November 2, 2026
Opening Doors in Project Leadership
The Case for Skill-Based Selection Over Prescribed Experience Requirements
Across procurements, project leadership requirements often set experience thresholds at 10 to 15 years. That narrow measure screens out capable candidates before their leadership potential is considered. Too often, tenure is treated as proof of readiness, but tenure thresholds are not qualifications.
It's time we rethink who qualifies to lead starts with skill-based selection criteria.
Kathryn La Chapelle, Construction Manager
Instead of defaulting to years alone, owners and government agencies can weigh project delivery performance, project complexity relative to contract value, references on leadership and problem-solving, collaboration and communication across teams, and evidence of managing concurrent scopes. These are the skills that lead today's complex alternative delivery projects. These skills should give agencies the confidence to select a leader on merit, not tenure.
Jennifer DeLong, Project Manager
When agencies prioritize demonstrated leadership over prescribed tenure requirements, they expand opportunity for individuals whose experience does not fit a traditional career trajectory. At the same time, they create a larger pool of qualified candidates and improve their ability to identify the person best suited to lead the work.
The shift works across every contract type and dollar threshold, whether on-call, task-order, design-build, or traditional delivery. Requirements written around skill instead of tenure build a wider, stronger candidate pool and open the door to the next generation of project leaders.
One active transit contract demonstrated what that can look like in practice. By removing a prescribed years-of-experience requirement and evaluating qualifications based on demonstrated capability, the project team selected a qualified first-time project manager for the role. That single decision built succession, created a mentorship pathway, and invested in a career. This is exactly what can strengthen the leadership pipeline and prepare the next generation of project leaders.
Desmond Washington, Project Manager
Evidence From Current Procurements
Across the transportation industry, procurement requirements are beginning to evolve, showing that leadership qualifications can be grounded in demonstrated capability as much as prescribed experience.
- The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), for example, states that it desires a project manager with a minimum of 15 years of experience managing transportation projects of similar scope and complexity rather than establishing an absolute requirement. By choosing “desires” instead of imposing a firm requirement, WSDOT created room to evaluate the full strength of a candidate’s qualifications, including demonstrated performance, leadership ability, project complexity, and delivery experience alongside tenure.
- Similarly, Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) has incorporated qualification criteria that allows them to evaluate qualifications beyond years of experience alone, recognizing that successful project delivery depends on demonstrated capability as much as time served in a role.
- LA Metro's G Line BRT procurement similarly emphasized leadership capability, project delivery experience, and the management of complex work. These examples show that high standards and expanded opportunity are not competing goals. Qualification requirements can still demand experienced leaders while giving real weight to client recommendations, delivery performance, project complexity, communication skills, and proven leadership.
Melissa Garcia, Office/Field Engineer
Four Places to Change the Language
Without rewriting procurement philosophy, agencies can change specific lines in specific documents. Four places matter.
- Solicitation Language: Replace "minimum of X years" with "demonstrated experience delivering projects of similar scope and complexity," and define complexity by contract value, number of concurrent scopes, or stakeholder count rather than elapsed time. Adopt permissive verbs, such as "desires," "will be evaluated," "may include”, instead of mandatory ones, preserving the room to credit exceptional capability.
- References: Ask for two owner references specific to project management performance, plus one example of a recovery on a project that went off schedule or over budget. State dollar values and delivery methods for each referenced project so reviewers can judge complexity directly.
- Scoring: Add an interview or oral presentation with the proposed project manager as a scored element, weighted enough to influence close rankings. Score delivery performance separately from tenure so a strong record can offset a shorter résumé. Publish the rubric, including how much weight tenure carries, so offerors know capability is genuinely competitive.
- Reporting: Track and report first-time project manager placements so agencies can see whether the language actually changed outcomes.
Ryan Richards, Project Manager
Small changes in qualification language can change who gets considered, who gets mentored, and who gains the experience needed to lead.
As infrastructure programs grow in scale and complexity, the industry cannot afford to define readiness by tenure alone. A broader view of leadership potential will help agencies strengthen succession planning and build deeper benches for the next generation of transportation projects.