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Hire the best Heads of Projects in Germany in minutes from 15,000 CVs with the power of AI

Bring in senior project leadership for complex delivery, PMO setup, turnaround work, and cross-functional stakeholder management. Ideal when you need a Project Director or Programme Manager who can align teams, control scope, and keep execution moving. Fast, precise matching with vetted, available freelancers.

About the role

What they lead

A Head of Projects takes ownership of delivery across one or more critical workstreams. This role sets the plan, defines priorities, and keeps people aligned when projects involve many teams, shifting scope, or tight governance.

  • Project and programme planning
  • Stakeholder management and reporting
  • Risk, issue, and dependency control
  • Delivery oversight across internal and external teams
  • PMO setup or improvement

Where they add value

Companies bring in a freelance Head of Projects when execution needs experienced leadership without a long hiring cycle. That is common in transformations, system rollouts, process redesign, relocations, and vendor-heavy work.

In Germany, this often means working with industrial firms, tech companies, and enterprise teams that need clear structure and disciplined follow-through. The role can be on-site, remote, or hybrid, depending on how much access is needed to leadership and delivery teams.

Core strengths

A strong Head of Projects is calm under pressure and clear in communication. They do not just track tasks; they shape the way work gets done and make decisions visible.

  • Strong command of project governance
  • Clear executive communication
  • Practical planning and prioritisation
  • Ability to unstick teams and decisions
  • Experience with complex, cross-functional delivery

Tools and focus

The exact toolset depends on the environment, but the work often sits around Jira, Confluence, MS Project, Smartsheet, Excel, and reporting dashboards. In larger organisations, a Head of Projects may also work closely with PMO standards, steering committees, and change-control processes.

Good candidates understand both the business side and the delivery side. They can manage a recovery plan, support a new programme office, or step in as a Project Director when leadership is missing.

Meet FRATCH Heads of Projects

Ole Himmel

Manager Post Merger Integration, Process Management and Digitalization (Software)

Leipzig

Last position:

Interim Head of PMO at RAILPOOL GmbH

Due to the steady growth of the customer organization and the associated increase in the number of projects in a wide range of areas, including IT/digitalization, sales and organizational development, and controlling, the demands on the projects are increasing. Projects are often started but not implemented within the planned time frame, resources are not clearly assigned, and the business value is not clearly demonstrated. The goal of the assignment as Interim Head of PMO is to further develop and embed an existing project organization from the CDO area at management level. It is important that the governance is pragmatic, easy to understand, and simple to apply in daily project work. The tasks and roles are to be defined, embedded in the organization, and this strategic PMO is also to be supported by an IT solution. This solution is to be selected and introduced. In addition, all ongoing projects are to be gradually transferred into PMO governance and project control is to be centralized.

Ole Himmel

Clemens Eibofner

Industrial Transformation Executive

Last position:

Head of Projects at BORSIG ZM GmbH

  • Designed and established the Project Management Office as the organization's central delivery function.
  • Expanded Project Management organization from 3 to 10 Project Managers to support portfolio growth.
  • Introduced Commercial Project Management and Project Controlling as dedicated governance functions.
  • Implemented portfolio governance, executive reporting and standardized performance management.
  • Led an international portfolio of more than 20 EPC projects through execution and contractual delivery.
Clemens Eibofner

Aydogan Koc

Head of Special Projects–Executive Consultant

Starnberg

Last position:

Head of Special Projects–Executive Consultant at HPS GmbH

  • Responsible for space & defence projects with NASA, ESA & national agencies
  • Senior program management for special projects
  • Collaboration with Thales and other key industry stakeholders
Aydogan Koc

Andrea Krämer

PMO / Project Manager / Transformation Lead

Berlin

Last position:

PMO / Project Manager / Agile Transformation Lead at Freelancer

PMO | AI Incubator Debt Collection/Financial Services Establishment and implementation of a cross-functional project and governance structure for one of Europe’s leading technology-driven debt collection firms. Focus on collaboration across business units, identification of AI use cases, scaling of data-driven business processes and automation of AI-supported customer interactions.

Strategy and Efficiency Consultant | Retail Analysis, identification, and optimization of inefficient workflows with the goal of increasing employee productivity, improving communication flows, and better aligning the organization with strategic business objectives.

