Exciting opportunity for an experienced Project Director in creative advertising and with exposure to the healthcare market to take on a role, either on a FTC or Perm basis.
Project Management is the engine of the agency, running the day-to-day delivery of projects and balancing the need
for exceptional quality and project profitability. As a Project Director, you are an expert in integrated creative design
and a leader in seamless project execution. You are responsible for leading a programme of work in tandem with
Account Management or other departments within the agency. This requires you as Project Director to understand
the dependencies of other projects outside of your stream that can affect one another.
Your responsibilities cover planning, implementation, and delivery with a focus on timing, quality, and budget. You
provide expert guidance, enforce procedures, and collaborate on complex challenges. You will direct and drive a
portfolio of projects for one or more clients and brands.
The Project Director is responsible for supporting the Operations Director in ensuring that operations are running
smoothly, and agency processes are adhered to and optimised, and in overseeing the team of Project Managers to
support them in the management of their projects. You actively collaborate with other teams, support business
development, and ensure successful system and process enhancements.
Financially, you partner with Account Management and Finance, review reports, and input to scopes of work. You
oversee agency billability and contribute to forecasting.
At the team level, you lead, motivate, and mentor, fostering a positive culture and mediating conflicts. You assign
accounts, participate in staffing discussions, and collaborate with other directors for team growth.
You understand the agency’s capabilities both locally and at group level. Change management is integral to your
role, and you may participate in Group-level initiatives, demonstrating your expertise as a Project Director.
As a Project Director you are a self-motivated, adaptable problem-solver with strong attention to detail and excellent
collaboration skills. You possess emotional intelligence, resilience, and a growth mindset, making you adept at
building and leading effective teams while maintaining composure under pressure and demonstrating commercial
acumen.
At this senior level not only are you expected to be integral to your account or brand, but also for the agency. Supporting thought leadership, new ways of working and being a person for others to trust to speak to regarding wider agency initiatives.
Project Delivery
? Work closely with the crafts within the agency (Creative, Design, Production) to ensure the work is of the
best standard in relation to the project and resources available. Including escalating when there is a need to
involve outside or third parties if required.
? Ensure detailed project documentation, implementation and actions plans are created for the duration of
each project as appropriate.
? Oversee all scopes of work, budgets and project timelines for assigned projects.
? Ensure correct resource allocation & timelines. Drive discipline with your teams to regularly review & update that information, ensuring dept heads and agency leadership have visibility of wider resource requirements.
? Ensure monitoring of progress against all projects is timely and accurate and reports and action plans are distributed to enable stakeholders to have visibility and sufficient information for any relevant decision
making.
? Ensure risks, issues and dependencies are being recorded, monitored, and proactively managed to minimise
disruption to successful delivery.
? Participate in project reviews, approvals, and gating processes.
? Ensure the appropriate and relevant level of testing and quality control is in place for all projects.
? Produce agreed levels of portfolio reporting on all projects being delivered or within the oversight of the
Project Management function.
? Support or deliver an effective and timely schedule of project communications liaising with
relevant stakeholders.
? Work very closely with other team leads to assess Business Unit requirements, help with scoping work,
developing and implementing the appropriate processes and organising workflow.
? Manage and mentor more junior members of the team, such as Project Managers and Senior Project
Managers.
? Onboard and educate teams on digital requirements, processes, tools and platforms that help adopt a
digital-native approach across teams.
? Work very closely with other network agencies on integrated projects.
? Develop strong relationships with key client stakeholders, lead client calls and meetings as
necessary to discuss process, project progress and upcoming work.
Delivery Approach
? Alongside the Operations Director, be an advocate of project delivery approach.
? Contribute to the shaping of project delivery requirements and approach across the organisation, working
closely with relevant colleagues.
? Contribute to devising, producing and implementing new systems and processes to optimise more effective
project management as required per project and within the framework of the organisations project delivery
approach.
? Facilitate sharing of best practices through relevant communication channels, PM team collaboration
and/or formal training sessions to enable a consistent approach across projects and Business Units.
? Encourage knowledge transfer and lessons learnt activities within the PM function and Business Units to
drive best practice.
Financials
? Ensure PM’s / Account teams are building accurate scopes, with correct fees, resource
allocations and revenue phasing.
? Using the reporting tools available work closely with the Business Lead
to ensure accurate and robust budget monitoring against project scopes and plans.
? Ensure a robust process of notification and escalation is in place to report on both underspend and
potential overspend with the appropriate approvals sought for either situation.
? Support the management and monitoring of outsourcing any project deliverables to 3rd party suppliers
including freelance.
? Working closely with the Operations Director, ensure post project reviews are in place and include lessons
learnt exercises which identify both positive and negative outcomes to be actioned.
Teamwork & Leadership
? Oversee the day-to-day activities of your allocated PM team.
? Provide visible, motivational and decisive management and leadership to your allocated PM team.
? Lead and inspire in a way that engages the PM team and retains people within the organisation.
? Set the highest standards in terms of leadership behaviours; support a culture of diversity and inclusion;
respect for others, collaboration, responsibility, and accountability.
? Drive a culture of high performance across the team; through effective line management and leadership,
ensure high quality selection, training, development, and performance management of all line reports.
? Carry out goal setting, check in, performance review and 121 meetings.
? Create opportunities for learning and development and best practice sharing.
? Proactively engage with Business Leads and senior managers to identify opportunities for business
improvements and new business opportunities.
Required:
? Proven experience in project management to a director/leadership level (creative, integrated or digital environment)
? Healthcare sector experience highly desirable
? Experience in managing a team of Project Managers
? Managing projects with budgets of £500k+
? Recognised formal project management qualification (PMP/APMP/Prince2/) desirable
? Experience in managing 360 projects such as campaign film and mixed media, traditional print, website and
microsites builds, apps, social media campaigns, banner campaigns, email campaigns, and interactive
experiences
? Working on complex interdependent projects simultaneously for a variety of clients without compromising
quality
? Able to demonstrate excellent communication skills and senior stakeholder management, both on the client
side and internally
? Brilliant at building a strong team ethic and capable of having conversations with clients regarding project
progress, risks and impacts
? A diligent project leader who takes accountability on projects and exhibits the below traits:
o Adaptable, confident, and solutions-driven
o Self-motivated and proactive
o Impeccable attention to detail
o Strong collaboration and negotiation skills
o Personable and brilliant at building a strong team ethic
o Resilient and able to remain calm under pressure
o Possess a growth mindset
o Confidently apply commercial acumen
o Deep emotional intelligence, able to self-reflect
o Capable of leading a team, comprised of all levels of seniority, through challenging periods
o Experience of working in matrixed environments and able to thrive