Requirements

IT specialist manager - requirements

As an IT specialist manager, your expertise in computer systems, software or cyber security will let you oversee complex IT projects or provide ongoing management of digital services. Find out more about a career in IT project and programme management and what you can expect from your role.

Know what you'll need to land a job below.

What qualifications do you need to be an IT specialist manager?

As an IT specialist, you’ll typically need to be qualified in one of the following subjects:

You might be able to enter this field without a degree if you have good knowledge and skills of a particular area in IT. You may need to work your way up from a more junior position in some cases.

Please note this is a beta version. We'll continue to improve our suggestions here so that we show you the most relevant subjects.

Do you need a postgraduate qualification to be an IT specialist manager?

You don’t need a postgraduate qualification for this role, but it’ll help you build technical expertise and stand out to employers.

Postgraduate courses you could consider include master’s and postgraduate certificates in:

Computer science
Information management
Software engineering
Cyber security and data governance
Cyber security engineering
Business analytics
Data science

What skills do you need to be an IT specialist manager?

Your management, leadership and communication skills are central to this role, along with technical expertise.

Hard skills usually include:

Key performance indicators (KPI)
Agile project management
Software development
Corporate service levels
Stakeholder management
Software and system development
IT networks
Cyber security

Soft skills include:

Leading others
Planning
Innovation
Eye for detail
Problem-solving
Influencing people
Managing people
Managing processes

Do you need work experience to be an IT specialist manager?

You’ll typically need to have strong experience in your specialist area if you want to be a manager. Graduate schemes can help you get a taste of different areas in IT and gain confidence in your skills. You might work as a technician or developer, to build experience with relevant systems or processes, before applying to managerial roles.