Project Director

Posted 3 days ago

charles groupChicago (IL)

SENIORITY

Manager

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About the role

The Charles Group is seeking a Project Director who can do both sides of the job well: own the client relationship as a true partner, and run the engine behind it. This person will lead complex, multi-channel programs across brand, demand, media, and digital, acting as the client's day-to-day point of contact while also driving the internal planning, resourcing, and financial discipline that keeps the work on track. Experience with B2B/Tech clients in an agency setting is required.
What You'll Do
Client Partnership & Leadership: Serve as the primary day-to-day contact for assigned client(s), building trusted, direct relationships with client stakeholders. Lead client conversations on program status, priorities, and trade-offs, comfortable delivering both good news and hard truths. Translate client goals and feedback into clear internal direction, and represent the agency's point of view back to the client with confidence. Spot risks, blockers, and expansion opportunities early, and bring solutions to the client rather than just problems. Set the tone for a high-accountability relationship where decisions are clear and nothing falls through the cracks.
Program Ownership:
  • Convert business goals into clear work plans, briefs, milestones, and KPIs.
  • Orchestrate integrated workflows across strategy, creative & media
  • Run structured cadences, reviews, and approvals with zero ambiguity on decisions.
  • Maintain dashboards, documentation, and reporting as the authoritative source of truth for both the client and internal teams.
Creative Resourcing & Workflow Management: Resource and schedule creative work across internal staff and freelance vendors, matching skills and availability to program needs. Manage day-to-day workflows and deliverables with dedicated creative teams and vendors, keeping timelines, priorities, and handoffs clear. Maintain accurate, up-to-date resourcing, task, and deliverable status in Workfront. Flag capacity conflicts and bottlenecks early, and adjust resourcing plans to keep work on schedule.
Operational & Financial Management: Own budgets, SOWs, forecasts, and margin performance at the program level. Drive predictable burn and flag deviations early for correction. Coordinate with Finance, Resource Management, and Account Leads to optimize staffing. Improve workflows, templates, and processes to reduce cycle time and operational drag.
What Success Looks Like: The client sees a single, reliable owner who anticipates needs rather than just reacting to requests. Teams operate with clear priorities, sustainable capacity, and efficient handoffs. Workflows show reduced rework, faster cycle times, and controlled delivery costs. Revenue expands through disciplined scope management, strong client trust, and proactive program growth. What We're Looking For7–10 years of program/project management experience, including time in an agency environment supporting B2B clients. Proven ability to own a client relationship directly, not just execute against a brief handed down by someone else. Demonstrated ability to run integrated marketing programs end-to-end. Solid financial management capability (budgets, forecasts, profitability).Strong stakeholder management and communication skills, with both clients and internal teams. Experience coordinating with external vendors and cross-agency partners. Proficiency in modern PM platforms (ideally Workfront, for resourcing and deliverable tracking).Experience resourcing and managing workflows across internal creative teams and freelance vendors. Ability to turn ambiguous objectives into clear, executable plans, and to explain that plan to a client with confidence.

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