Project & Programme Manager Jobs Market April 2023
It is normal for new projects and programmes to not be in full swing until towards the end of Q1 due to the financial year end coinciding with the calendar year for many organisations as well as the commencement of the year being a planning phase and this year is no exception. Year-on-year we have noticed a small reduction in the number of projects and programmes to kick off in the first two months of the year but we are also privy to a significant number of planned initiatives that are in the pipeline for the remainder of the year.
The most active sectors are financial services (e.g., retail banking, investment banking, funds & insurance), health, pharma, public sector and to a small degree software product companies. The attention-grabbing layoffs that have been shaking the tech world are less pronounced in the project and programme management arena.
Nonetheless, the global macroeconomic uncertainty and contraction don’t go unnoticed and reduced confidence in market conditions lessens the conviction for discretionary spending. The world waits to see if the US and Europe will fall into a full-blown recession.
Practically, all projects and programmes in flight are being taken to fruition and the never-ending march of regulation and compliance is triggering forthcoming projects and programmes as well as the drive for efficiency.
We will likely see more M&A activity over the coming year due to reduced equity prices and company valuations. This will result in further transformation initiatives and opportunities for strong PMs.
The impact of the reduced demand has been a decline in permanent salaries in the range of 3-5% and the next 2 months will determine if this trend continues or is reversed. The contracting day rates have seen an adjustment in the range of negative 5-10%. The shorter-term impact of supply and demand tends to result in a more significant rate swing and this kind of adjustment is not an out of line with expectations.
Since software product companies seldom hire Project Managers or Programme Managers, the recent flare of tech sector redundancies has had a muted if any, ripple effect on the project and programme management domain. Projects are not being cancelled, they are being completed.
For more information on the current Project & Programme Manager jobs market and the latest salary bands, please download our IT Salary Survey below.