Demonstrate your competence in a strategic environment with IPMA Level A certification
The IPMA Level A certification is the highest international recognition for a project, programme, portfolio or agile management professional. The certification demonstrates that you have the IPMA Individual Competence Baseline® skills and have successfully applied them in complex environments, acting consistently and taking full responsibility in a leadership role. You are a professional who is valued by both your colleagues and your clients. This certification puts you at the top of your field and confirms that you have earned your place as a leader.
Certification supports the development of your skills. In addition to project management skills, it helps to identify strengths and development needs related to your management style.
Virpi Pikkarainen, Verohallinto,
IPMA Level A – Certified Projects Director
Who can take the certificate
The certificate requires that
- have worked as a project manager in highly demanding environments that affect the organisation’s strategy.
- be able to lead highly demanding projects at a strategic level
- have at least five years’ experience in a responsible general management role in highly demanding projects within the last twelve years. At least 36 months of this time must have been spent managing strategic level projects. This period cannot be extended.
A responsible general management role is defined as a role in which the applicant has acted as a supervisor of people in the context of project activities. This should be reflected, for example, in the project organisation chart, where the person has people under his/her authority. The mere management of affairs does not meet the requirement.
The applicant shall provide in the application for certification a list of projects in which he/she demonstrates that he/she meets the temporal eligibility requirements. A reference project that best illustrates the applicant’s competence shall be included in the application. The project must have been completed no more than two years before the date of application. During the certification process, documentation of the reference project must be available for presentation to the assessors. Read more about the project’s eligibility criteria.
The certificate requires that
- the applicant has worked as a programme manager in highly demanding environments that affect the strategy of the organisation.
- be able to lead highly demanding programmes at a strategic level.
- have at least five years’ experience in a responsible general management role in highly demanding programmes within the previous 12 years. At least 36 months of this time must have been spent managing programmes at strategic level. This period cannot be extended.
Responsible general management role means a role in which the applicant has acted as a supervisor of people in the context of project activities. This should be reflected, for example, in the project organisation chart, where the person has people under his/her authority. The mere management of affairs does not meet the requirement.
The applicant shall provide in the application for certification a description of the programmes by which he/she demonstrates that he/she meets the time eligibility requirements. The application shall be accompanied by a reference program that best describes the applicant’s competencies. The programme must be completed no more than two years before the date of application. During the certification process, documentation of the reference project must be available for presentation to the assessors. Read more about the project’s eligibility criteria.
The certificate requires that
- the applicant has worked as a portfolio manager in highly demanding environments that impact on the strategy of the organisation.
- be able to manage highly demanding portfolios at a strategic level
- have at least five years’ experience in a responsible general management role in highly demanding portfolios within the last twelve years. At least 36 months of this time must have been spent managing strategic level portfolios. The time span of the screening cannot be extended.
A responsible general management role is defined as a role in which the applicant has acted as a supervisor of people in the context of project activities. This should be reflected, for example, in the project organisation chart, where the person has people under his/her authority. The mere management of affairs does not meet the requirement.
The applicant shall provide in the application for certification a description of the portfolio(s) he/she will use to demonstrate that he/she meets the time eligibility requirements. The application shall be accompanied by a reference portfolio that best describes the applicant’s competencies. The reference must have expired no more than two years before the date of application. During the certification process, reference documentation must be available for presentation to the assessors. Read more about the project’s eligibility criteria.
The certificate requires that
- the candidate has acted as an agile leader in highly complex agile environments that have a strategic impact on his/her organisation.
- The candidate is able to lead highly complex agile engagements at a strategic level.
- have at least five years of experience in a responsible agile leadership role, leading highly complex agile engagements over the last twelve years. The time span of the demonstration cannot be extended.
A responsible agile leadership role is defined as a role in which the candidate has held a leadership position within an agile framework. This must be demonstrated, for example in an agile organisation, by the manager having subordinates to manage. Merely managing things does not meet the criterion.
Certification process at level A
- Order the application pack – You will receive the application forms and clear instructions by email. Ordering the application package is free of charge and does not commit you to anything.
- Read the materials – Read the “Individual Competence Baseline” and the Ethical Guidelines. For those pursuing the Agile Management Certificate, we also recommend that you read the IPMA® Reference Guide ICB4 in an Agile World.
- Fill in the forms and prepare a free-form CV – Register for the certification and save your application with attachments.
- Write a report – Once your application has been accepted, you will receive a confirmation and can download the report template from the certification system. Save the report as instructed in the certification system.
- Interview – Once your written report has been approved, you will be invited for a personal interview. During the interview you will be asked to show original documents related to the management of your reference assignment. Each step of the process can be repeated once.
- Final assessment – After the interview, a final assessment will be conducted and, upon approval, you will be awarded the IPMA® Level A certification and can use the professional title “Certified Projects/Programme/Portfolio Director” or Certified Agile Organisational Leader.
Validity and renewal of the certificate
The certificate is valid for 5 years. The renewal application must be submitted no earlier than six (6) months before the expiry date of the certificate and no later than six (6) months after the expiry date of the certificate. For renewal, the applicant shall provide evidence that he/she has worked for 30 months during the past five (5) years in a position meeting the requirements of the profession and level. In addition, they must provide evidence of continuous competence development – a minimum of 35 hours per year, or 175 hours over a five-year period. Develop your skills through webinars, courses, conferences, lectures, writing professional articles, self-study and reading professional literature.
You can check the validity of your certificate on the IPMA website. Please note that the validity of the certificate is given in the format MM/DD/YYYY.
You can change your domain when you renew your certificate. The domain refers to the professional areas defined in the ICB: Project, Program, Portfolio and Agile Leader. A change can only be made to another certificate at the same level. When changing the domain, the applicant must demonstrate in the renewal application that he/she has at least 30 months of experience in the new domain at the level of the current certificate within the last 5 years.
The certificate is renewed electronically. The application must be accompanied by a free-form CV and the required annex, which will be renewed electronically. The application is accompanied by a free-form CV and the required attachment, which are returned to the certification system. Instructions for the renewal application and the required attachment can be found in the links below.
- Click here to download the renewal application instructions.
- Click here to download the required attachment.
Be sure to select certification level A on the online application to ensure your application is routed to the correct assessment.
Complete the online application in the certification system.