Resource management offers a range of exciting career paths. From resource coordinator to manager to RMO director… Plan your future here.
If you’re a resource management professional with big dreams, there’s plenty of scope to spread those wings and fly all the way to the C-suite.
But what does a typical resource management career path look like? How can a resource manager progress to RMO director and higher? And what do you need to do to make it happen?
Whether you’re an ambitious resource management pro ready to grow, or an organization looking for ways to retain and develop resource management talent, start by reading this guide to resource management career and professional development.
Let’s start with the basics. What jobs are available in resource management and what do they entail? Unless you’re entering the profession with experience from another sector, these are the rungs of the career ladder you’ll be climbing.
An administrative role that supports a resource management team by providing assistance such as maintaining resource databases, coordinating schedules, managing documentation, and being a first point of contact for resourcing inquiries.
An operational role focused on tracking resource allocations and availability, and ensuring the right personnel are assigned to projects. This position requires strong organizational skills and involves communicating with project managers and team members to optimize resource utilization and address any conflicts.
Got a Resource Manager job interview? Be prepared with these 12+ interview questions ➡️
Similar operational duties to a junior resource manager but with more strategic oversight. Advanced duties include developing resource management processes, project scheduling, and risk management.
Plus – of course – developing relationships with resources to understand individual career aspirations and align project assignments with career development goals. Read more about what a resource manager is and does ➡️
Program managers are responsible for overseeing resource management across a program or portfolio of projects, ensuring that resources are allocated efficiently and effectively to meet strategic objectives.
This role involves developing and implementing strategic frameworks for resource allocation, performance optimization, and risk management.
Going for a Senior Resource Manager job interview? Check out these interview questions ➡️
This role typically heads up a centralized Resource Management Office, overseeing the strategies, processes, and teams involved in resource management for large businesses.
At Director level, you’ll be involved in high-level strategic direction – requiring cross-functional liaison with other departments to ensure resource allocations are prioritized and aligned to organizational strategy – as well as overseeing organizational change initiatives, such as resourcing for growth, or even setting up an RMO from scratch.
With an oversight of strategic resource management and operational objectives, many Directors of Resource Management transition into Chief Operating Officer roles, where they oversee the company’s operational framework, including resource management strategies.
The COO is responsible for ensuring that all operational activities are aligned with the company’s mission and objectives, leading initiatives to improve efficiency and effectiveness across all departments.
In resource management, we often talk about putting the right people in the right place at the right time.
In your own career development, you also need to focus on three rights – doing the right things, developing the right skills, and impressing the right people.
The first and most important thing if you want to advance your career in resource management is to excel in your current position.
This will help you deliver great results and show that you’re engaged and ambitious – not just doing the bare minimum. As you develop a reputation for reliability and competence, you'll build trust with your peers and superiors, and position yourself for the next opening in your team.
If you’re new in post, make a positive first impression with this guide to what to do in your first 30-60-90 days as a resource manager.
And check out these articles on achieving success as a resource manager, plus the biggest resource management mistakes to avoid ➡️
To progress to the next level in your career, it’s essential that you develop and demonstrate your competency in the relevant resource management skills. These include – but aren’t limited to – the following.
You can develop your skills through formal training program – see below – or by asking for in-house opportunities that challenge and develop you on the job.
Remember, you are the captain of your ship. Don’t wait to be offered opportunities for skills development because they may not come. Know what you want to learn and proactively pursue it.
Advancing in your career often depends on visibility and recognition. Here’s how to ensure you make a positive impression on key decision-makers.
You need to make a good impression on the resources you manage, the team leaders you support, and the decision-makers above you in the organization. Cultivate a reputation as someone with a strategic mindset, excellent interpersonal skills, and strong diplomacy if you want to advance.
Find opportunities to meet and talk with other departments to understand their needs and pain points – then apply your knowledge of resource management to finding mutually beneficial solutions. Your proactive approach will get you noticed – and showing how RM solves business problems will elevate the perception of both you and the role.
If you want to impress, you need to take every opportunity you get. Make sure you can articulate the value that resource management brings to the business. Then condense that down into a 60-second elevator pitch that you’re ready to reel off when you get the chance – like riding in the lift with your COO.
We’ve highlighted the importance of developing the right skills if you want to progress your resource management career. So what are your options?
Currently, there’s not much formal CPD available for resource managers. The main provider is the Resource Management Institute, as you’d expect.
Luckily, we’ve heard great things about their programs:
The Resource Management Certified Professional® program is a globally acknowledged certification specifically designed for resource management professionals.
Offered by the Resource Management Institute, the RMCP® program provides an industry-standard toolkit, methodologies, and shared terminology. This will help you perform your roles more confidently, strategically, and effectively. Here at Runn, we're fans of the RMCP program – read why ➡️
Whatever your career stage, the Resource Management Institute also offers on-demand courses to help you advance your career. From introductory resource management for entry-level roles to soft skills development to help you communicate more effectively and push-back when needed when needed.
There’s also on-demand career development courses, such as strategic resource management and advanced resource management training to help elevate your impact.
There are also numerous resource management training courses out there provided by other online platforms – from formal pathways with higher education providers, to on-demand short courses from the likes of Linkedin Learning to Coursera.
Many MBA courses have modules in human resource management, and though these may have more applicability for HR roles, they can still help you understand the broader business context that will help you succeed as a resource manager.
Of course, career development doesn’t have to take the format of courses and training programs. Self-directed learning is also extremely valuable - and often easier to fit into your schedule. This may come through membership organizations, conferences, and content providers like Runn.
Membership organizations are a great source of information for resource managers. We’ve already mentioned the RMI.
But there are also adjacent member bodies that touch on relevant topics, such as the Project Management Institute. The PMI’s Project Management Book of Knowledge (known as the PMBOK) is packed with insights on effective resource management in a project context, and their regular surveys often include information to help you benchmark your performance.
Plus, there will also be membership bodies that are relevant to the sector you work in, that may cover effective resource management in their resource library.
We’d love you to think of Runn as your partner in learning. We have freely available resources for ambitious resource managers, including:
There are also several resource management conferences you can attend, to boost your skills, network with like-minded professionals, and learn lessons from fellow resource managers. These include:
Networking is so important in a sector that’s still establishing itself as a key strategic function for business success. Let’s get on the same page and support one another as we raise awareness and elevate the reputation of our profession.
It isn’t just individuals that should aspire to career progression. Organizations should be looking at opportunities to advance their resource managers within the business – both to retain their skills and expertise, and to reduce the costs associated with hiring external candidates.
So what could your business do to support RMs to progress?
Offer RMs access to training courses to develop their technical, interpersonal, and management skills. In a smaller organization, these are likely to be externally provided – see above. However, larger organizations may prefer to develop their own in-house.
Provide time to complete training, knowing it is an investment in higher performance and engagement.
Motivate and retain resource managers by providing clear career progression within the organization. Map out clear career ladders, starting from entry-level RM roles up to senior and leadership positions like Director of Resource Management or Head of RMO.
Include descriptions of responsibilities, skills required, and measurable goals for each level.
In smaller organizations, there may not be much scope for internal progression. However, that doesn’t mean losing your staff. Look at opportunities for cross-departmental exposure that could prepare ambitious resource managers to make horizontal moves that retain their experience in the business.
If there’s nowhere to go in your business, accept – with grace – that they may need to move on from your organization.
Take pride in being a training ground for exceptional professionals and know that it will reflect well on you in the external market. And ensure people leave with such a positive experience that they will consider coming back when the right opportunity is available.
