Though his abilities and functions depended more of the work context, of the organization and its scopes, to this specialist it can be required some of these abilities and functions.

Personal abilities:

• Critical and structural analysis ability is essential to this job. That's why it is considered an "engineering" o "engineering activity"  though it not a requirement to be an engineer.
• Ability to stimulate change in the organization. 
• Experience of supporting a large team of individuals of all levels of responsibility and with varying skills.
• The ability to work flexibly in order to respond to changing priorities.
• Critical and analytical thinking abilities with great attention to detail.
• Problem solving skills and solution implementation
• Researching skills competence with ability to identify best practice approach.
• Ability to lead teams, create presentations and facilitate brainstorming and workshop.
• Qualified in Information and Knowledge Management.
• Good communication and relationship skills

Job functions:

• Can work in several levels of the company and with several levels of requirements.
• Update and maintenance of the knowledge bases of the organization, takes part in simulations and as a facilitator in group activities oriented to creativity and innovation: the synthesis of group thinking. Collaborates closely with the Human Resources division.
• Takes part in the knowledge sharing policy elaboration.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills and have the initiative and the confidence to back their own judgment.
• Determine how the existing mechanisms and elements of knowledge management are used to capture tacit and explicit knowledge .
• Evaluate and prioritize the risks and determine the organizational knowledge requirements and gaps.
• Contribute towards building a shared mindset and understanding of knowledge management using the agreed change management approaches
• Formulate evidence based knowledge analysis and identify key priorities.
• Implement the action plan, incorporating skills and knowledge transfer, measures and controls, agreed benchmarks/standards, management process and capture of explicit and tacit knowledge and information
• Align and identify integration points for capability, workforce planning, succession planning, competence within the Knowledge Management framework.
• Implement the action plan, incorporating skills and knowledge transfer, measures and controls, agreed benchmarks/standards, management process and capture of explicit and tacit knowledge and information
• Measure, track and report impacts against defined bench marks .
• Assess the sustainability of and review and modify the knowledge management process and framework.
• Formulate knowledge analysis based on evidence and identify main priorities (gaps, critical information, ways to communicate and transfer approaches).
• Align and identify integration points within the knowledge management framework.
• Align and identify integration points for capability, workforce planning, succession planning, competence within the Knowledge Management framework
• Formulate and agree a knowledge management action plan that incorporates leading practice supported by IT, internal systems and processes
• Have previous experience in managing a team and complex projects.

If knowledge is an asset, it must be managed just the same as financial assets, and its audit must be feasible. A knowledge engineer must be able to recognize:

• What does the organization know
• What the organization doesn't know
• Who needs to know what
• Who knows what (and where is he, inside or outside the organization)
• Does our organization systematically learn from outside?
• Do we create knowledge here?
• Is the newly created knowledge replicated to the necessary places?
• Do we measure and assign a value the knowledge assets?
• Is our working environment knowledge friendly

Colleges and universities are not turning out knowledge management professionals just yet, although a few business programs are beginning to offer the course. Human resources specialists and education professionals have some of the skills needed by a Knowledge Manager and they are moving up to the position.