Thursday 28 February 2019

Knowledge Management career paths

I posted on this blog 5 years ago on the topic of KM career paths, and suggested the following model for career progression within KM, at least within a larger organisation.

Image from wikimedia commons

  1. Knowledge facilitator or Knowledge engineer. Doing the basic jobs of KM, facilitating meetings, conducting interviews, facilitating a Community of Practice , Knowledge Management lead on one project, and so on. 
  2. Knowledge Manager. Managing and maintaining the KM Framework for a department or business unit, or acting as leader for a major community of practice. Single point of contact for KM for that topic or that part of the organisation. Making sure the KM work gets done. Managing or supporting the Knowledge facilitators and knowledge engineers. Acting as local champion for KM. Monitoring and reporting the degree of use of KM, and the value delivered to the business. 
  3. Knowledge Strategist. Setting the strategic direction for KM within a business unit, business stream or organisational group. Improving and developing the use of KM in support of the business, and the application of KM in the business. Working with the business to optimise KM support to the business. 
  4. Head of Knowledge Management. Setting the strategic direction for KM within the organisation. Designing any new developments of the KM Framework. Driving the corporate KM culture. Working with the executive level to optimise the way in which Knowledge Management supports the organisation.
Since then I have found a few more KM career path examples, as follows:

  • McKinsey: senior researcher >= lead researcher, or senior researcher => specialist, or senior researcher knowledge operations
  • Bain & Co: Individual contributor (associate/analyst) => Specialist (seasoned professional) => Team leader (experienced professional)
  • World Bank (according to KM Edu hub): Knowledge Management Assistant => Knowledge Management Analyst => Knowledge Management Officer => Senior Knowledge Management Office
  • US Air Force Apprentice (3) Level => Journeyman (5) Level => Craftsman (7) Level => Superintendent (9) Level. (These are levels of development rather than different roles
Please let me know if you have other examples

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