What Does an Electrical Project Manager Do?

An electrical project manager is an individual who supervises the development of electrical projects for clients, which includes ensuring enough staff members are available to complete projects and creating a budget for the work. Electrical project manager jobs often require individuals who have engineering licenses and two-year master’s degrees in the field. A manager who works in the electrical field must be able to assemble wiring, share layout plans with workers, and successfully lead employees from the beginning to the end of a task.

Project managers in the electrical field are responsible for testing electrical systems and making sure that circuits are continuous when dealing with electrical wiring that powers fixtures and equipment. Devices that a manager must use to perform industry tests include oscilloscopes, which allow him or her to see signals at various points in an electrical circuit, as well as ohmmeters, which measure the electrical resistance of an item such as a light bulb. An electrical project manager should know how to use power tools as well as hand tools to put together and install electronic wiring.

Communication duties also are an important part of electrical leadership job positions. An electrical project leader must be visionary and be able to share that vision with his subordinates, as he often plans out the layout of a power distribution system. An awareness of local and federal building codes is significant in the planning stage as well. Electrical project manager requirements often include attending project design meetings, talking to utility specialists, and communicating with clients on projects such as lighting systems or fire alarm systems. For this reason, this type of professional should have solid interpersonal skills.

Strong leadership skills are critical to management roles in the electrical industry as well. For instance, individuals in these roles must tell their superiors and inferiors when continuing to use a particular piece of equipment could be dangerous as a result of a poor or malfunctioning electrical system. In addition, an electrical project manager has to professionally develop the staff members beneath him or her by facilitating training sessions and giving them performance feedback.

Staying up-to-date on changes in the electrical industry additionally is a chief task of a coordinator in this field. An electrical project manager should keep his or her electrical license and engineering license current so as to meet certification standards enforced by a national or local government. Maintaining a current license usually requires that a field professional complete continuing education courses that he or she can apply to his or her daily work projects.