Program Manager

Darkroom Studios

$120K *
Media
Less than 5 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 3-5+ years of project or program management experience in a media, marketing, creative, or digital agency
  • Understanding of paid media workflows and terminology
  • Proactive problem-solver who anticipates project challenges
  • Strong communication skills for managing stakeholders at all levels
  • Expertise in Notion for database management and maintaining SOPs
  • Familiarity with Slack, Toggl, and Google Sheets for project tracking
  • Detail-oriented with the ability to juggle multiple priorities

Responsibilities

  • Track service level agreements (SLAs) and produce compliance reports
  • Maintain and reconcile media plans, forecasts, and ramp models
  • Manage project scope and budget control efficiently
  • Facilitate regular standups, status calls, and documentation of outcomes
  • Ensure timely cross-functional handoffs between teams
  • Coordinate resource allocation to match project needs
  • Act as the main point for escalating risks and ensuring stakeholder alignment

Benefits

  • Unlimited PTO plus US holidays for work-life balance
  • Fully remote work culture with hybrid options for local employees
  • Company-sponsored health, dental, and vision insurance
  • Generous 401(k) matching and profit-sharing for financial growth
  • Flexible parental leave to support new parents
  • Interdisciplinary growth opportunities for expanding skills and influence
Full Job Description
About the Role

This is a dedicated role on a single account, helping a key client bring a brand new product to market, with Darkroom owning all media channels. You are the operational owner of that engagement: the person accountable for the program running on time, in scope, and against every commitment, with no slips in timeline.

That makes this different from a typical agency PM job. You are not coordinating a portfolio. You are going deep on one enterprise client, holding the operating rhythm, and creating accountability within the layers of Darkroom.

You will report to the Director of Growth Strategy, with a dotted line to the Managing Director, Paid Media. You will work daily with Paid Social and Paid Search Specialists, Analytics, Creative, and the client's own program leads.

This is a fully remote role supporting a team in the EST time zone (9 AM-5 PM EST).

What You'll Do
  • Service level accountability. You track our contracted SLAs, produce the reporting that evidences adherence, and escalate early when something is trending toward a miss. When the client asks whether we hit our commitments, the answer comes from you and it is already documented.
  • The Shared Model. You maintain Darkroom's side of the jointly held media plan, forecast, and ramp model, keep it reconciled against actuals, and manage the cadence with the client's team so both sides are always working off the same numbers.
  • Scope and budget control. You own hours tracking, scope-versus-delivered reconciliation, and ensuring we stay within scope.
  • The operating rhythm. Standups, client status calls, internal syncs, QBR prep. Decisions, action items, and blockers documented and visible to both sides.
  • Cross-functional handoffs. Briefs, assets, performance reporting, and campaign builds moving between Media, Creative, and Analytics on schedule, with dependencies mapped.
  • Resourcing and capacity. Working with the Director of Growth Strategy and team leads to keep staffing matched to the work, and surfacing capacity risk before it shows up as a slipped deadline.
  • Risk escalation. You are the point of escalation for cross-team dependencies and you keep stakeholders aligned without routing every conversation through leadership.


You Should Apply If This Sounds Like You
  • You have 3-5+ years of project or program management experience, ideally at a media, marketing, creative, or digital agency
  • You're conversant in paid media workflows and terminology: campaign builds, flight dates, creative rotations, reporting cadences, even if you've never bought media yourself
  • You build the tracker before someone asks for it, and you notice when a timeline is about to slip before anyone else does
  • You're a clear, proactive communicator, comfortable managing up, across, and with clients when needed
  • You are a Notion guru. Notion is Darkroom's spine, and one needs to be fluent in Notion. This means designing and maintaining relational databases, building filtered views, and maintaining SOPs.
  • You're comfortable working across Slack, Toggl, and Google Sheets-based trackers as your daily toolkit
  • You can juggle multiple accounts and shifting priorities without dropping details
  • You hold a high bar for your own output and expect the same from the people you coordinate with


What It's Like to Work at Darkroom

Darkroom is not a typical agency. We are looking for A players who want to build something great. We move fast, think deeply, and expect every team member to bring insight and rigor to everything they touch. We hold a high bar for performance, creativity, and ownership - but we also support each other relentlessly. No egos, no red tape - just world-class talent building something remarkable.

We believe in autonomy with accountability, truth over comfort, and outcomes over optics.
  • Unlimited PTO + US holidays: Rebooting is part of the work. Take the time you need to stay sharp.
  • Remote-First Culture: Many roles are fully remote. Employees based in or near our New York or Lisbon HQs are expected to work hybrid with weekly in-office time. Hub locations include the Brazil and Spain.
  • Health & Wellness: Company-sponsored medical, dental, and vision coverage.
  • Finances, growth, and retirement: Darkroom offers a robust 401(k) program with company match and profit-sharing opportunities to help you save and grow as the company grows.
  • Parental Leave: Flexible parental leave to support new parents during this important transition.
  • Growth: Our interdisciplinary model gives every Darkroomer exposure far beyond their core role. Grow your skills, expand your influence, and stay at the forefront of the industry.

Our Hiring Process and Compensation:

The hiring process for this position typically follows three stages: phone screen, hiring manager, and Executive calls.

Compensation:

The base salary range for this role is $120,000 per year. This range represents the anticipated minimum and maximum for this position and applies to candidates based in New York, including New York City, in compliance with the New York State Pay Transparency Law and the New York City Salary Transparency Law. Actual compensation within this range will be determined based on experience, skills, and qualifications. This role is also eligible for performance-based compensation. A summary of benefits is listed above.

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