The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) earlier this month announced new guidance for identifying and coding Federal jobs with program management and project management functions.
OPM worked with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Program Management Policy Council (PMPC) on the new job coding guidance, with the benefit of results “an occupational study on program and project management work,” OPM said.
“The new program and project management codes include (1) Program Manager; (2) Project Manager; (3) Program and Project Manager; and (4) Not Applicable. The new codes, when combined with existing occupational series, will improve identifying Federal program and project management positions and inform talent management activities,” stated the agency.
These changes in coding guidance stem from passage of the Program Management Improvement Accountability Act (PMIAA) in 2016. The law aims to improve practices in project and program management in the Federal government, and to reduce wasteful spending.
OPM Director Kiran Ahuja said the changes will help in several areas, including:
- Improving recruiting;
- Hiring for needed skills by better describing job tasks and functions;
- Identifying critical needs through a common framework; and
- Training and development.
