Senior Project Manager

DNA Recruit; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 75,000 - 95,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working

Day at home each week

Two weeks fully remote per year

25 days' holiday

Bank holidays

Birthday leave

Sabbatical leave

Enhanced parental leave

Vitality

Art Pass

Cycle-to-work

Job summary

DNA Recruit is seeking a senior Project Manager to anchor a newly formed PM function for a creative gifting and merchandise agency. You’ll line manage two Project Coordinators and steer a busy portfolio from brief through sampling, production to delivery, keeping briefs on track and teams aligned.

You’ll bring proven leadership, gravitas under pressure, and hands-on delivery across custom production. Experience with merchandise or experiential projects, and familiarity with East/overseas

Qualifications

• Experience leading and developing a team.
• Strong track record in delivering end-to-end custom production projects.
• Comfortable pushing back with suppliers and stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Line manage two Project Coordinators and raise standards across the team.
• Own a busy portfolio of high-value custom projects from idea to delivery.
• Coach and mentor the team, turning good habits into everyday practice.
• Hands-on delivery of projects with tight timelines and changing briefs.

Skills

People leadership

Gravitas

Custom production know-how

Merchandise background

Overseas manufacturing experience

Stakeholder management

Flexible attitude

Job description

Some project managers keep the plates spinning. This role needs someone who teaches everyone else how to spin them.

My client is a creative gifting and merchandise agency behind some of the most talked-about brand moments of the past few years. They produce bespoke, story-led gifts for household-name entertainment, tech and luxury brands. They have recently reshaped the business around their corporate offering, built a dedicated Project Management function, and are growing internationally. They now need a senior leader to anchor that team.

Why this role matters

The project team is looking for a senior voice: someone with the presence to steady things when a brief changes overnight, the credibility to push back on a supplier or a stakeholder, and the patience and skill to bring people on with them. You'll line manage two Project Coordinators and help raise the standard across the wider team. That means running proper 1-1s, setting clear expectations, coaching, and turning good habits into how the team works.

You'll still be hands-on. You'll own a busy, varied portfolio of high-value custom projects from first idea through sampling and production to delivery. No two briefs look alike, and plenty land with very little notice.

What we're looking for

• Proven people leadership. You've managed and developed a team, and people who've worked for you would say you made them better.
• Gravitas. You're calm under pressure, trusted by senior stakeholders and clients, and comfortable being the person others turn to when things wobble.
• Custom production know-how. You've run bespoke product projects end to end and know where they tend to go wrong.
• Merchandise or gifting background (ideal). Creative agency, promotional products, brand merch or experiential production would all translate well.
• Far East manufacturing experience is a real plus but not essential. If you've worked with overseas factories on sampling and production, tell us about it.
• A positive, solutions-first attitude. You're flexible, energetic and happy when the plan changes.

What's in it for you

• Line management and a genuine say in shaping a newly formed function
• Work on projects for brands people actually get excited about
• A creative, entrepreneurial business with international growth plans
• Hybrid working with a day at home each week, plus two weeks fully remote a year
• 25 days' holiday plus bank holidays, birthday leave, sabbatical leave, enhanced parental leave, Vitality, an Art Pass, cycle-to-work schemes and more

Please note, this role requires you in the office 4 days a week.

The client is moving quickly, with first-stage interviews available straight away. If you're a senior PM who loves leading a team as much as delivering the work, I'd love to hear from you.