What Would You Call This Role? Help Needed for a Key Position in Our Software Team

Designation Suggestion Needed

Kindly suggest an appropriate designation for the position below. I am working in a mid-sized software development company. We are going to hire one person whose responsibilities would be as follows:

- Acting as a bridge between the client and development team
- Coordinating with the development team and updating the project status with the client
- Interacting with the client, gathering requirements, and sharing them with the development team
- Handling project deliveries

I am in need of this suggestion urgently. Please advise me at your earliest convenience.

Regards,
Rajasekar

Thank you for your reply. Can you please suggest some more designations? His experience is 3+ years, and we don't want to give the designation as manager. Previously, we used "Project Coordinator" as the designation for the above-said position. Now, we would like to change the designation for this position due to some internal issues.

Kindly suggest some more.

Regards,
Rajasekar

If you hadn't posted the last bullet point as one of the role's deliverables, I would've agreed with your assertion that the role be labeled 'Project Coordinator'. Because then, the role would've consisted largely of project communication and stakeholder management duties - and these are a perfect fit for a project coordinator.

However, that last bullet point 'handle project delivery' tips the scales comprehensively towards Bhawna's suggestion.

Now, if you don't want to label the role 'Manager' due to internal issues, then you are digressing from contemporary nomenclature while attempting to retain the essence of the role's deliverables. I am imagining that labeling this role 'Manager' is largely to prevent internal conflict with existing employees. If that is the case, then I suggest that you also consider relabeling the existing PM to Senior Project Manager. In case he/she is managing a suite of projects which are essentially related by function, client type, deliverable, or other key criteria, you may also consider labeling him/her Projects Director or Program Manager.

If none of my suggestions fit your organizational requirements, then perhaps you could consider labeling the new position as 'Key Project Executive' or 'Senior Project Delivery Executive' - although I will be the first to admit that these are really lame and flimsy titles and won't do the person's career any favors when the time comes for him/her to move on.

Finally, I strongly urge you to not let someone's experience hinder their role being labeled true to what it really is. There are some people who are really competent albeit with lesser years of experience, while the converse is also true - and actually more prevalent than the former.

I hope I've added value to your thinking.

PS: If my suggestions add value to your post, please don't forget to appreciate and validate them. Thank you!

The job role and responsibilities that you mentioned are typically handled by a "Program (or Delivery) Manager" in any IT company, as Gaurav Sareen mentioned. This role is different from a Project Manager in the sense that the Project Manager is mainly responsible for the technical aspects of the project, while the Program Manager is accountable for the deliveries, allowing the Project Manager to concentrate on the technical part of the project(s).

In fact, the Program Manager also manages more activities than you mentioned, such as logistics, manpower planning, review meetings scheduling, on-site trips, etc. Usually, such a position is introduced when there are multiple projects or a very large/complex project to handle; otherwise, typically the Project Manager fulfills both roles.

If the position is somewhat junior, you could consider substituting the word "Manager" with another term. For instance, Assistant, Deputy, Junior, Additional, or Senior Program Manager could be better alternatives, especially when considering the long-term career progression of the individual.

Regards,
TS