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As the financial services industry finds its feet again – after one of the most prolonged and unsettling downturns in recent memory – there has been a pick-up in opportunities at investment banks for project managers generally and project and control managers in particular.

“There is now a greater need for project work as banks invest in process improvement and new systems implementation as well as change management initiatives,” says Kirstin Duffy, operational director at Morgan McKinley’s banking operations division. Duffy says that project work has undergone a particular revival since the start of 2005.

So what exactly do project and control managers do?

Well, pretty much whatever a bank wants them to. The term “project” covers a broad multitude of sins –anything, say from looking at middle or back office procedures to considering ways of improving an institution’s core revenue or cost centres, all over a definitive time period.

Control management is also just what it says on the packet: being aware of and understanding cost drivers and then having the capability of limiting any inherent risk factors. Duffy says this dual function role is often broken down into two separate roles, particular at larger institutions: certainly it is harder to find an individual capable of performing both effectively.

Background?

Louise Williams of the finance division of Robert Walters says, “At the junior level, institutions are looking for accountants – people who understand P&L, how regulatory systems in the UK work, that sort of thing. For more senior roles a consultancy background would also be desirable.” For most roles, banking experience and a strong academic background are standard. Duffy adds however that project and control managers will often have MBAs and be qualified in project methodologies such as Prince II or Six Sigma.

Williams says it is relatively rare for somebody to be recruited directly into an institution to manage a project: individuals are more usually moved internally. That said, people can actually make a fine career out of being project and/or project and control managers.

“Project management skills are often transferable and product specific knowledge can be secondary to that; likewise, individuals with a strong background in operations and management can move in and out of project roles according to their skills and experience,” says Morgan McKinley’s Duffy.

Pay hard to quantify

Provided you have all the right skills, what sort of a salary can you look forward to? At the junior level, annual pay of around £45,000-£50,000 is typical although the more senior one becomes the harder it is to generalise about salary levels at all. Base pay will depend entirely on the nature and length of the project, the sector it is in and whether the person has any specialist skills that may be of use.

Individuals with specific finance skills for example, or say knowledge of the telecoms or technology sector, could expect to be remunerated accordingly for these if they are project-relevant. Bonus? Very hard to assess: headhunters say the final payout will depend on the profitability of the institution, the success of the particular project and the performance of the individual.

And prospects? Well, one doesn’t expect a bank to run out of money; similarly, one shouldn’t expect a financial institution – no matter what it’s main focus – to run out of projects. As long as the current revival in financial markets continues, the outlook for project and control managers looks rosy.

Figures and commentary by Morgan McKinley and Robert Walters