Associate Director, Project Management

Company Description

Zenith is the ROI Agency. Our more than 6,000 specialists across 95 markets offer unparalleled capabilities in Media, Data, Technology, Commerce and Content. We put effectiveness at the heart of our work to solve complex challenges, drive successful business outcomes, and grow our clients’ businesses. Zenith is part of Publicis Media, the media arm of Publicis Groupe. 

Job Description

The Associate Director, Operations Project Management is an integral role within the Zenith team, responsible for building and monitoring internal operational processes throughout the assigned account. Responsible for diverse scale projects or workstreams with multiple elements, including client contact at project level and management of resources across multiple teams and disciplines and various project types.

The Associate Director, Operations Project Management will also be responsible for monitoring and enhancing a shared software platform(s) that connects our people, data and technology and will be used heavily throughout the account. Data integrity, development of process, and accountability of adherence to process is of upmost importance, so a keen eye for detail, effectively project managing various workstreams/projects and forward thinking are key attributes required for this position.

Responsibilities:

• Project management of the tools, systems, and processes that enable sound and streamlined account and investment operations including development of effective change management plans. (inclusive of setup/build and monitoring of communication rollouts, creating and maintaining timelines/milestones, training schedules, etc).
• Partner with Change Manager Leads to drive improvement projects through the enterprise
• Maintains a clear understanding of the overarching strategy and purpose on all assigned projects
• Build strong relationships with internal stakeholders and groups, facilitating synergy between the Operations and xFunctional teams (i.e. strategy, investment, analytics, etc).
• Builds positive rapport and partnership with key clients, ensuring effective and streamlined communications/operations are in place for successful management at a project level.
• Act as the project lead, connecting agency teams and clients for an orderly and smooth project and resource flow.
• Deliver instructions and briefing of project/process plans/timelines in a clear and concise manner, providing proper enablement material and documentation as required
• Proactively operates to identify, mitigate or remove project obstacles, and manage issue escalations, and provide support to teams balancing competing priorities
• Foster positive, collaborative partnerships with key clients, embodying client service excellence.
• Supports transformational changes to ways of working and holistic operations across the business in conjunction with Senior Leadership Team across Operations and cross functional team leads.
• Actively drive the enhancement of project management processes, adaption of tools and standardized templates to implement consistent workflows for effective and systemic project execution.

Qualifications

Education and Experience:

• Bachelor’s Degree.
• 4-5 years of experience in operations or project/client management within an agency environment.
• Adherence to outlined course schedule of project management classes/certification professional development opportunities (i.e. Agile/Scrum Management, Google Project Management via uDemy Publicis Sapient courses) – course plan to be outlined
• Agile and/or Scrum certified or trained preferred, or project management certifications are a bonus. Additional relevant certifications are a large plus (via PMI or other qualified institute/organization).

Managerial and Operational Skills:

• Managerial experience contributing to informed strategic business decisions and enhancing overall operations.
• Experience implementing double-checks and balances team-wide for flawless execution.
• Demonstrates excellence in delivering operational workstreams/projects and conveys informed recommendations professionally.

Technical Proficiency:

• Experience/exposure using MediaTools is preferred, Microsoft Office Suite (i.e. Excel, Powerpoint, Microsoft Project) and other smart project management tools.

Analytical and Problem-Solving Skills:

• Strong critical thinking and creative problem-solving skills, with a demonstrated ability to identify actionable insights.

Communication and Detail Orientation:

• Exhibits strong communication skills, including clear writing and professional speaking, strong listeni