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AbelsonTaylor Group · 2 weeks ago

Associate Director Project Management

Chicago, IL

Full-time

Hybrid

Senior Level, Lead/Staff

$115K/yr - $130K/yr

7+ years exp

AbelsonTaylor Group is dedicated to health, wellness, and pharma products, fostering a creative and inclusive environment. They are seeking an Associate Director Project Management to lead project management functions, ensuring efficient operations and client satisfaction while managing budgets and timelines.

FitnessHealth Care

Responsibilities

Lead highly visible and complex projects requiring unique technology, processes, or workflows. Develop timelines, estimates, and scenarios as needed. Monitor and adjust workflows and resources to optimize project efficiency

Supervise Associate Project Managers (APMs) on routing, approval processes, and documentation of client changes and requests. Escalate issues to the Project Director as necessary

Manage project budgets and timelines rigorously to ensure projects stay within budget. Monitor scope progress, identify work breakdowns, and proactively estimate for project changes. Communicate overages to internal and client teams

Lead discussions with clients, partner agencies, and third parties on project deliverables, contingencies, and implications of scope changes. Provide insights and information related to project estimates and overarching budgets

Develop and review conference reports and meeting recaps internally and externally. Lead all project close-out meetings, communicate action items, and provide recommendations for future project optimization

Proactively identify, assess, and mitigate risks for assigned accounts. Collaborate with Account, Creative, and other departments on project-related escalations

Collaborate with PM leadership to develop annual Statements of Work (SOWs) from a project management perspective. Identify assets, dependencies, resources, costs, and timelines needed for project execution

Oversee client financial reporting and brand health, including monthly billing summaries and financial analysis. Provide internal financial updates to leadership as required

Leverage Project Management Software (e.g., Workamajig, Workfront, Excel) to automate tasks, ensure quality, and promote process efficiencies. Ensure consistent adoption within the PM team

Lead internal cross-functional status meetings and provide project management insights to clients as needed on scopes and individual projects

Participate in new business efforts as needed, including developing proposed SOWs, timing, estimates, and presenting to clients

Manage the entire employee lifecycle for APMs, including recruiting, onboarding, training, development, and performance reviews. Proactively address team HR needs and escalate issues as required

Assign projects to balance workloads and challenge team members' skills, ensuring projects showcase the agency's capabilities

Offer both formal and informal feedback to team members to help grow their creative sensibilities and progress in their craft

Participate in performance reviews and provide coaching to create growth plans for team members as needed

Facilitate participation, inclusion, and diversity of perspectives on your team and throughout the agency

Qualification

Budget ManagementClient EngagementProject ManagementLeadershipMultimedia ExperienceSoftware ProficiencyCritical ThinkingTeam ManagementProblem SolvingCommunication

Required

Minimum of a bachelor's degree with an emphasis in communications, marketing, and/or business administration

Preferably 7+ years of experience in an advertising agency, particularly in account management, project management, or senior marketing roles within the pharmaceutical industry

Minimum 2+ years of mentorship/leadership experience

Proven track record in producing best-in-class tactics and programs

Strong understanding of product lifecycle milestones (e.g., label changes, campaign launches)

Experience managing a wide variety of projects across multiple mediums including digital, video, etc

Strong analytical and critical thinking skills to address complex project challenges

Experience with Project Management tools such as WMJ, Workfront, and Excel

Established leader with a track record of building trust with clients, IT departments, and partner agencies

Adaptive leadership style with strong emotional intelligence

Ability to adapt leadership style and problem-solving skills to navigate uncertainty and changing priorities