PMO | Big Pharma Establishment of agile working processes and organizational structures, as well as coaching of a cross-functional business unit of a major vaccine manufacturer to enhance efficiency, transparency, and collaboration. Design and implementation of a structured onboarding program to enable more efficient scaling of headcount, along with the establishment of sustainable formats for knowledge sharing and transfer within the organization.

Project Manager | Big Pharma Management and support of the tendering and procurement process for an innovation project aimed at improving efficiency in vaccine management, including coordination of internal and external stakeholders.

Project Manager | Big Pharma Identification and evaluation of additional vaccination sites beyond traditional medical practices. Development of a pilot concept considering regulatory requirements as well as diverse market and stakeholder interests.

Strategy Consultant | Automotive & Retail Development of a market analysis on “innovation in retail” for a luxury automotive manufacturer, including an international benchmark of current trends and innovations. The project included analyzing innovative retail store concepts, experience centers, and showrooms with a focus on interactivity and technology, as well as deriving recommendations on brand fit and customer experience to support the design of a new, forward-looking brand store.

Product Owner | Automotive Management of the integration of a service provider’s SDK for identity verification into the OEM’s system landscape, ensuring secure driver authentication before enabling safety-critical features. Responsibilities included managing technical, contractual, and process requirements, leading the tendering process, forecasting usage, and preparing management reports, while working closely with IT development, legal, compliance, customer service, and procurement teams.

Product Owner | Automotive Responsible for ensuring GDPR-compliant documentation of software components and establishing proper processes for data processing and storage. This included creating records of processing activities, managing data processing agreements, and overseeing the review and update of privacy policies, as well as defining and implementing requirements to ensure data security and integrity.

Interim Head of Buying & Category Management | E-Commerce Led the strategic and operational development of the buying department of a fashion e-commerce company, with full responsibility for process optimization and budget management. The role involved building and maintaining supplier relationships, negotiating contracts, and managing a team of 7–10 direct reports, including recruiting and onboarding new employees and a new Head of Buying & Planning. Additionally, a standardized onboarding program was designed and implemented, and close collaboration with the CEO and cross-functional teams ensured alignment with the overall business strategy.

Product Owner | Aviation Led the relaunch of a private jet airline’s website, including the redesign of backend and content management systems. The role covered gathering and structuring stakeholder requirements, defining functional specifications, shaping the visual design and user experience, and coordinating the development team to ensure timely and high-quality implementation.

Consultant | Various Projects: Digital Transformation Retail Provided consulting services on digital transformation, customer engagement/CRM, digital store concepts, and omnichannel strategies. This included developing forward-looking concepts, managing agile software development projects for mobile applications, collaborating closely with developers and UX/UI designers, and supporting IT recruiting efforts.

Andrea Krämer

Neli Georgieva

PMO Lead, Scrum Master, Agile Coach,

München

Last position:

Cohort Participant at Founder Institute

  • Customer discovery and product-market fit validation for an AI tutoring platform
  • MVP experiments: customer interviews, landing page tests
  • Entrepreneurship training: product-market fit, go-to-market strategy
Neli Georgieva

Michael Gericke

Interim Manager, Project Management Lead

Wuppertal

Last position:

Interim Manager, Head of Project Management at Hubert Schlieckmann GmbH

  • Optimizing and monitoring project management

  • Internal/external stakeholder management

  • Conflict and escalation management

  • Point of contact for customers

  • Leading team meetings

  • Planning, coordinating, and controlling projects with consideration of client and project milestones

  • Developing, monitoring, and ensuring adherence to financial and personnel planning

  • Tracking deadlines and ensuring project and product quality

  • Welded assemblies from 7xxx series aluminum extrusion profiles

  • Complex chassis assemblies made from stamped, forged, and cast parts

  • Module carriers, structural elements, door components

  • Progressive and transfer presses, robotic welding, automated assembly, mechanical aluminum profile machining

  • 6 team members

Michael Gericke

Georg Wagener

Head of PMO

Köln

Last position:

Head of PMO at Vivax Net GmbH

  • Lead FTTH program management
  • Select and implement digitalization software
  • Lead process management
  • Lead procurement and logistics
Georg Wagener

Christina Mante

Head of PMO

Chorin

Last position:

