Director of Project Management

Location: Brooklyn, NY, Hybrid

Job Type: Full-time,

Reports to: CFO/COO

Salary: $120,000 - $150,000 DOE

Benefits: Medical, 401(k), PTO

About Now What

We are a research, insights, and strategy consultancy that works with bold, curious clients like Pfizer, Apple, J&J, Nike, Novartis, Disney, and Google to tackle their most complex questions about culture, behavior, brands, and the future. Our people are researchers, strategists, anthropologists, and insight rebels who blend rigor with creativity to help clients answer the hardest question of all: Now What?

Now What Health (NWH) is our growing healthcare vertical—where we bring our unique blend of empathy, insight, and strategic clarity to the most urgent and complex questions facing the healthcare world. With deep roots in pharma and growing capabilities across the healthcare landscape, we're seeking an experienced, subject matter expert/client leader to help build, shape, and scale NWH for the future.

The Role: Director of Project Management

Job Overview:

We are seeking a highly organized and strategic Director of Project Management to set the standard for how client projects are executed across the company. While this role does not directly manage a team, it plays a critical leadership function by establishing the processes, best practices, and workflows that guide the work of 30 strategists.

Working closely with the Senior Director of Research, this individual will design and implement systems that ensure project efficiency, quality, and consistency. They will be responsible for training strategists on process adoption, reinforcing best practices, and creating the operational infrastructure that elevates the team’s work.

The ideal candidate will bring experience in market research or a related field (such as an agency or consultancy), along with proven strengths in process management, vendor coordination, and financial oversight. This role requires someone who can balance strategic vision with operational rigor, ensuring the entire strategist team is equipped to deliver seamless client experiences at scale.

Key Responsibilities:

Project Standards & Process Management

• Identify, develop, and implement standardized project management processes and tools to the project teams to ensure consistency and efficiency across all client engagements, with input from Senior Team
• Monitor project progress, ensuring adherence to established frameworks and proactively addressing potential risks.
• Partner with the Head of Staffing to properly onboard new projects and align resources accordingly.

Vendor & Freelancer Management

• Oversee relationships with key vendors, including research recruit, panel vendors and freelance consultants, ensuring smooth collaboration and adherence to project requirements.
• Manage contracts, negotiations, and performance tracking for external partners.
• Develop a reliable freelance network and maintain a roster of skilled specialists to support project needs.
• Serve as a key point of contact for project-related operational matters, ensuring clear communication between internal teams and vendors on our most complex projects.

Data Security & Compliance Management

• Partner with data security consultants and technology support consultants and CFO to ensure full compliance with industry standards, client requirements, and internal policies.
• Oversee and coordinate recurring security checks, including penetration tests, vulnerability assessments, and any other required audits.
• Review, complete, and maintain all client-provided data security forms, assessments, and agreements, ensuring timely and accurate submission.
• Update, develop, document, and implement Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) related to data protection, storage, and access control in collaboration with internal and external stakeholders.
• Monitor and enforce compliance with client-specific data retention and deletion policies, ensuring all project data is handled securely throughout its lifecycle.
• Serve as a key point of contact for data security matters within the project management function, ensuring the strategist team is informed and aligned with company standards.

Financial Oversight & Invoicing

• Work closely with accounting consultants to ensure clients are invoiced accurately and in a timely manner upon project or phase completion.
• Partner with Head of Staffing to maintain Mavenlink (PM tool) to enhance project tracking, reporting, and collaboration.
• Track project budgets, ensuring financial accountability and alignment with forecasts.
• Monitor project profitability and identify opportunities for cost optimization.

Qualifications & Experience:

• 10 years of project management experience, ideally in marketing research or a related industry.  Ideally has experience managing Healthcare/Pharma projects.  Fielding experience a plus.
• Strong background in developing and maintaining project management frameworks.
• Experience managing vendor relationships.
• Familiarity with accounting processes related to invoicing and project financials.
• Proficiency in project management tools (e.g., Kantata, Asana, Monday.com, Trello, Smartsheet).
• Strong organizational, problem-solving, and communication skills.

Submit your cover letter and resume to join our curious, tight-knit, trailblazing team.