The roles of knowledge professionals cover areas from strategic, tactical, and program related to executing specific projects and system development. The KM roles and responsibilities vary according to the category in which the knowledge professional works. The roles and responsibilities depicted here consists of Chief Knowledge Officer (CKO), KM Program Manager, KM Project Manager, KM Director, Operations KM Director, KM Author, KM Lead, KM Liaison, KM Specialist, KM System Administrator, Knowledge Engineer, Knowledge Architect, KM Writer, Knowledge Manager, and KM Analyst.
| KM Role | Role Description | Responsibilities | Core Competencies |
| Chief Knowledge Officer (CKO) | Executive Leader of the Knowledge Management discipline at the organization and key figure for all knowledge management activities initiated from the KM program. | CKO – manages the knowledge sharing process at the organizational level, leads efforts to move the organization to knowledge centricity; requires a dedication to KM principles, the ability to discuss the benefits of knowledge sharing and the vision to ensure that KM initiatives are adopted by the organization; ensures that the best, relevant knowledge for the area of practice is accessible to all personnel and implements the knowledge sharing strategy in alignment with corporate guidelines; champions cross-organizational communities of practice, forms relationship with HR, IT/Systems, organizational learning; establishes incentive programs for knowledge sharing and re-use; fosters cultural change; defines roles, skill-set and opportunities for knowledge workers and facilitates training and education of knowledge workers. | CKOs must have skills across a wide variety of areas. They must be good at developing/understanding the big picture, advocacy (articulation, promotion and justification of the knowledge agenda, sometimes against cynicism or even open hostility), project and people management (oversight of a variety of activities, attention to detail, ability to motivate), communications (communicating clearly the knowledge agenda, have good listening skills and be sensitive to organizational opportunities and obstacles), leadership, team working, influencing, and interpersonal skills. The CKO who successfully combines these skills is well equipped as an excellent agent of change for their organization. |
| KM Program Manager | The KM Program Manager orchestrates the activities of the KM program and approves the projects to be initiated, | KM Program Manager is responsible for running KM programs and specific initiatives:-Ensures that all the KM projects follow the established KM governance procedures-Undertakes strategy creation for contingency planning and risk mitigation-Responsible for planning and scheduling project goals, milestones and deliverable-Defines requirements and plans the project life cycle deployment-Defines resources for project and program implementation-Identifies and solves program issues effectively- Exhibits leadership qualities to define requirements and identify risks-Possesses organization-presentation and customer service skills- Reports the progress as well as the problems to assigned KM director-CKO and/or other designated stakeholders, | Program Management capabilities-strategy and planning, leading people and building teams- collaboration and partnerships-analysis and decision making-Apply program knowledge-contract management and budgeting-and personal management Also- knowledge management- risk management-project and process management competencies are needed. |
| KM Director | The KM Director oversees the KM efforts that pertain to their specific area of the organization. This includes efforts that are driven by the CKO as well as KM Program Manager, | KM Director manages the Knowledge Management strategy-governance and processes at their specific area of the organization and leads efforts to move the organization to knowledge centricity by aligning efforts of KM to the overall Enterprise Knowledge Management Strategy | Communication: Ability to get consensus and collaboration across many business units; ability to explain complex concepts in layman’s language; ability to generate enthusiasm; ability to communicate with all levels of management and staff. Establishing straightforward, productive relationships; treating all individuals with fairness and respect, demonstrating sensitivity for cultural and gender differences; showing great drive and commitment to the organizations mission; inspires others: Learning and knowledge sharing: open to new ideas; shares own knowledge; applies knowledge in daily work; builds partnerships for learning and knowledge sharing Analytical Thinking and Decisive Judgment- analyzing issues and problems systematically, gathering broad and balanced input, drawing sound conclusions and translating conclusions into timely decisions and actions. |
| Operations KM Director | The Operations KM Director oversees the efforts that pertain to Operational Knowledge Management area. This will include efforts that are driven by the KM Program Manager as it pertains to Operations. | Operations KM Director manages the knowledge Management strategy, governance and processes at the Operations KM program level and leads efforts to move the organization to knowledge centricity by aligning efforts of Operations KM to the overall KM Enterprise Knowledge Management Strategy | Business Experience in KM and IT. Experience working with: Budget management, Leadership (experiencing in building, leading, managing and setting the strategic direction of a team)-Strong understanding of client needs and client service- Must be a responsible, self-motivated individual with strong communication/ relationship management skills-Demonstrated track record of successful interactions with all levels within an organization and especially senior leaders. Understanding of and experience with KM technologies-Ability to use and adapt to new technologies and applications-as well as guide the team and our users in doing so as well. Generally understand IT development methodologies. |
