Project Manager

Shapiro+Raj•Chicago, IL

About The Position

The Project Manager oversees the operational and financial execution of custom research projects, AI-based and traditional, working closely with research, operations, vendors, and clients to keep studies on time, on budget, and cleanly coordinated. This is not a passive coordinator role. It is an accountability role for someone who can manage details, solve problems, communicate early, and keep a project honest when conditions change. On qualitative work the PM handles kickoffs, recruiter coordination, platform setup, daily recruitment updates, interview scheduling, and close-out. On quantitative work the PM or field manager manages the project notification flow, budget documents, kickoff coordination, sample and programmer handoffs, field monitoring, quota issues, and weekly financial reporting.

Requirements

Strong executional reliability, and ownership that does not need chasing
Clear communication under pressure
Financial diligence and comfort with project tracking
Discipline to use our established processes consistently, plus the judgment to adapt when a project creates a situation no playbook anticipated
An instinct to use AI and automation to make the work faster and cleaner, with sound judgment over the output
Strong vendor and cross-functional working style

Nice To Haves

Market research operations
Qualitative recruiting or quantitative fieldwork coordination
Budget tracking, invoices, and procurement processes
Tool fluency across project systems

Responsibilities

Run the project against its objectives and specifications, and be the person the team asks for status rather than the person who has to be asked twice.
Lead project setup, scheduling, vendor coordination, and workflow management.
Establish the operating plan for each engagement, and keep roles, milestones, dependencies, and decisions visible so the broader team always understands where the project stands and what happens next.
Serve as the day-to-day operational contact for the client, creating confidence through clear expectations, current status, early warnings, thoughtful recommendations, and no surprises.
Manage logistics across qualitative and quantitative studies.
Evaluate recruiting and fieldwork progress against goals, identify what is causing a shortfall, and bring a recommendation rather than a problem.
Own the financial health of the project: know the budget, commitments, and actual costs throughout the engagement, identify variance early, challenge unnecessary spend, and escalate scope or cost changes before they become margin problems.
Serve as the main liaison among research, operations, vendors, and selected client contacts on execution issues.
Own systems accuracy across project trackers, budget documents, and file-sharing systems.
Use approved AI and automation tools to reduce administrative work, improve project visibility, and surface risk earlier — while maintaining appropriate human judgment, confidentiality, and data governance.
Help close projects cleanly and capture lessons learned.