Head of PMO at PriceWhaterhouseCoopers GmbH

  • Coaching the PMO team on project management processes and methods
  • Project control
  • Reporting to project boards
  • Risk management
  • Change management
  • Standards for project documentation
  • Creating project documents (project manual, reports)
Christina Mante

Hans-Peter Ramatschi

Interim Director Project Management

Starnberg

Last position:

Interim Director Project Management at Heater and air conditioning equipment manufacturer (non-automotive)

  • Improved status and performance of the project management department
  • Project management "Project Management Excellence"
  • Operational coaching in crisis projects
  • Root cause analysis
  • Developing and implementing improvement measures
  • Reporting to Head of R&D
Hans-Peter Ramatschi

Silke Wöhning

Head of Project Management and Consultancy

Hamburg

Last position:

Head of Project Management and Consultancy at Systemtechnik GmbH

  • Planning of projects and consulting services: professional, technical and commercial, focusing on transformation for public transport
  • Identification and assessment of project risks with development of measures and recommendations for risk minimization and avoidance
  • Evaluation of projects and reporting
  • Execution of projects and delivery of consulting services on time, with required quality and within budget
  • Project, hardware and consulting services forecasting
  • Disciplinary and professional staff management
  • Team development and coaching
  • Resource planning across various locations
  • Stakeholder management
  • Client management with service and support
  • Development of contingency plans
Silke Wöhning

Ricardo Schaitanow

Head of Project Management Department, Project Manager

München

Last position:

Head of Project Management Department, Project Manager at BPS Planung GmbH

  • Project management team leadership
  • Project control, project controlling, quality management
  • Overall project management for BIM projects / architectural planning, building services engineering (HVAC/plumbing), infrastructure
  • Contract and variation management
  • Project acquisition, contract negotiations
Ricardo Schaitanow

Deniz Öztürk

Owner, Director of Projects

Berlin

Last position:

Owner, Director of Projects at Alfanorm / Integralis

  • Developing management strategy for industry-focused, stand-alone Testing, Inspection, and Certification company.
  • Developing organizational strategy and planning tactical staffing for more than 150 employees.
  • Securing accreditation for management system and related internal auditing processes.
  • On behalf of INTERTEK Inc., managed testing inspections and certifications for turnaround project at SOCAR / Petrochemical Plant (20 MM$).
Deniz Öztürk

Sven Neumann

Business Executive for Strategy & Operations | International Interim Executive: CFO / COO / CEO or Head of PMO / PMI

Dortmund

Last position:

Acquisition Program Manager at impacts4u

  • Strategic planning and management of a transition
  • Monitoring the end-to-end execution of the acquisition program
  • Stakeholder communication for all acquisition-related communications
  • Risk management: identifying potential risks and developing mitigation strategies
  • Reporting and analysis during and after the acquisition
Sven Neumann

Julian Beer

Head of Organisation & Projects

Herten

Last position:

Head of Organisation & Projects at opta data group

  • People management for 4 teams comprising 22 experts and project managers
  • Member of the group's senior leadership team
  • Strategic alignment of the department and linkage to the group's strategy based on a systems engineering modelling approach
  • Design of a project management office, benchmarking system and knowledge management system
Julian Beer

Tom Witkovsky

Interim Head of Digital Group Marketing / Relaunch of Group Websites and Applications

Kirchzarten

Last position:

Verbraucherzentrale Bundesverband

  • Gathering requirements for editorial and structured content, its structures, digital assets and their creation, media channels
  • Converting requirements into a requirements specification based on use cases
Tom Witkovsky

Discover over 15,000 top freelancers

Heads of Projects statistics

Aggregated from the professional profiles of matched freelancers.

Experience

21 years

Position duration

2.7 years

Positions per freelancer

11

Top business areas

Project Management, Strategy, Operations

Top industries

Information Technology, Manufacturing, Professional Services

Certification focus areas

Project Management, Information Technology, Operations

Bachelor's degree or higher

100%

Master's degree or higher

75%

Doctorate

13%

Certifications per freelancer

5

Most common languages

English, German, Spanish

Speak two or more languages

94%

Daily Rate Distribution

0 2 4 6 8
<€640 €640-800 €800-960 €960-1120 €1120+

The chart shows how the daily rates of freelancers in this role are distributed, based on recent contracts on our platform. Each bar covers a rate range — its height shows how many freelancers charge within that range. Actual rates may vary depending on seniority level, experience, skill specialization, project complexity, and engagement length.