| KM Project Manager | The KM Project Manager oversees the overall direction-coordination- implementation- execution, control and completion of specific KM and KM Director initiated projects ensuring consistency with KM Program strategy- commitments and goals, | Assigned to a designated KM Director and is responsible for running KM projects: leads the planning and implementation of KM project facilitate the definition of project scope, goals and deliverables define project tasks and resource requirements develop full scale project plans assemble and coordinate project staff plan and schedule project timelines track project deliverables using appropriate tools provide direction and support to project team constantly monitor and report on progress of the project to KM Director and all stakeholders present reports defining project progress, problems and solutions implement and manage project changes and interventions to achieve project outputs project evaluations and assessment of results | Knowledge management, risk management, project and process management, financial management, planning and organization, communications. Knowledge of utilizing professional, online communities for knowledge sharing and/or collaboration purposes. A proven record of excellent management, leadership, decision-making, and interpersonal skills Strong analytical, written and oral communication skills. |
| Knowledge Manager | Knowledge Manager works with the KM Program and/or Project Manager to implement KM initiatives, | The Knowledge Manager has the following responsibilities: Manages KM efforts (often serves as a KM Project Manager or Product Owner) Looks across KM processes to capture tacit and explicit knowledgeBalances technology, information, processes and individual and organizational learning within a culture of shared values. Creates ways to maintain a sustainable competitive advantage | Knowledge managers should also have a general understanding of knowledge architecture, but do not need an in depth knowledge. Extensive experience and senior technical expertise in the field of Knowledge Management with a proven track record of successfully delivering KM strategies Strong communication skills both written and verbal, excellent report writing and organizational skills Leadership · Excellent communication · Time management/ability to prioritize · Development or management of information systems to support complex business processes · Project management of IT projects · Significant knowledge and use of database systems |
| KM (Systems) Administrator | The KM Administrator promotes, facilitates and supports the knowledge management system within the organization- with optimized outputs and process management. The KM System Administrator is the person(s) with administration rights and privileges within the specific Knowledge Repository | Responsibilities: Maintains the Knowledge RepositoryCan Serve as a KM AuthorSME for all Knowledge Repository upgrades, capability issues, and approved configuration updates The KM Administrator coordinates and executes governance of knowledge within the knowledge repository | Understanding of KM Governance best practices, Initial configuration System administration Content administration, product specific knowledge of implementing KM security policies |
| Knowledge Engineer | A knowledge engineer researches, designs, and implements computer software programs that can accomplish a wide variety of problem-solving tasks. Professionals work with knowledge-based systems (KBSs) that incorporate artificial intelligence into data mining, data entry, calculation tasks, and decision-making applications. They try to formulate codes and programs that operate in a similar fashion to a human expert on a given task, such as solving complicated physics equations. Most knowledge engineers are employed by software development companies, though some work for private corporations and consulting groups. | It is essential for a knowledge engineer to be highly detail-oriented and organized. When writing a new program, he or she must be sure that no mistakes are made. Even a tiny error in a code can disrupt an entire program and mangle data output. In addition, a knowledge engineer must have the foresight to include special instructions for the program that may be overlooked by a less experienced programmer. For example, he or she might be able to prevent common data entry errors in a spreadsheet application by programming the computer to recognize when one piece of data is very different from previous entries. If the application detects that a 100 was entered instead of a 10, for example, it could ask the user if he or she is sure that the entry is correct. | Knowledge engineers need in depth competency as it pertains to Knowledge Architectures as well as Knowledge sharing, collaboration and transfer techniques and methods. A person who is interested in becoming a knowledge engineer can look into bachelor’s degree programs at accredited colleges and universities. Relatively few schools offer degrees specifically in knowledge engineering, but a program in computer science or software engineering can provide the appropriate training. Many future engineers decide to pursue master’s degrees or higher before looking for jobs in the specialty. A new knowledge engineer usually has the chance to work alongside experienced professionals for several weeks or months to master his or her skills. |
| KM Liaison | The KM Liaison is the knowledge management resource assigned to various teams across the organization that executes KM specific duties for their teams on behalf of the KM. | Responsibilities: Execute KM initiatives on behalf of the specific KM DirectorServe as KM Champion for the KM and specific KM Director ProgramServe as the Primary SME for the specific KM Director area | KM Liaison must have a general understanding of knowledge management, including Knowledge sharing, collaboration and transfer techniques and methods. |
