Choose the project manager, project sponsor, senior management group and other roles

Provider:

Training and Development Agency

Topics:

Targeted youth support

Type:

Information and guidance

Date:

September 2006

Each local authority should set up the TYS project according to its normal project management governance framework. Within this framework, the roles of project manager, project sponsor and senior management group are key to the success of the project. It is therefore crucial during Mobilise to understand the role that each plays and the skills each needs, get the right people in post and the right mechanisms in place and provide the right training where necessary.

The 'roles and resourcing' PowerPoint provides further details of these bodies and roles, including estimated time requirements for each.

The project should be set up from the start based on good project management practice. This should include appropriate emphasis on planning key milestones, analysing risks, identifying and communicating with all stakeholders and setting up sound project governance. Given the complexity of the TYS agenda, it will be particularly crucial to manage the emotional and political elements of the project.

The director of children's services (DCS) should actively support the TYS project. Visible support from the DCS can transform TYS from being just another project to being seen as an initiative at the core of children's services mainstream business.

The project sponsor is responsible for ensuring the TYS project is implemented successfully, to make a real difference in the lives of vulnerable young people in the area. The sponsor is the driving force behind the project and is critical to its success.

The project manager leads the development of the TYS project across the children's trust, using this toolkit's tools and processes as a basis. Click to see some personal accounts from project managers to help bring this role alive.

The senior management group monitors and guides the project's overall progress, and ensures that it delivers the benefits. The group provides leadership and makes decisions on behalf of the organisations that each member represents.

The project will need administrative support to arrange meetings and workshops, to help with data entry and analysis, and to support the project manager in creating project deliverables as required.

The project will need facilitators for workshops, to perform focused interviews and, optionally, to facilitate change team meetings during the Develop stage.

During the Develop stage, the project will need change team leaders and members to develop the solutions for targeted youth support. These will be drawn from across agencies and should have knowledge of and enthusiasm for the specific objectives of the change team.

Resource planning

The 'roles and resourcing' PowerPoint provides estimates for the resource requirements for each of the above roles. While each authority has different needs, it is important to be prepared for the level of resources that you will need to make the project a success - and, in particular, sustainable. Setting expectations across agencies at an early stage will help people prepare for the requirements ahead.

Click for other activities supporting the Mobilise stage of the targeted youth support change process, or for an overview of the Mobilise stage.

Associated documents

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Last updated on 26/04/2009