Lead Brand Creative Project Manager

Mattel•East Aurora, NY

About The Position

The Lead Brand Creative Project Manager is responsible for leading the planning, prioritization, execution, and delivery of creative projects across the Brand Creative organization. This role serves as the operational hub between Brand Creative and cross-functional partners to ensure creative work is executed efficiently, delivered on time, and aligned with brand priorities and business objectives. Partnering closely with the Brand Creative Leader, this individual owns the day-to-day management of the creative workflow, including project intake, prioritization, resource planning, scheduling, and delivery. The role drives operational excellence by establishing clear processes, proactively managing risks, resolving roadblocks, and enabling seamless collaboration across Brand Marketing, Product Design, Packaging, Digital, Creative Operations, Production, external agencies, and other key partners. Success in this role requires exceptional project management capabilities, strong organizational and communication skills, and the ability to manage multiple complex initiatives in a fast-paced, highly collaborative environment.

Requirements

5–8 years of experience in creative project management, marketing, advertising, design, production, or creative operations.
Proven experience managing multiple complex projects simultaneously in a fast-paced, highly matrixed environment.
Experience partnering with creative teams and cross-functional business partners to deliver integrated marketing and brand initiatives.
Strong project management expertise with exceptional planning, prioritization, and organizational skills.
Demonstrated ability to manage multiple competing priorities while meeting aggressive deadlines.
Excellent verbal, written, and presentation communication skills.
Strong stakeholder management and relationship-building capabilities with the ability to influence without direct authority.
Ability to anticipate issues, solve problems proactively, and navigate ambiguity in a dynamic business environment.
Strong understanding of creative development, production workflows, asset management, and approval processes.
High attention to detail with a commitment to quality and operational excellence.
Proficiency with Microsoft Office and project management platforms; experience with creative workflow management tools is preferred.

Nice To Haves

Agency, consumer products, entertainment, retail, or in-house creative organization experience preferred.
Experience supporting integrated creative campaigns across digital, social, packaging, retail, experiential, and print channels is preferred.

Responsibilities

Lead the end-to-end management of Brand Creative projects from intake through final asset delivery.
Develop and maintain project plans, timelines, milestones, deliverables, resource plans, and project schedules.
Monitor project progress, proactively identify risks, remove obstacles, and communicate status to stakeholders.
Ensure projects are delivered on time, within scope, and aligned with business priorities.
Own the intake, prioritization, scheduling, and tracking of all Brand Creative work.
Partner with the Brand Creative Leader to establish priorities, balance workload, and optimize creative resources.
Manage multiple concurrent projects while ensuring deadlines, quality standards, and business commitments are achieved.
Continuously improve creative workflows, project management processes, and operational efficiency to increase team effectiveness.
Serve as the primary project management partner between Brand Creative and Brand Marketing, Product Design, Packaging, Digital, Creative Operations, Production, Licensing, external agencies, and other cross-functional teams.
Facilitate project kickoffs, milestone reviews, status meetings, and post-project evaluations.
Clarify project scope, responsibilities, timelines, dependencies, and approval processes across stakeholders.
Build strong collaborative relationships that enable effective decision-making and successful project execution.
Coordinate the end-to-end creative development process, including concept development, design reviews, stakeholder feedback, approvals, production, and final asset delivery.
Ensure creative assets are delivered accurately, meet quality expectations, and adhere to established brand standards.
Track project milestones, deliverables, approvals, and asset delivery while maintaining clear project documentation.
Anticipate changing business priorities and develop thoughtful solutions to maintain project momentum and successful execution.
Develop reporting and project dashboards that provide visibility into workload, timelines, risks, and project status.
Identify opportunities to improve processes, simplify ways of working, and enhance collaboration across the creative organization.
Support implementation of new tools, systems, and best practices that improve creative operations and overall team performance.
Lead special projects and operational initiatives in support of the Brand Creative organization.