Agency:
Area23

Job Function:
Projects and Performance Improvement

Job Subfunction:
Project and Program Management

Job Description:

The VP, Director, Project Management (VP Dir, PM) is a team leader who manages and oversees the full range of client deliverables for an assigned multibrand portfolio, from project planning to final delivery. The VP Dir, PM capably manages and inspires a team of junior-to-senior level Project Managers, owning their group's staffing plan and talent acquisition activities, and matching talent-to-task. The VP Dir, PM's production expertise allows them to drive the most complex omni- and multichannel development efforts, advising teams, vendors/partners, and clients on best practices, scopes, pricing, and schedules. The VP Dir, PM leads strong cross-functional relationships, working closely with all agency departments and leads and contributing to network initiatives as needed. The VP Dir, PM takes an active role in business development and agency cultural efforts to identify, propose, and execute solutions.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

Brand Responsibilities: Leads holistic client and brand solutions, oversees portfolio of work across full range of client deliverables from project planning to final delivery with regard to timing, quality, and budget.

Financial Responsibilities: Partners cross-functionally with Account and Finance to preserve good financial health of a multibrand portfolio.

Operational: Responsible for adherence and improvement to department and agency policies, process,
and procedures.

Talent Management: Leads PM team across multibrand portfolio by providing mentorship/guidance, hiring, and retaining highly capable people, resourcing, and fostering inclusive and positive culture.

Agency and Culture: Begins to participate in internal and external initiatives to elevate agency operations, community, and brand.

JOB DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES:

Brand Responsibilities

• Partners with Account team for the overall health and success of the brand(s) including but not limited to, organic growth, promotion of cost-effective solutions for client's business needs, and new agile ways of working with clients.
• Oversees full range of client deliverables for an assigned multibrand portfolio from project planning to final delivery with regard to timing, quality, and budget.
• Serves as lead and escalation point across assigned client(s) and brand(s).
• Serves as content matter expert (CME) to answer client project-related questions and attend client meetings as needed.
• Leads partnership meetings with internal leadership stakeholders in Account, Creative, and Strategy to discuss brand health and other strategic topics.
• Advises internal teams on agency PM capabilities regarding particular client needs and asks.
• Solves project or client challenges in tight collaboration with internal stakeholders.
• Oversees status and internal brand meetings, contributing and providing valuable input.
• Understands, upholds, and enforces internal, network, and brand procedures and requirements.

Financial Responsibilities

• Partners cross-functionally with Account and Finance to preserve good financial health of a portfolio, the department, and agency.
• Manages and oversees project budget estimates as needed.
• Advises on issues with financial output reports, incoming briefs, and timelines/estimates from team prior to internal team review.
• Partners with Account and all cross-functional agency teams to build and approve scopes of work, tactical and staffing plans, pricing out assumption-based estimates, and resourcing for each tactic on a full year plan.
• Collaborates with Account on forecasting initiatives.
• Contributes to general financial responsibilities such as approving reallocations of billing, evaluating project completion costs for common trends or outliers, evaluating new client requests and staff billability to examine financial and project risk.

Operational Responsibilities

• Leads ongoing discussions and solutions towards organizational excellence with the department
  leadership team.
• Optimizes brand, process, and financial health of projects and portfolios.
• Participates in the department leadership team.
• Manages complex projects and problems; advises how to approach an out-of-the-ordinary project or ask.
• Leads strong cross-functional relationships, working closely with all agency departments and leads.
• Accountable for agency billability, utilization guidance and metrics, and timesheet oversight.
• Participates in forward planning and strategic meetings.
• Effectively utilizes internal dashboards to review project performance and ensure team is meeting critical KPIs for the agency and network.
• Understands IPGH capabilities, process integrations, participates in network-level initiatives, complies with network procedures, and supports above-brand strategic initiatives that are driven by IPGH.
• Participates in rollouts for agency systems, tools and initiatives, and the successful rollout and maintenance from documentation, training, communication, and compliance.
• Participates in business development activities as needed by developing proposals, scopes, schedules, estimates and delivering pitches.
• Is seen as an agency leader, championing agency initiatives and values.
• Ensures completion of personal and direct report timesheets, expenses, and all other administrative duties accurately and on a timely basis.

Talent Management

• Manages, mentors, and delegates assignments to PM team, ensuring open communication and timely completion of assigned work.
• Completes performance reviews, promotes training and development, and partners with HR on employee relations and performance management issues for assigned team.
• Assigns client accounts and projects to Project Management team pod, matching needs and providing proper yearly coverage and team staffing mix.
• Participates in staffing/resourcing conversations; assesses hiring needs, interviews, and ensures smooth onboarding process for new hires.
• Has a pulse on the culture of the team, ensuring decisions are made with an Equity, Diversity, and
  Inclusion lens.
• Creates and facilitates internal training on operations and platforms for staff.
• Partners closely with other directors and VPs to share cross-team learnings.
• Exhibits overall competency across levels and familiarity with day-to-day work of direct and indirect reports.

Agency and Culture

• Begins to participate in agency-wide initiatives related to operational and cultural improvements.
• Champions organizational efforts around Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion.
• Represents the agency and network in internal/external events, such as panels and conferences.

$160,000-195,000

Omnicom's policy requires employees to work in the office for a minimum of three days a week, unless additional in-office days are directed by their agency or manager. Our objective is to increase this requirement over time, and many of our agencies as well as Omnicom's corporate group already require five days of in-office attendance.