Role profile library
Predefined role profile
Business and financial project managers
The behaviours this profile measures, drawn from the great{with}talent job library and occupational research. Download the full competency-based interview guide to assess them.
The full interview guideCompetency-based questions, follow-up probes and a 1–5 rating form for each behaviour — ready to print or run on screen.
Download
Behaviours assessed — 5 priority competencies
1
Organisational Skills
Establishes clear priorities and builds plans to ensure delivery on time. Works in a systematic manner and manages resources efficiently. Quickly adapts plans as circumstances require. Sees things through to completion.
Why this matters for Business and financial project managers: APM Competence Framework Section 2 (Delivery) names Schedule management, Resource management and Quality management as core operational competences. Project management is organisational skill made explicit: priorities, plans, systematic delivery, adaptation to changing circumstances, completion. The whole role is this competency in action.
2
Decision Making
Understands critical success factors and assesses a range of possible options before making a decision. Steps back and seeks alternative perspectives when faced with unfamiliar scenarios. Willing to make decisions without access to all the information. Considers the implications of their decisions beyond the immediate issue.
Why this matters for Business and financial project managers: APM CF Section 2 covers Risk management, Reviews and Change control. PMs make constant judgement calls on scope, risk, resource, and escalation, with incomplete information and tight timescales. Decision Making captures structured assessment of options and willingness to act under uncertainty — central to the role.
3
Influencing and Persuading
Presents simple, impactful messages in a compelling manner. Changes their emphasis and approach to address resistance, focusing on the value their ideas will bring different stakeholders. Confidently negotiates effective outcomes.
Why this matters for Business and financial project managers: APM CF Section 1 (People) names Communication, Conflict management and Leadership as core competences, and Section 2 places Stakeholder & communications management as central to delivery. Without direct authority, PMs depend on influence — winning over sponsors, negotiating with stakeholders, handling resistance, keeping teams aligned. This is arguably the most underrated PM skill.
4
Analytical Skills
Breaks a problem down into its core elements. Draws on different data sources to inform their thinking, identifying the most pertinent issues within this. Incorporates the emotive elements of a situation into their thinking, before making sound inferences based on the available information.
Why this matters for Business and financial project managers: APM CF Section 2 covers Solutions development, Risk identification and Reviews. Good PMs break complex deliverables into component parts, read the data (RAG, burndown, dependencies), and identify the real issues rather than the presenting symptoms. Analytical Skills captures this sustained reasoning across the project life cycle.
5
Collaborative Working
Looks to understand others’ perspectives and objectives. Respects different styles/approaches, whilst adapting their own style to enable them to work effectively with others.
Why this matters for Business and financial project managers: Section 1 (People) sits first in the APM Competence Framework, with Teamwork and Diversity & inclusion as named competences. Modern project delivery — especially under APM's emphasis on agile and hybrid methodologies — is squarely about working across multi-disciplinary teams (engineering, product, finance, vendor, sponsor). Collaborative Working captures the ability to understand others' perspectives, respect different styles, and adapt one's approach to deliver collectively. Replaces Dependability, which APM CF does not single out as a defining competence and which is captured within Organisational Skills ("sees things through to completion").