Marketing & Digital Project Manager

JOB DESCRIPTION

The MARKETING & DIGITAL PROJECT MANAGER works in seamless coordination with our Operations and Account Management teams to bring our specialists (strategy, search, social, creative, interactive) together to do amazing work for our clients. Primarily responsible for driving the details and managing the resources for both traditional and digital projects, the Project Manager is focused on ensuring that client work is delivered on time, on budget, and within scope. The Project Manager is the pacesetter who removes obstacles, with a keen ability to schedule, align, and manage the time of different tasks of a project, while being responsive to the dynamics of the project (such as the delayed fulfillment of tasks). Project Managers know 75-90 percent of their time is spent formally or informally communicating. A truly successful Upward Project Manager:

• Is an empathetic leader who takes charge while staying human, both with clients and colleagues
• Embraces that project management is agile – building a great project plan, then standing ready to tweak it
• Stays one step ahead, making sure everyone involved is connected and clear on what their role is and when it needs done
• Has a natural instinct to ask questions and hunt down answers 
• Is an effective problem-solver, adept at anticipating problems and recognizing opportunities 
• Has constant awareness of dependencies, both in-project and among all projects
• Thrives on details, concentrating on small things while keeping the big picture in mind
• Responds to shifting priorities with as much art as science, quickly figuring out what is most important and kick it into gear as efficiently as possible
• Is a beyond-excellent communicator, and a bridge for those team members who are not
• Is tech-savvy, with a natural inclination for figuring out new programs and tools
• Knows how to navigate client pressures on timeline and budget, while accommodating internal team and leadership priorities 
• Believes in the power of processes without becoming a robot
• Is a natural with numbers

Daily Responsibilities

• Proactively collect and manage all project details, taking full accountability for project work from beginning to end
• Meet and communicate with clients to discuss project needs and clarify specific requirements, developing relationships and proactively learning their business 
• Assist in defining project scope and objectives, involving all relevant stakeholders, and ensuring technical feasibility 
• Provide additional review and added details to project and creative briefs
• Coordinate client and internal team kickoffs to get teams aligned
• Develop detailed project plans with dependencies to monitor and track progress
• Create and maintain timely and accurate project documentation: Job setups, estimates, timelines, meeting summaries, project status, and budget reports 
• Manage and communicate changes to project scope, project schedule, and project costs 
• Traffic internal resources and third parties/vendors for flawless execution, getting the right people doing the right work
• Coordinate quote requests, help inform details of pricing, and proof proposals to ensure key operational must-haves are included (billing terms, etc.)
• Total budget management, including:
  • Monthly billing and reconciliation of all projects for assigned clients with the Operations Team, maintaining ongoing accounting status reports
  • Manage team’s time and financial resources to ensure client projects are on time and on budget
  • Clear understanding of the provided proposal and ability to break it down into team hours/contributions as the project progresses
  • Monitor scope creep and alert Account Management
  • Monitor and report budget/hours tracking and update against the estimate at key intervals
  • Conduct post-job budget analysis coupled with first-hand project insight to help inform future quoting

Required Skills

• Organized, reliable, responsible, and extremely detail-oriented 
• The drive to coordinate and traffic a variety of projects that transcend the various roles within the agency (strategic, creative, technical) 
• Ideally a minimum of 3-5 years project management experience with multi-disciplinary teams, with proven understanding of the planning, creative and production processes across multiple types of work that Upward produces as a definite plus:
  • Brand strategy & creative development
  • Digital marketing  
  • Search marketing
  • Social media
  • Email and marketing automation
  • Website and other interactive projects
• Able to work in a fun, yet professional, fast-paced, and team-oriented work environment 
• Able to work with multiple interruptions under tight deadlines while maintaining a sense of calm and humor
• Highly collaborative and able to work with a wide range of personalities
• Comfort level communicating with C Level Executives, especially within stated areas of expertise
• Proven experience with any project management software, with willingness to learn Upward’s system and related programs
• Advanced Microsoft Excel and/or G-sheet skills (pivot tables, formulas, etc.)

Reports to:

Associate Director of Agency Operations 

Other Essential Functions: 

• Occasional travel for in-person client meetings
• Direct interaction with clients and coworkers
• Long durations of computer usage and comfort with video conferencing

MORE ABOUT UPWARD

At Upward, we look for culture fits in our candidates, beyond just technical proficiency, and job qualifications. If our Five Core Values resonate with you, let’s talk!

1. Be Client Obsessed

We put our clients’ best interests ahead of all else. If there is ever a question, we will err toward doing the right thing for our clients. We are fiercely loyal and committed to building strong one-on-one relationships with every client. In the end, we want our client to take the glory. We want to provide great work so that our clients’ company sees them as rock stars. 

2. Never Stop Learning

We are committed to lifelong learning. From our industry leading digital marketing conference, Interact, to our proprietary internal coaching program, to producing our podcast to one-on-one professional development planning, we live to develop our people and our clients. Our curiosity and commitment to learning is one reason our clients trust us and enjoy working with us. 

3. Get Creative

When a client tells us, what keeps them up at night, we run at that challenge headfirst, thrilled by the prospect of putting our problem solving skills to good use. We welcome client obstacles and work to transform them with resourcefulness and creativity. 

4. Drive Results

We are biased toward action. We are focused on performance and substance, so we put our attention on what moves the needle and delivers tangible, accountable results for our clients. This means that our people are intentional, take initiative and stay steps ahead from kick off to product finish and beyond. 

5. Be Human

We know that at its very core, this is a people business. At the end of the day, the value in what we do comes from being there when it really counts – in both highs and lows. We are encouragers. We empathetically champion our team and our clients, and we focus our decision-making to create positive impact for individuals and success for businesses. By doing this, we can always be proud of the work we have done and the business we’ve built together. 

Are We Describing You? Apply Now!