The professional sparring combined with the personal and social challenge of motivating a lot of competent people to collaborate towards common goals - that's what drives me. But I also like to be where decisions are made, emphasises Kirsten Væver Jokumsen, Novozymes R&D. She thrives as a Project Manager, preferably managing several large projects at a time.
Kirsten Væver Jokumsen, 35, civil engineer and PhD in fermentation optimisation, joined Novozymes R&D in 2000 after five years of teaching at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU). The management career took off early - after three months only she was appointed project manager. At this time - summer 2002 - Kirsten Væver Jokumsen is involved in three large projects for development of detergent enzymes managing two of the projects and coordinating all three projects.
"To be a project manager in Novozymes is very different from doing research at DTU. From being deeply specialised in a restricted field of research my great challenge today is to collaborate and succeed with others. As a project manager you have to be the helicopter with the professional bird's-eye-view. This is what I really like about my job. Project management also requires the capability of discussing with people with all kinds of technical competen-cies. Understanding what the different professional groups stand for and how much time they require for the individual project stages has really been a challenge for me. This understanding combined with a good network in the organisation is vital in order to ensure that we make the best use of the r esources and involve the right people at the various stages of the process.
All our development projects are cross-organisational. Moreover, many projects are directly tied up to the customers and their requirements. We maintain a very close customer contact to ensure that we are pursuing the right goals at all times. It is the close interaction and the professional sparring that really gives me a kick. And it is an extra challenge to embrace several projects at a time.
It was easier than I imagined entering this field. All the while I felt that I possessed the talent to drive projects and make people play together the best possible way. I am good at organising and surveying complex projects. To use your zeal and your will to reach a goal is my strength. As a researcher, I didn't have the same opportunity to use myself this way.
Project group work competes with people's work in other projects and in their departments. My ability to motivate and communicate results in a project is what drives people's enthusiasm. I have to take care that my project members can always see a consistent thread in the project and that their work makes sense. This is my principal task.
The future? Well, I am almost certain that I will continue as a project manager for some years. But it may very well be larger and more complex projects - and preferably projects within new business areas."