Wunderman Thompson LLC - Senior Project Manager
Location: Queen Anne, Washington
Who We Are: At VML, we are a beacon of innovation and growth in an ever-evolving world. Our heritage is built upon a century of combined expertise, where creativity meets technology, and diverse perspectives ignite inspiration. With the merger of VMLY&R and Wunderman Thompson, we have forged a new path as a growth partner that is part creative agency, part consultancy, and part technology powerhouse. Our global family now encompasses over 30,000 employees across 150+ offices in 64 markets, each contributing to a culture that values connection, belonging, and the power of differences. Our expertise spans the entire customer journey, offering deep insights in communications, commerce, consultancy, CRM, CX, data, production, and technology. We deliver end-to-end solutions that result in revolutionary work.
Who we are looking for: VML is seeking a creative Senior Project Manager, an enthusiastic critical thinker and problem solver who thrives on being engaged at all levels of a project. This Senior Project Manager will focus on one of our largest new client wins in the QSR/Beverage industry as the client's creative agency of record. Our Senior Project Managers acutely understand the opportunities and constraints of a given project and take responsibility for setting and managing expectations internally and with clients. They understand how to manage and negotiate trade-offs to deliver on time, within budget and against agreed objectives. Senior Project Managers have full lifecycle experience from scoping through delivery and can confidently navigate and prioritize business needs, resource management, schedules and financials to successfully navigate and deliver all aspects of the assignment.
What you'll do:
- Work: Deliver work that is excellent, on time, on budget and goes beyond the brief. Oversee the entire delivery and execution of projects. Identify dependencies and impacts of delays. Gain alignment on the scope, schedule, assumptions and price for projects with an ability to effectively translate these to Client Proposals and Statements of Work.
- People: Motivate, direct and challenge teams to produce great work. Partner with Account Management to manage scope and identify opportunities. Ensure a collaborative 'One Team' approach comprising account management, production, content/social, finance and client representatives.
- Process: Establish and manage project/program communication and process. Balance the opportunities and constraints within a given project. Leverage existing tools and processes to monitor people and progress.
- Financials: Responsible for project estimation, planning and profitability. Build detailed project plans in accordance with budget.
Who you are:
- Leader: Influences without authority and fosters an environment of shared accountability. Drives projects from ambiguity to clarity.
- Builder: Navigates strong collaboration between people, processes and systems.
- Detail Oriented: Sharp attention to detail and a drive for perfection.
- A Strong Communicator: Excellent communication and analytical skills.
What you'll need:
- Minimum 8 years of experience managing projects in advertising or marketing communications in a client-facing role, ideally at a creative agency.
- Experience working with common project management tools such as Smartsheet, Jira, Confluence, Microsoft Project, Slack, and Microsoft Teams.
- Campaign project management experience required. QSR, CPG, Food and Beverage, or Retail category experience preferred.
- Conscientious and adept at problem-solving through critical thinking.
- Comfortable leading team and client meetings, tailoring communications based on their audience and level (technology, creative, finance, client, vendor).
- Experience working on integrated, omnichannel programs with parallel work streams and diverse teams (UX, Tech, Strategy, Creative, Account, Research and Data).
- High EQ and the ability to navigate complex interpersonal dynamics.