Program Manager

About the Role

As a Program Manager, you'll be responsible for the day-to-day management of multiple packaging design projects, ensuring they're delivered on time, on budget, and at the quality our clients expect. You'll be the operational hub for your projects—coordinating timelines, managing resources, tracking budgets, facilitating communication between creative teams and clients, and solving problems as they arise. Partnering with a Client Success Director, you'll have the opportunity to learn agency operations from the ground up while making an immediate impact on project success. This role is ideal for someone who thrives in a fast-paced environment, loves bringing order to complexity, and wants to build a career in creative operations.

Core Responsibilities

Day-to-Day Project Management You'll manage several packaging design projects simultaneously, serving as the central point of coordination for each. This includes leading project kickoffs, creating and maintaining detailed project timelines, scheduling meetings and reviews, tracking deliverables, following up on action items, and ensuring nothing falls through the cracks. You'll be the person who knows exactly where every project stands at any given moment—what's on track, what's at risk, and what needs attention. Your organizational skills and attention to detail will be critical to keeping projects moving smoothly from brief through final delivery.

Resource Coordination & Scheduling You'll work with the Client Success Director to build project staffing plans, then coordinate the day-to-day workflow across your assigned creative teams. This means scheduling designers, strategists, and production artists; managing their workload to ensure they have what they need when they need it; communicating timeline changes or shifts in priorities; and flagging capacity constraints early. You'll develop strong relationships with the creative team, understanding their working styles and helping them balance multiple project demands while protecting time for their best work.

Client Communication & Relationship Support You'll serve as a key day-to-day contact for clients, managing project communications, responding to questions, coordinating feedback cycles, and ensuring they feel well-informed and supported throughout the process. While the Client Success team owns the strategic relationship, you'll build your own rapport with client project managers and brand managers through reliable, responsive service. You'll learn to navigate client dynamics—understanding when to escalate issues, how to manage expectations diplomatically, and how to turn potential problems into opportunities to demonstrate our professionalism.

Timeline & Milestone Management You'll create realistic project schedules that account for creative development time, review cycles, revision rounds, and production requirements. You'll monitor progress against these timelines, identify potential delays early, and proactively problem-solve to keep projects on track. When timeline challenges arise—compressed deadlines, unexpected revisions, client delays—you'll work with your Director and the creative team to develop solutions that balance client needs with team capacity and quality standards.

Process Execution & Quality Control You'll ensure projects follow the agency's established processes and workflows, from intake and briefing through delivery and archival. This includes preparing thorough creative briefs, facilitating productive review sessions, managing approval processes, coordinating with production vendors, and ensuring all deliverables meet our quality standards before they reach the client. You'll be a guardian of our standards, catching mistakes or inconsistencies before they become client issues.

Meeting Facilitation & Communication You'll run efficient, productive project meetings—kickoffs, status updates, creative reviews, client presentations—keeping them focused, documented, and action-oriented. You'll prepare agendas, take detailed notes, distribute recaps with clear action items and owners, and follow up to ensure things get done. Your meeting facilitation skills will help teams work more efficiently and ensure everyone stays aligned throughout the project lifecycle.

Problem-Solving & Escalation Projects don't always go according to plan, and you'll need to think on your feet when challenges arise. Whether it's a scope change request, a resource conflict, a technical production issue, or client feedback that requires rethinking the creative approach, you'll assess the situation, explore solutions, and escalate to your Director when needed. You'll develop judgment about what you can handle independently and when to bring in senior support.

Reporting & Documentation You'll maintain accurate project documentation, including timelines, budgets, meeting notes, and creative briefs. You'll also provide regular status updates to your Director, flagging risks, celebrating wins, and contributing to the broader operational visibility that helps leadership make informed decisions. You'll ensure project files are properly organized and archived for future reference.

Continuous Improvement You'll actively contribute ideas for how we can work more efficiently, identifying process bottlenecks, suggesting template improvements, and sharing learnings from your projects. You'll also be open to feedback and committed to developing your own skills, working with your Director to build capabilities in areas like financial management, client relationship building, and strategic resource planning.

What You Bring

Experience & Expertise

• 3-5 years of project or program management experience, preferably in a creative agency, design studio, or marketing environment

• Experience managing creative projects from concept through delivery, with understanding of design and production workflows

• Familiarity with CPG packaging design processes a plus, but not required
• Experience working with Supercenter/Hypermarket business model

• Proficiency with project management tools (Monday.com, Asana, Basecamp, or similar)

• Basic understanding of project budgets and financial tracking

• Experience with Microsoft Office and Google Workspace

Core Competencies

• Exceptional organizational skills with ability to manage multiple complex projects simultaneously without losing track of details

• Strong time management and prioritization abilities, knowing what needs attention now versus what can wait

• Proactive mindset—you anticipate problems before they happen and take initiative to solve them

• Process-oriented thinking with appreciation for why structure and methodology matter

• Analytical skills with comfort working with numbers, tracking data, and identifying patterns

• Problem-solving abilities, especially when faced with timeline conflicts, resource constraints, or unexpected challenges

Communication & Interpersonal Skills

• Clear, professional written and verbal communication skills

• Diplomatic approach to managing different personalities, opinions, and working styles

• Ability to build trust and rapport with both creative teams and clients

• Comfortable facilitating meetings and keeping discussions productive

• Active listening skills with ability to ask clarifying questions and truly understand needs

• Grace under pressure—you stay calm and constructive when things get hectic

Working Style & Mindset

• Detail-oriented without losing sight of the bigger picture

• Adaptable and comfortable with ambiguity—you can pivot when plans change

• Collaborative team player who builds bridges between disciplines

• Accountable and reliable—when you say you'll do something, you follow through

• Curious and eager to learn, open to feedback and committed to growth

• Positive attitude with ability to bring energy and constructive problem-solving to challenges

Success Metrics

Project Performance

• 90%+ of assigned projects delivered on time and within budget (with guidance from Director)

• Positive client feedback on responsiveness, organization, and communication

• Creative team feedback indicating strong support and effective coordination

Operational Excellence

• Accurate, timely project status reporting with clear visibility into risks and issues

• Consistent adherence to agency processes and quality standards

• Timely escalation of problems with thoughtful analysis and potential solutions

• Clean, well-organized project documentation and file management

Professional Development

• Demonstrated improvement in capabilities over 6-12 months (better financial management, more strategic thinking, stronger client relationships)

• Proactive contribution to process improvements and operational discussions

• Positive trajectory toward increased responsibility and project complexity

What Success Looks Like

In this role, you'll have succeeded when your projects run smoothly, your creative teams trust you to protect their time and set them up for success, and your clients feel well-cared-for throughout the process. You'll be known as someone who's on top of the details, communicates clearly, solves problems proactively, and makes everyone else's job easier. Your Director will rely on you to manage your portfolio with minimal oversight, and you'll be ready to take on increasingly complex projects and responsibilities. 

Why This Role Matters

Program Managers are the operational backbone of our agency—you're the reason great creative work gets delivered on time and on budget, the reason clients feel supported and informed, and the reason our teams can focus on doing their best work. This role offers the opportunity to learn agency operations from experienced leaders, work with talented creative professionals, and contribute to projects for some of the most recognized CPG brands. If you're energized by bringing order to complexity, love the satisfaction of checking things off the list, and want to build a career in creative operations, this is an excellent place to start.

Seeking candidates ideally in or near the following cities: Cincinnati, OH or Fairfield, CT.