Overview

We have a simple belief — Unexpected Works. It means that the best idea is the one you never saw coming. The thing that catches you so off guard that you can‘t look away. And the only path to genuinely unexpected works is through creativity. Not just what passes for creativity because it answers a brief, looks the part and helps everyone sleep at night. But creativity that is foreign, surprising and interesting enough to cause jaws to drop and sales to soar. It’s having the fresh perspective and raw energy to bring something into the world that no one’s ever seen before. We’re talking about the courage to shake things up and maybe even tear a few things down. And knowing that what most would call the finish line is where the real work starts. We believe in people, product, and profit, in that order. For us, people always come first. They’re the soul of our agency. It takes amazing folks to make amazing work. That’s why we make sure everyone who comes through the door is as great as the people who are already here. It’s also why we constantly strive to build diverse teams where everyone brings something unique to the table. Because you can’t make the unexpected if you only work with the usual suspects. By bringing together diverse thinkers with different backgrounds and perspectives, we validate Bill Bernbach’s notion that an idea can turn to dust or magic, depending on the talent that rubs against it. So, come be part of the magic. 

At DDB, our Sr. Project Managers are the lead of flight control for getting our work completed on time, on budget, and within scope. Our Sr. Project Managers are the hub that drives all work through our processes. The Project Management team sets the bar for problem solving and decisiveness across the agency team and functional groups to effectively lead the team to the best outcome for our clients.

Responsibilities

• Project Integration Management
  • Keen understanding of integrating multi-agency and -discipline team across a project.
  • Responsible for project communications and process adherence across multi-agency and -discipline teams.
• Project Scope Management
  • Responsible for understanding project scope and preventing scope creep.
  • Identify shifts in timing, deliverables, budgets, and resources while communicating potential impacts.
  • Provides support to Project Management Director and PMO on scope development, proposal structure, and staffing recommendations.
• Project Schedule Management
  • Develop and manage project timelines based on hour needed to complete the deliverables required.
  • Able to break project down into small pieces (stages) and understand the deliverables at each stage.
• Project Cost Management
  • Determine and manage project burn reporting with finance team including tracking, mitigating, and reporting on a weekly and monthly basis.
  • Partner with finance, account, creative, and production teams to ensure weekly and monthly tracking of budget and hours is accurate and within scope.
  • Ensure client billing is accurate by tracking, reporting, evaluating, and controlling projects.
  • Strong understanding of agency finance processes encouraged.
• Project Quality Management
  • Working with Account Management lead, ensure process, documentation, reporting, and other enhancements are enacted as needed to ensure client satisfaction and optimal product delivery.
  • Capture lessons learned throughout a project and apply to future projects, as well as develop and implement plans for best practice enhancements and improvements.
  • Develop metrics and operational process to ensure quality control.
• Project Resource Management
  • Engage and manage appropriate talent and resource allocation at all project stages.
  • Demonstrate strategic thinking for resourcing all projects.
• Project Risk Management
  • Manage and communicate with risk management tools daily. Manage moderate to high risk/complexity projects.
  • Ability to perform qualitative and quantitative risk management with skill and confidence. Ability to accurately articulate risk management/mitigation plans and escalate high risk issues with management.
  • Define, manage, and mitigate risks, including taking a proactive, approach to solve issues before they arise or manage as they come up.
• Project Communication Management
  • Ensure involvement of the appropriate teams during each project phase.
  • Drive open and honest communications across all teams to ensure no roadblocks in projects.

Qualifications

• High self-confidence and not afraid to be a project management leader in the room.
• Ability to maintain focus under pressure, be thorough, and keep a positive attitude. Ability to think outside the box and understand the outcome, not just the process.
• Extremely high standards for work and behavior; accountable, reliable, and dependable. Acute attention to detail and accuracy.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills; ability to break down complex information.
• Proficient in project scoping, project planning, resource management, timeline creation, budget management and risk management.
• Experience managing multiple large-scale projects simultaneously with various disciplines and stakeholders, including multi-agency teams. Be comfortable managing and influencing people who are may be direct reports, as well as director-level and management personnel.
• Ability to interact with and represent the team to a range of people, from entry-level to upper management and Leadership, including clients.
• Able to establish leadership on project with internal stakeholders and clients. Easily recognized as the person who can answer questions on projects, process, and everyday activities around the team and client. Gains trust to build productive and constructive relationships. Encourage an environment of teamwork and excellence.
• Ability to work independently to tackle problems and direct to solutions. Be highly adaptable, able to anticipate issues and needs before they arise and take the necessary steps to alleviate and/or mitigate.
• Leverage project management tools (Smartsheets, Workfront, etc.) to manage day-to-day operations, automate tasks, ensure quality, and promote process efficiencies.
• Knowledge and experience with Smartsheets, Workfront, JIRA, Microsoft Suite.
• 5-8 years of project management experience within an advertising agency or with multi-agency teams across disciplines.
• Bachelor’s Degree required.
• Solid track record of successfully leading projects from initiation to completion on time, on budget, and within scope, including resource management across disciplines.
• Understanding of principles of marketing and communications planning, including strategy, creative, and production practices.

DDB is committed to diversity in its workforce and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and to review all of our job postings to minimize biased language. DDB Chicago does not make hiring or employment decisions on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, gender, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, marital status, pregnancy, sex, gender expression or identity, sexual orientation, citizenship, or any other basis protected by applicable local, state or federal law.