Senior Project Manager (Marketing Agency Experience Required)

SimpsonScarborough is a higher education marketing agency that builds brands for colleges and universities. The Senior Project Manager will lead complex, cross-functional client engagements, managing project plans, budgets, timelines, resources, risks, and internal teams from scoping through final delivery.

Responsibilities:

• Lead end-to-end project management on complex, cross-functional engagements — developing project plans that include budgets, timelines, RACIs, and resource plans
• Serve as a key client contact throughout the project lifecycle — providing updates, addressing concerns, and ensuring client satisfaction from kickoff to close
• Manage internal project infrastructure: set up and maintain projects in the PM system, assign tasks, track progress, and ensure all timelines and resources are accurately reflected
• Identify, communicate, and mitigate project risks — including financial risks — keeping projects on budget and escalating deviations appropriately
• Lead internal project calls including phase kickoffs, status check-ins, and post-mortems
• Partner with the sales team on project scoping, bringing expert insight to define requirements, timelines, and budgets accurately
• Continuously look for opportunities to improve processes, increase efficiency, and drive innovation in how projects are delivered

Requirements:

• At least 5 years of project management experience, including at least 1 year in a Senior PM role within a marketing agency environment
• Proven track record managing large-scale, complex projects with multiple stakeholders
• Hands-on experience with project planning, task management, budgeting, resourcing, and forecasting in an agency setting
• Proficiency with project management software (Wrike, Asana, ClickUp, or comparable platforms)
• Strong data fluency — able to analyze and interpret project and financial data to inform decisions
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills; confident leading meetings across teams and organizational levels, in person and remotely
• Exceptional organizational skills and attention to detail, with the ability to independently prioritize, problem-solve, and meet deadlines