Russell Herder is seeking a highly organized, proactive and collaborative Project Manager to ensure that client projects move smoothly from kickoff through completion. The Project Manager is the operational heartbeat of the agency, bringing clarity, structure and momentum to complex projects while allowing our strategists, account leaders and creatives to focus on doing their best work. This person will coordinate people, timelines, budgets, deliverables and approvals across a wide range of integrated marketing and communications projects.

The ideal candidate has ad agency experience and is comfortable managing multiple projects simultaneously in an environment where priorities can change, creative work evolves, and deadlines matter. You will be expected to anticipate problems before they become problems, keep people accountable without creating unnecessary bureaucracy, find practical solutions when things inevitably change, and identify and remediate process gaps. Most importantly, the Project Manager understands that great project management is not about managing paperwork - it is about creating the conditions for great work.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Project Planning and Workflow

·      Attend project kickoff to ensure clear objectives, deliverables, responsibilities, milestones and deadlines.

·      Develop and maintain detailed project timelines and workback schedules.

·      Confirm project scope, required resources, dependencies and approval processes.

·      Coordinate projects across client services, strategy, creative, media, digital, web, production and external partners.

·      Keep projects moving by identifying next steps, dependencies and outstanding decisions, monitoring progress against timelines and proactively addressing potential delays or bottlenecks.

·      Ensure that project information, files, specifications and approvals are readily accessible to the appropriate team members and saved internally for reference.

Resource and Capacity Management

·      Coordinate internal resources to ensure the right people are assigned to the right projects at the right time.

·      Monitor workloads and identify potential resource conflicts before they affect deadlines.

·      Work with the Production Manager to prioritize competing projects and deadlines.

·      Coordinate freelancers, production companies, printers, developers, photographers, videographers and other outside resources as needed with support from Production Manager.

·      Help ensure projects are appropriately staffed and resourced from kickoff through final delivery.

Budget and Scope Management

·      Monitor project budgets, hours and expenses throughout the project lifecycle.

·      Help establish realistic estimates and production requirements in collaboration with Production Manager and Client Services lead.

·      Track scope changes and communicate their potential impact on budget and schedule.

·      Flag scope creep, overages and financial risks early.

·      Partner with account leadership to ensure projects remain financially healthy and aligned with client expectations.

Creative and Production Coordination

·      Understand the creative development process and effectively manage projects involving strategy, branding, advertising, digital, social media, web, video, print and other communications.

·      Coordinate creative reviews, internal presentations and production milestones.

·      Ensure teams have the information and resources they need to do their work.

·      Manage feedback and revision cycles so that input is clear, consolidated and actionable.

·      Coordinate final production, trafficking, delivery and implementation.

·      Maintain quality control throughout the project lifecycle.

Communication

·      Coordinate project status meetings and provide clear action items.

·      Provide timely updates regarding project status, risks, decisions and deadlines.

·      Maintain strong working relationships with account leaders, strategists, creatives, vendors and clients.

·      Communicate problems early and come to the table with potential solutions.

What Success Looks Like

A successful Russell Herder Project Manager:

·      Keeps projects moving without constantly having to be asked for updates.

·      Anticipates problems rather than simply reacting to them.

·      Makes deadlines visible, realistic and achievable.

·      Keeps the right people informed at the right time.

·      Protects creative quality while respecting budgets and deadlines.

·      Makes it easier - not harder - for teams to do their jobs.

·      Knows when to solve a problem independently and when to escalate it.

·      Builds trust by doing what they say they will do.

·      Brings calm, clarity and organization to a fast-moving environment.

·      Helps Russell Herder deliver outstanding work profitably and consistently.

Qualifications

·      5–8+ years of project management experience, preferably within an advertising, branding, marketing, communications, web, digital or creative agency.

·      Strong understanding of integrated advertising and marketing workflows.

·      Experience managing multiple projects and competing deadlines simultaneously.

·      Demonstrated ability to develop and manage project schedules, budgets and resources.

·      Strong organizational and prioritization skills.

·      Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

·      Exceptional attention to detail without losing sight of the larger objective.

·      Strong problem-solving and decision-making abilities.

·      Ability to work effectively with creative personalities and cross-functional teams.

·      Experience with project management, collaboration and/or time-tracking platforms including ClickUp and Monday.com.

·      Proficiency with Microsoft Office/Google Workspace and familiarity with digital and creative production processes.

We are looking for someone who is:

Organized. You naturally create order from complexity.

Proactive. You see what's coming and act before someone has to ask.

Calm under pressure. You can handle changing priorities without transmitting unnecessary stress to the team.

Accountable. You take ownership and follow through.

Diplomatic. You can hold people accountable while maintaining positive relationships.

Curious. You want to understand the strategy and creative thinking behind the work, not simply move tasks from one column to another.

Resourceful. When something goes wrong, your first instinct is to figure out how to fix it.

Collaborative. You understand that the best agency work comes from talented people working together.

Detail-oriented. You catch the little things that can become big problems.

RUSSELL HERDER

Russell Herder is an independent strategic and creative ad agency based in Minneapolis. As a certified B Corp, we help organizations solve meaningful business and communications challenges through strategy, branding, creative, digital, media and integrated marketing. We believe good agency work begins with good thinking, is strengthened by collaboration and succeeds when it creates meaningful results for our clients. We are looking for people who want to contribute to that kind of work - and who understand that the details, discipline and teamwork behind the scenes are essential to making it happen.

Russell Herder is an equal opportunity employer.


TO APPLY
Please send your resume to: [email protected]. Any information you send us will be kept private and confidential.