| KM Specialist | The Knowledge Management specialist is engaged in the support of the KM Policy, Planning Research and Metrics for knowledge management. | KM Specialist Responsibilities Include: Lead/contribute the development of a knowledge management strategy and associated implementation plan. Lead/contribute to the development and execution of the KM Governance PlanDevelop a comprehensive mapping of KM information sources and knowledge, including processesContribute to the develop and ongoing maintenance of the knowledge management system(s)Create a approach for guiding on going analyses needed to address observed KM gaps and for identifying opportunities for innovation, process, procedure and policymaking/adjustmentsOversee capacity building and support for internal knowledge acquisition, management and sharing; ensure relevant communities of practice are developed and strengthened. Support development of staff, consultants and key partners and on all aspects of knowledge management | Knowledge engineers need in depth competency as it pertains to Knowledge Architectures as well as Knowledge sharing, collaboration and transfer techniques and methods. |
| Knowledge Architect | The Knowledge Architect is a cross-organizational and interdisciplinary role. This role has knowledge of taxonomies, Ontology analysis/ design/creation, understanding and creating knowledge flows to capture tacit and explicit knowledge The individual who oversees implementation of the enterprise’s knowledge architecture, who leads the “knowledge architecture team” in identifying, organizing and providing access to scattered, heterogeneous information in digital and paper form, and who leads the knowledge audit to determine and continually re-evaluate the specific knowledge needs of users and their business processes. The knowledge architect defines knowledge processes and identifies the technology requirements for creating, capturing, organizing, accessing and using knowledge assets. | This person is charged with the design of dynamic systems of knowledge creation and transfer , the design of semantic structures that range from taxonomies to models of knowledge flows (explicit and tacit) within an organization. It also deals with the development of those semantic structures and designing for their use and application. A critical part of creating these designs is research into an organization’s knowledge, the knowledge contained in the people of the organization, and, the information/knowledge component of the activities of the organization. | Knowledge Architects it provides the tools and skills to help them design knowledge into the organization’s business processes. Understanding of knowledge structures (tacit and explicit), understanding of data modeling (structured data) and content modeling (unstructured data focus). |
| KM Author/ Writer | The primary person(s) involved in creating knowledge within the knowledge repository. A member of the KM staff that applies, plain language and information design to the construction of KAs, FAQs and other content being leveraged for Knowledge Management | Responsibilities include: Plain Language and Information Design (PLAID)Collaboration with Key SME’sEstablish/Maintain, Adherence and Governance of Style Guide | KM Author/Writer must have experience in Plain Language and Information Design (PLAID) as well as Linguistics. Also, must have a general understanding of knowledge management, including Knowledge sharing, collaboration and transfer techniques and methods. |
| KM Analyst | The Knowledge Management Analyst analyses and proposes improvements to the overall effectiveness and efficiency of the KM Program at all levels by applying advanced knowledge management methods and practices for all users of knowledge management at Organization | KM Analyst responsibilities include: Implementing a range of methods and tools to capture and document knowledge Contributes to the analysis and configuration of knowledge maintenance approaches and practices Contributes to the analysis and configuration of knowledge sharing approaches and practices Works closely with the other staff members of the specific KM director and/or KM to ensure that new elements of knowledge management using innovative technology and media are retained and developed, and advising on the mechanisms for their implementation. | Knowledge Management, Deep analysis competency as it pertains to leveraging various KM Methods, Knowledge Analysts it provides the means to communicate the business’ needs in a ways that engineers and architects can understand. While this competency focuses on operations in knowledge organizations, it is also of value to business professionals. |
At some organizations multiple KM roles identified here may be performed by a single individual. It will depend on the size of the organization’s KM Program and/or KM Projects. It is important to align the KM Role with specific competencies to ensure the person in the role is qualified. KM Roles and Responsibilities aligned with the appropriate KM Competency(s) serves as the foundation for functions such as training, formal education, career development, and performance management because it specifies what essential knowledge, skills, and abilities are needed to be effect in a specific role.
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Tony, Great addition to the body of knowledge.
I’d like to see your competencies by role, integrated with the detailed KM Program competencies that we study in the CKM Program.
We have organized the KM Strategies within the KM Methodology and they often span multiple KM roles.
We practice them in class – learn-by-doing, which we call the KM PRACTICUM(tm).
Doug, thanks for the comment! I would need to work on aligning the KM Program competencies of the CKM program. Perhaps, I can create a blog post for KMI with those details.