Project Manager

This role will ideally be based remotely near Chicago for a light hybrid onsite/remote work model at our downtown Chicago office.

About the role

The Project Manager is responsible for owning, managing, and executing the day-to-day activities on client projects. They partner with the team to ensure that engagements meet all requirements, exceed client expectations, and are of the highest quality. This role leads from experience in structuring multiple engagements with parallel work streams, spanning digital strategy, brand development, brand strategy, creative, design, user experience, and web development that ladders up to both client satisfaction and portfolio health.

Responsibilities

• Act as the primary day-to-day contact for both client and internal teams.
• Scope and estimate work collaboratively as part of a cross-functional team to drive the approach and sale of new projects for new and existing clients.
• Manage and report on project budgets against revenue and margin targets, conduct revenue forecasting, identify growth opportunities, negotiate contracts, oversee legal documents, and drive client profitability.
• Manage cross-functional work streams across multiple projects and clients, focusing on upstream design and strategy work with the potential to take digital ideas through build and implementation.
• Ensure the use of best practices and apply lessons learned from previous engagements.
• Help produce project lifecycle documentation, including project plans, status reports, and all other documentation defining individual project requirements.
• Monitor the quality of all aspects of all projects: scope, risk, schedule, budget, delivery, and all associated client communication.
• Contribute to and help manage internal process improvement initiatives, especially those involving tools and knowledge management standardization and solutions.
• Collaborate within the organization to develop guidelines and processes that advance the agency’s Project Management discipline.
• Proactively identify issues and risks; know when to escalate issues and when to work through them on your own.
• Pursue opportunities to both lead by example and foster the talents of high-performing team members.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree or relevant experience required.
• At least 3 years of professional project management experience.
• High emotional intelligence with the ability to demonstrate client empathy, while balancing the needs of our business and our team.
• Experience in a client services organization or digital agency leading projects ranging from strategy, design, UX, and research.
• Solid track record of successfully developing multi-faceted projects from start to completion, on time, and within budget.
• Experience resourcing team members across projects.
• Detail-oriented self-starter with strong planning and organizational skills.
• Excellent communication skills, particularly in conjunction with workflow steps, internal and external processes, and client-facing presentations.
• Effective negotiation and conflict management/risk mitigation skills.
• Experience in proposal creation, planning, and project estimation.
• Accountability and flexibility, with the ability to work in a fast-paced environment while managing multiple projects simultaneously.
• Ability to work well under pressure.
• Experience or exposure to delivery of technology implementation projects is a plus, but not required.
• Experience working with agile methodology is a plus, but not required.

Benefits

• Blue Cross Blue Shield PPO Health coverage, as well as a health savings account with employer-funded contributions.
• Dental and Vision insurance.
• Life/AD&D insurance and Short/Long Term Disability insurance free of cost, with the option to add additional voluntary coverage.
• 401(k) plan with employer-matched funds.
• Transportation Benefits for pre-tax contributions to pay for parking and public transit needs.
• 4 weeks of paid time off, in addition to company-paid holidays. Additional time off accrues after 3-year and 10-year anniversaries.
• Paid Parental and Primary Caregiver Leave for new birth, adoption, or foster placement of a child.
• Employee Perks Program offering member-only discounts and corporate rates on various services and products.

Pay

Base salary range of $80,000–$120,000. Additional earnings may be available through incentive programs like annual bonuses and profit sharing.