Course Overview 

Project managers often find themselves coordinating and handling the administrative functions of an organisation’s projects and programs.

What does a project administrator do?

A project administrator typically supports the project manager, to develop project plans and follow-up on tasks as required. The typical day-to-day duties of a project administrator involve planning, scheduling, communicating with team members and stakeholders. Additionally – maintaining records, and performing administrative duties.

What skills does a project administrator need?

They need to display a sharp business mindset while delivering innovative strategies to meet project objectives. The skills required in project administration are highly versatile; ranging from strong communication abilities, excellent time management, and a display of informal leadership capability.

In this dynamic role, the Project Administrators are responsible for providing efficient logistical, project, and financial administrative support to the Project Management team. Project Administrators should be effective at planning and monitoring work, be good at resolving conflicts and be able to work well under pressure. They would typically work closely with the Head of Project Management Office, the Monitoring, Evaluation, Impact and Learning Project Analyst, and Project Managers.

In this Zoe training course, we will show you practical ways to explore and understand your goals from the outset of your project and consider all the factors that may affect its execution. This course will detail how to plan, scope the project, administer costs, and manage stakeholders, through the project lifecycle. The course will also enable you to explore how to communicate effectively, manage to report, and employ leadership skills to administer all the projects successfully.

This Project Administration course is a great opportunity for someone keen to pursue a career in Project Management through developing presentation skills and learning new ones and will allow the participants to develop a competitive advantage in this untapped market segment.

Course Objectives 

• Demonstrate an advanced understanding of key concepts, principles, and practice of project planning, project administration, and project controls
• Develop practical project management skills and tools for navigating, planning, and executing projects
• Understand the key aspects of Project communication and be able to effectively manage stakeholders
• Understand a project plan by identifying the scope, task dependencies, schedule, critical path, and risks
• Identify deliverables and break down the project into subprojects and define the sub-project deliverables
• Understand the various stages of a project life cycle and the related activities in each stage
• Understand the roles and responsibilities within a project and the different levels of empowerment concerning requirements and the business case
• Identify the critical factors to project success
• Develop the required change management skills to support change in the organisation
• Develop the skills to identify the most relevant project administration methodology to use, given the project objectives, the degrees of uncertainty, and the constraints
• Practice effective project planning, coordination, communication, problem-solving techniques, and stakeholder management through real-world case studies and simulations

Training Methodology

This collaborative Project Administration Course will comprise the following training methods:

• Lectures
• Seminars & Presentations
• Group Discussions
• Assignments
• Case Studies & Functional Exercises

Like all Zoe’s acclaimed courses, this program also follows the ‘Do-Review-Learn-Apply’ model.

Organisational Benefits

The organisation will derive the following benefits, from the professionals who take this course:

• Professionals who manage and administer projects effectively, enabling the organisation to deliver projects promptly
• A project administration approach that drives a better-quality output and higher productivity
• Integration of project progress, resources, and risk strategies into a dynamic, manageable plan
• Informal training of other employees on project management tools and techniques for greater project delivery and efficiency
• Maintain a continuous improvement on project performance and control risks against project costs and delivery
• An ability to produce clear and concise project progress reports
• Better risk assessment and management, and timely mitigation of risks to avoid projects from failing
• Effective management and coordination of project teams, and stakeholders
• Better decision-making for the organisation based on key insights on data, information & analytics
• Control of project documentation
• The capture of valuable project lessons that can be used to define and improve project management practices within the organisation

Personal Benefits

Professionals attending this course will benefit through the following ways:

• Develop a deep understanding of the practices and skills needed to succeed in a project administration role
• Establish the foundational knowledge of the philosophy, the approach, and the methodology of Project Management
• Develop greater skills and understanding to effectively manage Projects, Stakeholder collaborations, and communications within the organisation
• Develop time and organisation management skills, that will help implement high-quality work
• Increase the experience and confidence to train other professionals and project team members, on industrial best practices
• Develop better skillsets and capabilities to introduce advanced processes and concepts, and to be able to successfully handle the role, with the least effort
• Enhance their perspective and foresight to effectively assess future risks, and recommend sound recommendations
• Improve negotiation and communication skills to build rapport and facilitate a shift in mindset within the project teams
• Develop and document project documentation efficiently throughout the various phases of a project
• Stay up to date on best practices and industry trends, and upcoming changes in the new age
• Establish a major step in your career developing the skills, techniques, and confidence to work effectively in a project management environment

Who Should Attend?

