Sr. Project Manager

Edelman•Washington, DC

3d•$72,000 - $100,000

About The Position

The Senior Project Manager is part of Edelman’s integrated Project Management team, which collaborates with creative, strategy, account, and specialty teams to deliver client programs. This role leads the day-to-day workflow of integrated projects, managing schedules, deliverables, priorities, and teams to support high-quality execution within scope, time, and budget. The Senior Project Manager connects project deliverables with creative intent and ensures they meet timelines and budget parameters. The role demonstrates business acumen through estimating, scope and staff planning, and project financial management. It may own a workstream within a large, complex initiative or independently manage a mid-size project with minimal oversight. The Senior Project Manager works with account, specialty, finance, contracts, and resource management teams, communicates project status and risks, and helps ensure consistent quality and alignment with brand guidelines. The position also begins management, leadership, and effective communications training.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree or equivalent work experience.
At least 5 years of experience in project management, an integrated marketing/PR agency, or a related field.
Fluency in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint) and Smartsheet or a similar project management tool.
Ability to multitask effectively and work calmly and efficiently in a fast-paced environment.
Strong verbal and written communication skills.

Nice To Haves

Mastery of project management fundamentals and best practices, including independently owning delivery of small- to mid-level projects.
Strategic mindset and ability to solve problems creatively and directly.
Bias for action and ability to confidently lead projects and teams through ambiguity.
Positive, action-oriented mentality and passion for both the art and science of problem solving.

Responsibilities

Produce top-down and bottom-up estimates, and lead the definition of scopes and staff plans with account leads and specialty teams.
Lead the development and approval workflow of Statements of Work with Finance, Contracts, and Account teams.
Author and maintain project schedules, project briefs, cost estimates, project financial management (OOP and fee), and other project documentation using established project management tools and input from cross-discipline teams.
Own delivery of a workstream within large, complex initiatives and/or independently manage mid-size projects with minimal oversight.
Work with Account and Specialty leads to resolve project-related issues and escalate blockers and risks to the Project Director.
Partner with Finance and Account teams to manage and communicate project burn, raise scope creep, share budget reporting, and participate in monthly forecasting.
Participate in client discussions about project plans and set expectations for due dates needed to meet project goals.
Partner with Resource Management to establish staff plans that align specialty team needs with future project staffing requirements and identify appropriate talent.
Oversee, manage, and communicate the status of integrated initiatives across multiple projects to support successful delivery against client assignments and scoped deliverables.
Ensure quality and consistency across projects in alignment with brand guidelines.
Begin management, leadership, and effective communications training.
Balance urgency with calm, confident leadership.