing in public administration and manufacturing.

The PMO is a cross-functional governance and support function that sets standards and monitors the portfolio. The Project Manager, on the other hand, leads a single project and has day-to-day operational responsibilities.

It is not mandatory, but certifications such as P3O® and MoP® increase credibility and facilitate integration into structured organisations.