Average rates for Heads of Projects & Seniority distribution

Rates are based on recent contracts and do not include FRATCH margin.

1200
900
600
300
Rate comparison chart
Daily rate avg. 1018 €

The average daily rate is the mean of all daily rates from recent contracts of comparable freelancers on our platform.

1200
900
600
300
Rate comparison chart
Median rate 1000 €

The median daily rate is the middle value of all daily rates — half of comparable freelancers charge less, half charge more. Unlike the average, it is barely affected by outliers.

Actual rates may vary depending on seniority level, experience, skill specialization, project complexity, and engagement length.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Need more info? We have all the details about FRATCH

A Head of Projects leads delivery across key initiatives, coordinates project teams, and keeps scope, timing, and risks under control. In freelance work, the focus is usually on a defined mandate: set up governance, recover troubled projects, or lead a critical change programme. The job is less about routine administration and more about decision-making and delivery control.

A freelance Head of Projects makes sense when the need is urgent, temporary, or tied to a specific transformation. Companies often choose this route when they need senior leadership for a project phase, a portfolio reset, or a turnaround without adding a permanent layer. It is a practical choice when speed and experience matter more than long-term headcount.

A strong Head of Projects combines structure, leadership, and clear communication. They should be able to manage priorities, handle stakeholders, surface risks early, and keep delivery moving when teams are under pressure. Experience with governance, reporting, and cross-functional coordination is usually essential.

A Head of Projects usually works at a higher level than a Project Manager and oversees several projects, a programme, or a delivery function. The role often shapes governance, standards, and decision paths, while a Project Manager focuses on one project or a narrower scope. In smaller firms, the titles can overlap, but the seniority and breadth are often different.

Not always, but the roles can overlap. A Head of Projects may act like a Programme Manager when multiple related projects need one steering hand, or like a PMO Lead when the priority is process, reporting, and control. The best fit depends on whether the main need is leadership, coordination, or operational project-office setup.

Yes, a Head of Projects can often work remotely, especially for planning, reporting, stakeholder alignment, and governance. On-site presence becomes more valuable when the work depends on workshop facilitation, leadership access, or close contact with factory, office, or programme teams. For Germany-based clients, bilingual communication may matter if the wider organisation works in German.

Look for evidence that the Head of Projects has led complex delivery, not just tracked it. Strong signals include clear examples of stakeholder management, project recovery, governance setup, and how they handled trade-offs when priorities conflicted. Ask how they measure progress, what they escalate, and how they keep teams aligned when plans change.

A freelance Head of Projects is usually expected to step in fast, build trust quickly, and operate with little hand-holding. The work can involve senior meetings, difficult trade-offs, and close coordination with operations, IT, finance, or external vendors. Clear scope at the start is important, because the role can expand if the client sees strong delivery leadership.

The average hourly rate for Heads of Projects in Germany is 127 €, which corresponds to a daily rate of about 1,018 € based on an 8-hour working day.

Of the freelancers working as Heads of Projects in Germany, 100% hold at least a Bachelor's degree, 75% hold at least a Master's degree, and 13% hold a doctorate.

On average, freelancers working as Heads of Projects in Germany have 21 years of professional experience, with a single engagement typically lasting around 2.7 years.

The most common languages among freelancers working as Heads of Projects in Germany are English (100%), German (94%), and Spanish (22%).

The most common industries among freelancers working as Heads of Projects in Germany are Information Technology (56%), Manufacturing (56%), and Professional Services (56%).

The most common business areas among freelancers working as Heads of Projects in Germany are Project Management (100%), Strategy (89%), and Operations (78%).

FRATCH Heads of Projects main locations

Our freelancers and interim experts are at home across the DACH region — available on-site in the major business hubs or fully remote. Choose a location to discover matched specialists, local market insights and up-to-date availability.

Berlin Hamburg Munich Cologne Frankfurt Stuttgart Dusseldorf Leipzig Dortmund Essen Bremen Dresden Hanover Nuremberg

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Philipp Thomaschewski

FRATCH CEO

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