• Business Leaders who wish to understand the fundamentals of Project Management
• New Project Managers, Project Administrators, and Projects Coordinators
• Project / Agile / Scrum team members who wish to pursue a career in Project management
• Project team members who wish to learn on how to manage small projects within the Functional/Business area
• Any Individuals/professionals wishing to pursue the Project administration certificate, and move on to achieving Project Management certification

Course Outline

Module 1: Introduction to Project Management

• Fundamentals Of Project Management
• Introduction to project management concepts, methodologies
• Key project management tools
• Stages of Project Life-cycle
• Project vs Program vs Portfolio Management

Module 2: Project Administration

• Overview of Project administration principles and modern management practices
• Project planning and scheduling overview
• Maintaining relevant project data in various systems about capacity, new opportunities, and general project records
• Maintain an efficient filing protocol for project documentation
• Assist with the creation of Project Initiation/Charter documents for new projects
• Establishing resource capacity data regularly, and communicating analysis to the Project Manager

Module 3: Project Team Administration

• Provide day-to-day administrative support to the project management team
• Set up team meetings, take/record meeting minutes, and allocate actions, as necessary
• Assistance with the monitoring, and reporting of progress on projects
• Assistance with project travel arrangements, as required
• Supporting ad-hoc requests from project team members
• Ensuring project timesheets are completed weekly

Module 4: Financial Administration

• Updating the team’s project financial reports
• Assistance with project financial forecasting
• Processing and raising PO numbers for invoices
• Set up time management tools and expenses tracking tools for each project
• Establish a liaison between the Project Management and Finance teams

Module 5: Understanding the Project Charter

• Understanding a project
• Project Objectives / Goals
• Project Scoping
• Team Roles and Responsibilities
• Project Monitoring & Evaluation
• Developing and upkeep of a Project Charter

Module 6: Understanding Project Scheduling, Gantt Charts, and Critical Path

• Understanding Project Scheduling
• Understanding Project Activities
• Sequence Activities
• Sequencing project tasks
• Excel Gantt Chart
• Dependencies among project activities
• Project duration and oversight of the critical path
• Perform Integrated Change Control

Module 7: Risk Management

• Determining the project environment
• FMEA
• Identify and assess project risks
• Prioritize and schedule project risks
• Risk Mitigation – Plan Risk Responses
• Issue Management

Module 8: Understanding Project Failure and Critical Success Factors

• Reasons for Project Failure
• Understanding Project Success
• Current and Emerging Industry Trends

Module 9: Understanding of Windows and Microsoft Office Applications

• Overview of Windows 7 & 10
• Microsoft Word Overview
• Microsoft Excel Overview
• Microsoft Outlook Overview
• Microsoft PowerPoint Overview
• Internet Fundamentals & Google Search

Module 10: Communication & Organisational skills Overview

• Communication skills overview (Verbal and written)
• Listening skills overview
• Communicating across cultures and with diverse stakeholders
• Identification of Project Stakeholders/stakeholder matrix
• Stakeholder management and communication
• Customer service skills
• Organisational skills

Module 11: Problem-Solving and Teamworking Skills Overview

• Tools and techniques for Problem-Solving, Teamworking
• Six Thinking Hats
• Brainstorming
• Exercises and simulations

Module 12: Decision-making and Negotiation Skills Overview

• Tools and techniques for Decision-making and Negotiation Skills
• Pareto Technique
• Organisational Decision Making
• Democratic Decision Making
• Strategic Negotiation
• Negotiation Scenarios
• Simulations