The Hired Guns are seeking an SVP Client Operations and Delivery to take charge of the entire project management function for an award-winning PR and communications agency that's highly creative, digital and data-driven. It's a big job making sure that all of this agency's work gets delivered on time and on budget, with the quality their clients expect and the results they demand, but you're ready to step up!
The Nitty Gritty The backstory on the organization and why they need to hire you! This agency prides itself on its creativity in telling clients' stories in compelling ways using earned media, social, content marketing, traditional media, experiential, and more, then utilizing the most advanced data-gathering and analysis techniques to measure, strategize and course-correct. Each campaign is intricate, and the aggregated whole of the agency's business is exceedingly complex.
Now they need you: the agency's gangbuster growth trajectory means that they need to formalize the Project Management function under the command of an SVP-level leader to elevate and sharpen their success. You'll build, lead, and mentor the entire PM team, establish and implement best practices across all projects, represent the agency's delivery capability in new business pitches, take part in key negotiations, and collaborate with the rest of the senior leadership in steering the ship.
You will also be called upon to oversee the project management of one client in particular, a big one in the consumer healthcare products space, in order to give you a first-hand understanding of how the organization operates and to provide you a test bed for your new practices and processes.
The Quest What success looks like in your first year… Take the reins of the project management organization and develop a clear understanding of existing processes.Assume hands-on top project management responsibility for one of the agency's largest clients as a way of building first-hand knowledge and experience of people and process.People management: assess the current personnel working across the project management organization, and develop, mentor, and hire as you see fit.Look for ways to introduce efficiencies and optimizations to the project management process at this company.Why You? How you'll know if you're a fit… You come with a track record of at least 12 years of increasing responsibility in project management or client operations at an ad agency or large PR firm, the kind of place where project management isn't just updating Gantt charts, but is fundamentally tied in with strategy and finance. You've worked with massive accounts and led large, complex, highly integrated programs while you were at it. Now you have a title like Director or Vice President of project management or operations. While you're highly adept in the digital side, you've also evolved to be a big-picture manager of people and processes … although you haven't forgotten how to get down in the weeds when necessary.
You're a born leader as well as a deep-thinking expert: one minute you're rallying your troops to go that one last mile, the next you're digging deep into the nitty-gritty of project management methodologies. At the core, you're driven by a deep understanding of client business needs as well as the imperatives of your own agency's financial success.
Consumer products experience is required. Healthcare experience is strongly preferred.
Tell Me About a Time When … The interview questions you need to rock to score a "swipe right"… Who are some of your current clients and what sort of projects have you worked on with them? What are your proudest achievements so far?How many people are you overseeing in your current role? Describe how you interact with your direct reports on a day-to-day basis, and how you manage them to ensure client delivery?How have you made improvements to your organization's existing project management function?The Inside Skinny Why you should quit your job right now and join this organization! It's simple: you've built your career around agency project management, and now you've got a chance to build your own ship according to your own design, sign on the crew, and take the wheel!
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