Project Managers in China: Average Salary and Job Description

Today we’re going through a great set of nearly 1.5 million job data points on roles for Project Managers in China!

Our data today comes from two of the largest Chinese Job Boards. That’s BOSS Zhipin (BOSS直聘) and Zhilian Zhaopin (智联招聘).

These large platforms seem to have the most relevant and abundant data points when it comes to the modern Chinese job markets. We’ll be sure to include the number of data points we have for each statistic we pull out. We’ll also be updating this annually to keep up with the newest salary data out there – this data was last checked (by a real human) in March 2024.

So let’s dive into some neat data on Project Managers in China! First, we’ll look at a standard Job Description, then on to average salary data coverage.

Common Responsibilities on a Project Manager Job Description

Job Responsibilities in China as listed from real top firms. These are translated and edited from original Chinese, but not auto-generated.

 

Example A: Leading Smart Hardware Firm

Job Responsibilities:

1. Responsible for the project management of the company’s software from demand to online release, achieve project milestones, ensure efficient and high-quality delivery of software products, and be responsible for each version;

2. Ensure that project goals are achieved and can be implemented according to needs Make timely adjustments to changes;

3. Fully understand product definitions and requirements, formulate development plans, and organize, plan, implement and control the entire R&D process;

4. Plan manpower and monitor execution according to project needs to ensure the quality and quantity of development manpower. investment and achieve planned output;

5. Coordinate resources from all aspects to promote project progress, make effective judgments and decisions on disputes in the project, take correct response measures and resolve disputes, and take corrective measures for tasks that deviate from project goals ;

6. Manage risk points in project development to ensure that risks are controllable; respond to major issues and risks in a timely manner;

7. Create and maintain a good communication and collaboration mechanism in development to ensure efficient communication and cooperation between relevant parties and ensure the development status and key issues/risks and other information are transmitted efficiently and transparently;

8. Standardize and implement project management-related processes, and monitor and optimize according to needs.

 

Example B: Large Mobile Internet Group

Job Responsibilities:

1. Responsible for project group management and major project delivery, leading the team to complete project goals on time and with high quality, creating demonstration project results, and ensuring customer satisfaction;

2. Responsible for customer demand management, maintaining good communication with customers, maintaining customer relationships, and Form an iron triangle with the sales and marketing teams to achieve business goals;

3. Responsible for assisting the consulting team in providing advice on project bidding and contracts, and identifying risks and problems;

4. Responsible for improving the team’s overall capabilities and actively participating in project management knowledge, experience, and abilities, process improvement, and other aspects of work to improve organizational capabilities;

5. Carry out project implementation and delivery operation management in strict accordance with the company’s process specifications and financial management requirements.

 

Example C: Information Security Firm

Job Responsibilities:

1. Responsible for software project management and process control, and effectively check and control the project cycle, progress, quality, and project results;

2. Responsible for demand analysis, research and development, testing, and online operation of power software projects, combined with user actual conditions demand, and led the team to develop feasible solutions;

3. Responsible for communicating with customers, effectively controlling customer needs, and solving all problems encountered during project development;

4. Prepare project development plans, identify and control project risks, and effectively control projects Develop the entire process and key links;

5. Be able to decompose the work to be completed in the project effectively, guide project team members in project development, and improve the technical level of the entire team;

6. Responsible for organizing cross-department resources and quickly responding to the implementation of key projects, to improve the compliance rate in project quality and response time;

7. Customer management and maintenance;

Average Salary Data on Project Managers in China

Project Managers

Nationwide in China, March 2024

Average Salary: ¥19,389 RMB ($2,700 USD) per month

Median Salary: ¥17,023 RMB ($2,370 USD) per month

Job Data Points: 1,484,089

Project Managers in China - Average Salary Distribution - TeamedUp China

In a sample size of 1,484,089 jobs, the average salary for a Project Manager in China was ¥19,389 RMB ($2,700 USD) per month. The median salary from this set was ¥17,023 RMB ($2,370 USD) per month. 

This is a nationwide data set and it’s important to note that different cities in China command different levels of compensation. For more on that, check out our breakdown of average Chinese salaries by city.

We also like to point out that salary data from local job sites is mostly for Chinese-speaking positions. Project Manager salaries in China with English or other foreign language requirements are often firmly higher than the average. 

More Salary Data on Project Management Talent in China!

Average Salary by City for Project Managers in China
Project Managers in China - Average Salary by City - TeamedUp China

A who’s-who of China’s main business-hub mega-cities fill out the list here: Hongkong, Macao, Beijing, Shenzhen, Shanghai, Hangzhou,  Dongguan, and Wuxi.

An outlier you may not recognize is the Ali region in western Tibet. It is one of the most sparsely populated places in the world, so I’d imagine finding great local talent for anything, let alone project managers, is tough. 

Demand by City for Project Managers in China
Project Managers in China - Demand by City - TeamedUp China

This chart takes BOSS Zhipin’s recent amount of Project Manager jobs posted by city in China. It’s no surprise to see most of China’s large business hubs – Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Guangzhou, etc – at the top. Top graduates originate from the massive University ecosystems here. The competition for great talent is also centered around these megacities.

Since project management is needed in many enterprises, job openings trend with the overall city populations of China. A reflection of almost every business in every major Chinese city needing this function.

Educational Requirements for Project Managers in China
Project Manager in China - Education Requirements - TeamedUp China

Here we’ve got a distribution of the education requirements for positions across China.

57% of positions required an undergraduate degree. Another 30.9% required a two-year technical degree or above,  and 1.8% of positions in the data set required a master’s degree.

Experience Requirements for Project Managers in China
Project Manager in China - Experience Requirements - TeamedUp China

And here we have a breakdown of the experience required for Project Manager positions.

37.9% of jobs listed have 3-5 years of experience required. Another 25.2% and 21.6% of positions required 5-10 and 1-3 years of experience, respectively. 1.8% of jobs posted accepted less than 1 year of experience. 

It is also important to note that these requirements are the ones advertised by companies on BOSS Zhipin’s platforms. We don’t have the data to extract exactly how closely hiring managers stick to these requirements when assessing candidates. Simply put – jobs listing a 3-5 years of experience requirement may, in reality, consider candidates with less experience. 

References

The two main sources of data for this series on individual job salaries in China are local HR companies BOSS Zhipin and Zhilian Zhaopin. They are both among China’s biggest job portals and have some of the largest amounts of local, first-hand, public data points. It’s important to note that the data most often reflects recruited salaries, or the publicly listed salary information that companies advertise on their platforms. 

Original article content and further sources can be found in the Salary Guides section of our Resources area.

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