Program Director (Digital & Creative Projects)

This role is in the organization to support the delivery discipline in providing oversight to project management teams across a portfolio within the creative scope.

The core expectation of this role is to define and manage programs of all sizes and complexities, expertly craft project artifacts, be a collaborative partner across the work. Additionally, this role leadsthe work and team with strong relationships across disciplines/ with clients and is responsible for financial management and staffing across projects and portfolios.

Career Development is typically provided by Program Directors [or above] but can be modified to suit an account and/or office location. This role may provide career development to emerging talent. Nature of this role of role is that of a ‘leader’.

You Will

• Support, enable, and deliver a program within an account delivered by a group of Project Managers
• Build and own operational cadences for a program of work, including finance tracker, resourcing planning, recruitment, executional tools and templates, and reporting
• Contributes to creation/improvement of templates and processes for department
• Lead and collaborates to ensure the work stays on brief, client needs and feedback are understood and addressed, and the work delivered is of high quality
• Lead a variety of small to large projects with collective budget likely under $1MM and with teams of 20 or fewer
• Structure and lead status meetings, client reviews, and other stakeholder meetings
• Ensure delivery leadership has necessary visibility into the work
• Act as the main POC for the clients, handling communications with the intent of client satisfaction
• Use knowledge of client goals/ competition to identify opportunities to grow accounts
• Identify post launch opportunities through retrospective analysis
• Perform analysis and reporting on project health, attending finance meetings to inform account health (Metrics include: Remaining forecast, forecast to completion, burn (actuals) to date, % project progress, % budget utilized, write off %)
• Approve client invoices and third-party purchase orders
• Be an active champion of project management fundamentals and a leader in the discipline
• Facilitate and assign (when applicable) in project retrospective process to take learnings forward
• Provide input to team development, account growth, annual planning, and operational processes
• Organize, document, and communicate to showcase the standard of excellence and demonstrate delivery best practices to teams and third-parties
• Motivate team in a productive way and proactive way, promote “yes, and?” thinking to uncover potential and/or solutions
• Actively and visibly champion the work and team
• Support team dynamics and performance with guidance and conversation
  
  

• Deep understanding of client businesses, goals, objectives, and preferences, with the ability to anticipate needs proactively.
• Strong collaborative mindset with the ability to contribute effectively across cross-functional teams.
• Demonstrated leadership skills, leading by example and fostering a cohesive, high-performing team environment.
• Ability to identify process improvement opportunities and contribute to scalable solutions.
• Experience communicating team structures, resourcing plans, and program-level objectives clearly across small to complex initiatives.
• Understanding of cross-disciplinary integration and experience working within various cross-agency operating models.
• Experience structuring and leading status meetings, client reviews, and stakeholder presentations.
• Exposure to pitch development and RFP processes, including scope definition, approach, team structure, and budget creation.
• Ability to assess project plans and pivot across scope, approach, financials, and delivery models when needed.
• Experience supporting roadmap planning, with foresight into upcoming workstreams and financial forecasting.
• Ability to partner with Client Service or Account leads to manage pipeline and portfolio planning.
• Strategic mindset for optimizing staffing models and delivery approaches to address budget constraints.
• Experience staffing projects at a portfolio level and securing appropriate resources across teams.
• Solid understanding of digital and traditional marketing channels, including emerging capabilities and trends.
• Working knowledge of technology within project environments (e.g., applications, platforms, tech stacks, automation, immersive experiences), with the ability to manage tech-enabled initiatives and mitigate risks.
• Understanding of media ecosystems (paid, owned, earned; audio, video, social, etc.) and their integration into broader project delivery.
• Experience translating project activities into high-level staffing plans, estimates, and Statements of Work (SOWs), including assumptions, dependencies, deliverables, and budget considerations.
• Ability to track and report on budget utilization and financial health at a portfolio level.
• Exceptional verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to tailor messaging to diverse stakeholders.
• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to build trusted relationships and foster high-performing teams.
• Proactive mindset with the confidence to challenge the status quo and drive continuous improvement.
• Advanced proficiency in collaboration and issue-tracking tools such as Box, Jira, Confluence, and Microsoft Teams.
• Advanced expertise in office productivity tools (e.g., Excel, Word, Keynote, PowerPoint), including portfolio-level reporting and presentations.
• Advanced proficiency in project and financial management tools such as Tenrox, Smartsheet, and Halo/Abacus, with experience managing portfolio-level tracking and reporting.