Career Overview
Senior managers in the public sector:
- Oversee operations in government departments
- Work with their middle managers to develop goals and policies according to legislation
Senior managers in the private sector:
- Work in industries such as telecommunications, finance, insurance, real estate, data processing and business services
- Work with their middle managers to develop goals and policies
- Sometimes work with a board of directors
This NOC code consolidates NOC codes 00011, 00012, 00013, 00014 and 00015.
Job Titles
Duties
Senior government managers and officials:
- Create goals for the organization following government legislation and policy
- Develop or approve and assess programs and procedures alone or working with senior government committees
- Advise elected representatives on policy questions and refer any major policy matters to these representatives for final decision
- Recommend, review, assess and approve documents, briefs and reports submitted by middle managers and senior staff members
- Ensure appropriate systems and procedures are developed and used to provide budgetary control
- Co-ordinate department activities with other senior government managers and officials
- Make presentations to legislative and other government committees regarding policies, programs or budgets
- Assign human and financial resources to produce policies and programs
Senior managers of financial, communications and other business services:
- Help to determine the company’s mission, strategic direction, goals, plans and policies
- Plan, organize, direct, control and evaluate company operations
- Identify human resource needs, including promotion opportunities and creation of new positions
- Hire and manage staff
- Oversee budgets within their department or company
- Develop or approve policies and programs, including managing assets, staff and operations
Senior financial managers are primarily focused on the financial areas of a company.
Senior communications managers oversee elements such as marketing, public relations, social media and the company’s brand reputation.
Senior managers in other business services may be involved with human resources, company culture and employee morale.
Senior managers of:
Health, education, social and community services and membership organizations may specialize in areas such as finance, marketing, human resources or in a particular service area
Trade, broadcasting and other services may specialize in areas such as finance, marketing or human resources or in the sale of a particular product or provision of a particular service.
Construction, transportation, production and utilities may specialize in areas such as finance, marketing or human resources, or in a particular product area.
- Create goals for the organization or institution and make or approve policies and programs
- Approve and organize the creation of major departments and associated senior staff positions
- Assign material, human and financial resources to carry out organizational policies and programs
- Establish financial and administrative controls
- Create and approve promotional campaigns
- Approve overall personnel planning
- Select middle managers, directors or other executive staff
- Coordinate the work of regions, divisions or departments
- Represent the organization or institution, or assign representatives to act on behalf of the organization, in negotiations or other official functions
Earnings
Earnings is income that workers receive in exchange for their labour. Depending on the type of employment, earnings can be in the form of wages (hourly), salaries (fixed monthly or annual) or self-employed earnings.
Work Environment
# Workers Employed
30,365% Employed Full Time
79%Work is usually performed in a conventional controlled environment such as an office, hospital or school.
Career Pathways
Overall, there is mobility among senior management occupations.
Senior financial manager with experience or additional education can move up to director of finance, vice-president of finance or chief financial officer.
Senior managers of communications who gain several years of experience or with additional education, can be promoted to communications or marketing director, vice-president or senior vice-president. People in this career sometimes open their own agency.
For other business services such as human resources, being in this job means that with additional experience or education, there may be the opportunity to move into a director or vice-president position or to open their own human resources agency.
The boundaries of the remaining manager groups are defined by the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), which include:
- Educational services, health care and social services and membership organizations
- Broadcasting and Telecommunications, Wholesale Trade, Retail Trade, Accommodation and Food Service, and Other Services
- Fishing, forestry and logging, mining and oil
Related Careers
Occupational Interests
It’s important to understand what kinds of occupations align with your interests.
For more about occupational interests visit Skills for the Future Workforce > Characteristics.
Here are the top occupational interest(s) for this career profile:
Education, Training and Skills
Senior government managers and officials:
- A university degree or college diploma is usually required.
- A graduate degree in a related field may be required.
- Several years of managerial experience in the public or private sector are required
Senior managers:
- A university degree or college diploma
- Several years of experience as a middle manager are usually required
- Specialization in a particular functional area or service is possible through specific university or college training in that area or through previous experience
- Senior managers in finance usually require a professional accounting or financial designation, such as a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA)
Financial, communications and other business services:
- Degree in business administration, commerce, computer science or other discipline related to the service provided is usually required
Health, education, social and community services and membership organizations:
- Degree or college diploma in business administration, hospital administration, finance or other discipline related to the service provided is usually required
Trade, broadcasting and other services:
- Degree or college diploma in business administration, finance or other discipline related to the service provided is usually required
Construction, transportation, production and utilities:
- Degree or college diploma in engineering, business administration, commerce or other discipline related to the company's product is usually required
Education programs in B.C.
The following program areas are related to this occupation:
- Public Administration

Skills
Every job calls for a certain set of skills. Knowing those skills is the first step in finding a good career fit.
Here, you will find the 10 most relevant workplace skills. Some are more important to achieving success in a certain career than others. These skills may come naturally to you or you may need to gain them through education, training and experience.
See the list of work-related skills below, ranked in order of importance for this career. Check out the list and see if this career matches your skills—take that first step!
Labour Market Statistics
Discover data, facts and information that have been gathered and analyzed. Learn about the characteristics of the economy and labour market in B.C.
Employment
Find out about employment types and trends by region and industry.
Employment
30,365Employment by Region
Region | Employment | % Employment of this Occupation |
---|---|---|
Cariboo | 500 | 1.6% |
Kootenay | 520 | 1.7% |
Mainland/Southwest | 21,405 | 70.5% |
North Coast and Nechako | 315 | 1.0% |
Northeast | 195 | 0.6% |
Thompson-Okanagan | 2,715 | 8.9% |
Vancouver Island/Coast | 4,715 | 15.5% |
Labour Market Outlook
The B.C. Labour Market Outlook is a 10-year forecast of the expected supply and demand for labour in the province. It’s usually updated every year. The purpose is to provide British Columbians with the knowledge to make informed decisions on careers, skills training, education and hiring.
Forecasted Job Openings (2024-2034)
21,510Forecasted Job Openings
Forecasted Employment Growth Rate
Composition of Job Openings
Job Openings by Region (2024-2034)
Region | Job Openings | Avg. Annual Employment Growth |
---|---|---|
Cariboo | 280 | 0.3% |
Kootenay | 340 | 0.5% |
Mainland/Southwest | 15,430 | 1.8% |
North Coast and Nechako | 100 | 0.5% |
Northeast | 110 | 0.8% |
Thompson-Okanagan | 2,170 | 1.4% |
Vancouver Island/Coast | 3,070 | 1.0% |
Industry Highlights
Learn about the opportunities in B.C.'s major industries, including employment trends, earning potential, locations of work and more.
Forecasted Job Openings by Industry
Industry | Job Openings (2024-2034) |
---|---|
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services | 5,790 |
Construction | 2,030 |
Finance, Insurance and Real Estate | 2,020 |
Health Care and Social Assistance | 1,440 |
Manufacturing | 1,350 |
Insights from Industry
Senior managers need to have people skills. They may need to speak to employees at different levels throughout the company and they need to do it in a way that makes people feel comfortable. As well, senior managers make presentations to investors, a board of directors or at conferences. They may also have to attend networking events with senior executives.
Resources
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Canadian Marketing Associationwww.the-cma.org
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Chartered Professional Accountants of British Columbiawww.bccpa.ca
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Chartered Professional Accountants of Canadawww.cpacanada.ca
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Chartered Professionals in Human Resources (CPHR) of British Columbia & Yukoncphrbc.ca
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Canadian Public Relations Society (CPRS)www.cprs.ca