Banks - especially those that are expanding or integrating - are ramping up their recruitment of project managers in Hong Kong, but they’re being choosy about who they hire.

With HK banking in a state of flux, firms are taking on experienced PMs to guide them through the changes ahead.

The growth camp comprises of banks like Barclays (expanding in equities) and aggressive Aussie duo ANZ and NAB. Consolidators include RBS and Nomura, following their takeovers of ABN AMRO and Lehman Brothers respectively.

A further drive for PMs is likely to come from BoA-Merrill Lynch, and potential from whichever banks snap up sections of RBS in Asia.

“We have seen an increase in demand, which in light of current conditions, is an interesting concept. Traditionally in times of market decline, projects will be one of the first areas where headcount will be cut,” says Mark Andrews, manager, banking operations, Robert Walters Hong Kong.

So what’s behind the current hiring? “There’s a demand for seasoned project managers to drive finance and operations projects in mergers, demergers and takeovers,” explains Andrews.

He adds that banks are offering roles on both a temporary and permanent basis and some candidates have even secured two to three-year fixed-term contracts with redundancy clauses written in.

But be warned, if you’re not currently a project manager, you’re unlikely to land one of these new jobs, even if you’ve worked in PM previously in your career.

Getting sign-off is tricky and each new hire must be carefully justified, so banks need their PMs to “tick all the boxes”, says Matthew Adamson, manager, WH Marks Sattin.

“Sometimes line managers who have overseen change are considered. But generally most banks want pure project managers. The scale of the change that banks are undertaking is more than anything that’s been done before, so it’s important to have a thorough understanding of the methodologies required to cope with this scale of project,” he adds.

But even experienced project managers with unbroken PM careers need to fit the job function. “For example, an IT project manager will no longer be considered for a non-IT role. Banks are no longer able to compromise like they previously were,” says Adamson.

Not surprisingly, there is a shortage of professionals who can meet all the banks’ requirements.Those who do can command significant salary increments, and sometimes even get offered more than one role, according to Adamson.