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What Is a PMO Administrator?

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Project management is often seen as a critical activity in workplaces today, because it helps companies to react quickly to market changes. Some companies even establish project management offices to provide for common processes, documentation, training and oversight of projects in the workplace. PMO administrators help to keep all those things organized. These administrators control documents, facilitate communication between the project office and stakeholders and collect data to meet reporting requirements.

Document Management

PMO administrators manage and control documents, such as form templates, meeting minutes, reports, plans and schedules. As PMO staff members update these documents, the administrator ensures only the latest versions are available for use by PMO team members. Properly controlling revision levels prevents team members from making decisions based on old or incorrect information. The administrator also manages the office's document management software application to keep the content organized and user friendly.

Training Coordination

PMO administrators coordinate and schedule training classes to advance the skills and capabilities of project managers and educate employees about changes to work processes resulting from the projects the office is managing. The administrator works with educational organizations and processes payments against invoices received. If the training is conducted in the workplace, the administrator reserves conference rooms along with the necessary technology for the training session in the form of presentation video displays.

Communication

Communication is often a key responsibility of the PMO's administrator. The administrator regularly distributes information to project team members, PMO staff members and other stakeholders in the workplace who are or will be affected by the PMO's projects. Administrators in large, international companies should be able to communicate effectively across cultures and working with people for whom English is a second language. The administrator also must account for time zone differences in support of communication schedules to make sure information exchanges meet deadlines.

Reporting

Administrators oversee the establishment, creation and distribution of reports. The PMO is responsible for presenting status information for all projects to leadership teams. Reports show project status and health, resource availability, cost management and performance metrics. The administrator is responsible for collecting data from computer systems, updating reports and releasing information to meet schedules. Since projects represent change in the workplace, the act of creating and distributing informed reports provides a proactive communication plan to track and manage stakeholder information.

References
Writer

A careers content writer, Debra Kraft is a former English teacher whose 25-plus year corporate career includes training and mentoring. She holds a senior management position with a global automotive supplier and is a senior member of the American Society for Quality. Her areas of expertise include quality auditing, corporate compliance, Lean, ERP and IT business analysis.

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