Onsite Senior Project Manager (Design)

About the role

Marks, part of the Propelis Group, is a consumer experience agency focused on creating engaging moments across various brand spectrums. We are a global network of 1,900+ team members across 25+ studios and 20+ countries, collaborating with leading brands to solve complex business challenges through design, strategy, and craftsmanship.

Responsibilities

• Support design phase from conception to completion with internal and external partners.
• Maintain brand assets and toolkits.
• Be the primary point of contact for any design project matters.
• Challenge status quo, clearly understand business objectives, and add value in delivering the best design solutions to meet project objectives and/or exceed brief expectations.
• Develop a trusted advisor relationship with stakeholders and vendors.
• Schedule/attend project meetings, create/present presentations, and actively participate in project kick-offs and creative reviews.
• Proactively manage assigned projects from brief through execution and release of artwork, partnering with the design lead, vendors, and agency teams to meet project brief objectives and deliverables in a timely manner.
• Daily collaboration with project teams and the design lead to ensure projects are progressing effectively and on time.
• Lead weekly status report meetings to report on project status and highlight any challenges or potential delays.
• Proactively lead, anticipate, and provide solutions to address any issues and keep projects on course through completion.
• Effectively manage all project requests and alert or escalate any issues to the client Sr. Design Director and Marks CSSD as needed, and keep them apprised of workload demands to best manage team resources and address potential risks.
• Step in for Design Managers in select meetings as needed.
• Provide oversight and support Project Managers in developing effective and well-positioned Concept Presentation sets-ups to best elevate the quality of thought-provoking presentations and deliverables to the client.
• Collaborate with Project Managers and Traffic Manager to ensure correct resources are assigned for each project/request and make any necessary adjustments of work in progress to ensure on-time delivery and/or resource optimization throughout the life cycle of the project or special requests.
• Conduct status meetings with all teams to ensure accounts are running properly.
• Provide daily status updates for all projects in collaboration with the project managers; work with the design lead and agency leaders to reschedule projects and reset expectations based on new or changing priorities; ensure transparency and no surprises.
• Manage communication with Marketing and XF partners.
• Demonstrate understanding of client's brands and how each project objective fits into the overall brand strategy.
• Ensure client expectations and projects are effectively managed: keeping our clients happy, being an invaluable resource, providing timely and successful delivery of brand/project solutions according to Brand Guidelines and brief objectives.
• Develop creative briefs and/or ensure the client issued briefs are comprehensive with necessary content to kick off new assignments.
• Develop and issue meeting recaps that outline key discussion points, requests, and/or agreements and key next steps/timing to key team members in a concise and timely manner.
• Add value to the strategic development portion of projects including brainstorming sessions, be known as the expert of the category, competitors, and target audience behaviors/needs.
• Create any OOP cost estimates and secure client approvals prior to incurring costs.
• Take the lead on miscellaneous client requests for presentation material, artwork file requests, etc. and managing team resources (PMs/Traffic/Production Designers) to support deliverables.
• Participate in and support agency business objectives appropriate to role (quality objectives, company policies, team morale).
• Proactively identify and suggest workflow/processes improvement opportunities.
• Proactively contribute to the development and continuous improvements of SOPs.

Qualifications

Education & Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in Design Management, Marketing, Communications, Project Management, or related field preferred.
• Minimum 7 years of relevant Creative Project Management experience in a design/creative agency environment required.

• Strong project management skills with in-depth hands-on program management and execution experience working in a fast-paced CPG environment.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate, present, and influence brand design strategy decisions credibly and effectively at all levels of the organization across both agency and client teams.
• Experience in developing and delivering client-focused solutions based on business needs.
• Prioritized organizational skills with proven ability to manage multiple projects at a time, while paying strict attention to the details and adhering to brand guidelines.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, both written and verbal.
• Willingness to work an extended schedule, as needed, to meet project deadlines.
• Proficient using Mac OS, and Microsoft Products.
• Familiarity with creative workflows, asset management systems, and project tracking/routing tools (e.g., Monday.com).

Benefits

Group benefits currently include a selection of health care plans with prescription drug coverage, dental plan, vision plan, basic and supplemental life insurance, a flexible spending account for medical and dependent care expenses or a health savings account based on plan selection, short/long term disability, and 401(k) Savings Plan.

Pay

The U.S. pay range for this position is $115,000 - $125,000 USD annually. Ultimately, in determining pay, we will consider the successful candidate’s location, experience, and other job-related factors.

Schedule

This is a hybrid role which currently requires 3 days per week in office, but is subject to change based on the client in-office policy.