Contract Project Manager (Evergreen)

Blue State; Oakland (CA); Hybrid; USD 83,000 - 117,000; Full time

Job summary

Blue State is seeking a Project Manager to lead website development and digital consulting projects from start to finish. You’ll manage client relationships, budgets, timelines, and coordinate a cross-disciplinary team of UX designers, developers, strategists, and creatives.

This evergreen post reflects our ongoing interest in finding strong candidates who share Blue State’s mission. The role supports a hybrid in-office/remote setup with occasional in-person collaboration across US offices.

Qualifications

• 2+ years of professional project management experience with client-facing digital projects.
• Experience managing website development and agile approaches.
• Strong written and verbal communication with cross-functional teams.
• Familiarity with WordPress or Drupal builds is a plus.
• Ability to manage scope, timelines, and budgets effectively.

Responsibilities

• Lead budgets and timelines for website development and platform projects.
• Define product specs and functional requirements with teams.
• Maintain client relationships and coordinate internal delivery teams.
• Oversee risk management and scope control to avoid creep.
• Guide testing and quality control of all deliverables.
• Ensure documentation is current and properly archived.

Skills

PM experience

Client-facing

WordPress

Drupal

Communication

Agile

Job description

Interested in joining Blue State’s Media Team? Please note: this is an “evergreen” job post (i.e. not an active job post), but your expression of interest matters to us. While interviews aren’t ongoing, we’re excited to connect with talented individuals who share our commitment to Blue State’s mission.

If you came across this job via LinkedIn, please note that it is an evergreen role; Linked In does not differentiate, but we prefer to.

What to know

Help run website development projects transforming the way people engage. As a Project Manager, you’ll spend your days leading our website development and technical consulting projects from start to finish, which will include managing clients, and collaborating with diverse teams of UXers, Designers, Strategists, and Developers. You’ll help turn progressive ideas into actionable tactics, timelines, budgets, and deliverables.

The company

Blue State is a purpose-driven agency. We partner with leading causes, brands, and campaigns and create real change. From AARP and Doctors Without Borders to Amnesty International and Oxfam, we transform how brands and causes raise money, influence policy, build platforms, and grow communities of supporters. Led by the most creative and analytical minds from the political, nonprofit, and brand worlds, Blue State is an independent agency in the US and London.

The team

You’ll be a part of our global Project Management team working on website development projects across offices. You will also work with a cross-disciplinary team of Designers, Developers, Strategists, and other creative folks to get the job done.

A day in the life

• Manage budgets and timelines for website redesign & platform focused projects, including defining scopes and gathering estimate across disciplines


• Work with teams to define product specifications and functional requirements


• Manage client relationships and coordination of internal creative and delivery teams


• Manage operational aspects of projects, including communication of client needs to team and vice versa as well as resourcing and financial health trackin


• Lead project status meetings and updates with internal teams and clients


• Manage multiple website build projects simultaneously and understand project priorities in the context of agency and client expectations


• Minimize exposure to risk on a project by identifying potential scope creep and working with internal teams and client stakeholders to mitigate this risk


• Manage and participate in testing and quality control for all deliverables


• Ensure project documents are complete, current, and archived appropriately

We approach in-office working with a hybrid model. On-site presence is welcome for US staff who are within commuting distance of the NY or DC office. Managers retain discretion to require in-person attendance for folks on their discipline or client teams as necessary, including for those whose roles require them to be in person. To enter our US offices or attend Blue State events, staff and visitors must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, including with a booster shot when eligible. Exceptions for protected grounds will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

The salary range for this position is $60-$85 per hour; compensation will be commensurate with experience.

Some things we’re looking for

1. 2+ years of professional experience as a project manager with client-facing experience in digital strategy and managing agile website development projects, specifically Wordpress or Drupal builds


2. Strong communication skills with the ability to interact with creative and tech team members, business stakeholders, clients, etc.


3. Excellent written and oral communication skills, team-oriented mindset, meticulous attention to detail


4. Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced (sometimes rapid-response) environment while maintaining a sense of perspective.


5. Ability to adapt to new situations, solve problems on the fly, and communicate with those around you. Teamwork and scrappiness required.


6. You are adaptable, curious, and always looking for ways to make things more efficient.


7. You have a passion for cause-based work and promoting progressive values.


8. Whether it is Slack, Zoom, or email, you are a clear and responsive communicator. You approach communication with empathy and respect.


9. You manage your time well and are excited to dive into multiple projects at once.


10. A shared passion and curiosity for making change. This includes comfort with ambiguity, a restlessness that resists the status quo, and a commitment to quality that ensures we’re always making progress.


11. Empathy, communication, respect, and the ability to act as a role model at Blue State and embody our working agreements.

At Blue State, diversity is a necessity, not a nice-to-have. We encourage those from underrepresented communities — women, people of color, LGBTQIA+, immigrants, those with disabilities and people at all the intersections in between — to apply. Even if you don’t think your current skill set checks every box below, but this role seems to align with your strengths, we want to hear from you.

Blue State is committed to creating an inclusive and accessible application and interview process. If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation for a disability, including the use of AI tools throughout the hiring process, please contact us at [e-mail] with the subject line: Accommodation Request to get started.

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