What does a Professional Development Manager do?
A professional development manager is typically responsible for designing and developing career and professional growth programs in companies. Their responsibilities usually include planning interviews and assessments to identify the employees' needs, establishing guidelines and timelines, coordinating staff, liaising with internal and external parties, and collaborating with other experts. They must also develop training programs to enhance employees' soft and hard skills. Moreover, as a professional development manager, they must lead and encourage staff to reach goals, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.
Professional development manager responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real professional development manager resumes:
- Manage SDLC process, while participating in requirements gathering, functional documentation, data analysis, and implementation plans.
- Attend and at times chair San Diego CME providers network to share best practices across organizations.
- Negotiate with product management, development and QA to ensure operational support requirements are incorporated into new product design specifications.
- Create bi-weekly target HDQ messages direct to flight attendants via e-Board PowerPoint slides.
- Team with speakers and sponsors to develop materials including PowerPoint and case studies.
- Develop content and deliver professional skills training including client development, professional responsibility, ethics, and legal practice skills.
Professional development manager skills and personality traits
We calculated that 11% of Professional Development Managers are proficient in Professional Growth, Project Management, and Educational Programs. They’re also known for soft skills such as Business skills, Collaboration skills, and Instructional skills.
We break down the percentage of Professional Development Managers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Professional Growth, 11%
Maintain the continuing professional growth of all sales staff with additional personalized training.
- Project Management, 11%
Subject matter expert recruitment, facilitation, Project Management of entire test development process.
- Educational Programs, 10%
Assisted committee volunteers with the development and execution of their educational programs.
- Staff Development, 10%
Provided general Human Resources support including, staff recruiting, compensation administration, performance management, staff development and recognition.
- Training Programs, 7%
Coordinated and created continuing education workshops for therapists and designed and implemented training programs for management staff.
- Training Sessions, 4%
Modified training as needed between sessions by collecting electronic evaluations immediately after training sessions.
"professional growth," "project management," and "educational programs" are among the most common skills that professional development managers use at work. You can find even more professional development manager responsibilities below, including:
Business skills. One of the key soft skills for a professional development manager to have is business skills. You can see how this relates to what professional development managers do because "training and development managers must understand business operations in order to match training with business goals." Additionally, a professional development manager resume shows how professional development managers use business skills: "manage training programs geared to help new entrepreneurs realize their dream of business ownership and assist existing businesses to remain competitive. "
Collaboration skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling professional development manager duties is collaboration skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "training and development managers need strong interpersonal skills because delivering training programs requires working in concert with staff, trainees, subject matter experts, and the organization’s leaders." According to a professional development manager resume, here's how professional development managers can utilize collaboration skills in their job responsibilities: "developed course content and enrollment processes for internship program in collaboration with 13 facultymembers. "
Instructional skills. professional development managers are also known for instructional skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to professional development manager responsibilities, because "training and development managers need to understand the fundamentals of teaching and lesson planning." A professional development manager resume example shows how instructional skills is used in the workplace: "supervised a team of 19-26 education consultants implementing research-based strategies via professional development, instructional coaching and classroom modeling. "
Leadership skills. professional development manager responsibilities often require "leadership skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "managers are often in charge of a staff and programs." This resume example shows what professional development managers do with leadership skills on a typical day: "aligned with baird senior management to enhance and promote existing development solutions and introduce new, innovative leadership and development programs. "
Communication skills. Another crucial skill for a professional development manager to carry out their responsibilities is "communication skills." A big part of what professional development managers relies on this skill, since "training and development managers must clearly convey information to diverse audiences." How this skill relates to professional development manager duties can be seen in an example from a professional development manager resume snippet: "implemented a new organizational and functional management model which redefined staff roles, training programs and communication plans. "
See the full list of professional development manager skills
The three companies that hire the most professional development managers are:
- McKinsey & Company Inc24 professional development managers jobs
- Humana12 professional development managers jobs
- BBrigham and Women's Hospital6 professional development managers jobs
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Professional development manager vs. Training administrator
Training administrators coordinate employees and management training programs. The administrators administer competency or skill assessments, outplacement, career counseling, and other specialized training for employees. They update and organize the training programs for administrative and clerical works. It is also their job to plan and enforce these programs for government agencies, business enterprises, and other institutions. Leadership skills, communication skills, and management skills are necessary for this job.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a professional development manager are more likely to require skills like "professional growth," "project management," "educational programs," and "staff development." On the other hand, a job as a training administrator requires skills like "nursing home," "long-term care," "home health," and "logistics." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
The education levels that training administrators earn slightly differ from professional development managers. In particular, training administrators are 2.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a professional development manager. Additionally, they're 2.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Professional development manager vs. Director of training
Training directors are responsible for directing the planning, design, and implementation of training programs. They are responsible for assessing and identifying the company's training needs, maintaining a consistent culture regarding training, and managing and directing employee training. Training directors are expected to provide engaging communication about the program to encourage employee participation and emphasize the benefits and value of exercise. They are also expected to establish and maintain good relationships with vendors to provide more training programs.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that professional development manager responsibilities requires skills like "professional growth," "educational programs," "career development," and "professional development programs." But a director of training might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "customer service," "oversight," "professional development," and "cpr."
Average education levels between the two professions vary. Directors of training tend to reach similar levels of education than professional development managers. In fact, they're 0.7% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 2.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Professional development manager vs. Manager & instructor
Managers are responsible for a specific department, function, or employee group. They oversee their assigned departments and all the employees under the department. Managers are responsible that the department they are handling is functioning well. They set the department goals and the steps they must take to achieve the goals. They are also in charge of assessing the performance of their departments and their employees. Additionally, managers are responsible for interviewing prospective candidates for department vacancies and assessing their fit to the needs of the department. Managers also set the general working environment in the department, and they are expected to ensure that their employees remain motivated.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from professional development manager resumes include skills like "project management," "educational programs," "staff development," and "career development," whereas a manager & instructor is more likely to list skills in "course curriculum," "safety procedures," "professional development," and "payroll. "
When it comes to education, managers & instructor tend to earn similar degree levels compared to professional development managers. In fact, they're 4.8% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 2.3% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Professional development manager vs. Manager
Types of professional development manager
Updated January 8, 2025