Freelance Senior Project Manager

McCANN New York; New York (NY); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Part time

Job summary

McCann New York is seeking a Freelance Senior Project Manager to lead key programs for major clients. You will work across traditional and non-traditional media, guiding creative campaigns and complex experiences while adapting to evolving client needs.

In this hybrid role, you will partner with business leadership, manage scope, stay on budget, mentor junior team members, and drive growth through measurable, high-quality deliverables.

Qualifications

• Experience directing integrated projects across multiple channels and partners.
• Ability to lead senior-level discussions on staffing and scoping with confidence.

Responsibilities

• Manage annual scope across channels and agencies, driving growth and profit.
• Act as client-facing partner to leadership, advocating measurable ways of working.
• Oversee day-to-day deliverable management for accounts and projects.
• Identify incremental scope opportunities and develop proposals with leadership.
• Monitor client scope, burn rates, and progress through regular reviews.
• Lead resource planning and cross-department collaboration to ensure efficiency.

Skills

Project management

Team leadership

Scope management

Negotiation

Client relations

Operations leadership

Budgeting

Communication

Digital media

Job description

As a Freelance Senior Project Manager at McCann New York, you will manage key project/programs for significant businesses.

This role will require hands on experience across traditional and non-traditional media, as well as a flexible approach with the ability to adapt and change as needed. We are looking for a project leader that is passionate about creating world‑class campaigns, programs and experiences for large‑scale client engagements while also bringing a fresh perspective to the agency to develop revolutionary creative work.

What You Do:

• Partner closely with Business Leadership and discipline leads to manage the overall program(s) for the year, across multiple channels, managing multiple agency partners.
• Act as client‑facing partner to Business Leadership and discipline leads, driving growth and profit goals and advocating the importance of healthy and measurable ways of working.
• Responsible for all internal communications and day‑to‑day deliverable management for account(s).
• Be a partner to the broader agency team, delivering growth and profit goals on a project‑by‑project basis.
• In partnership with the Business Leads and Finance, ensure ongoing monitoring of agreed‑upon client scope of work, projecting burn rates by client, and regular reviews of scope tracking and progress.
• Identify incremental scope opportunities, developing proposals in partnership with ADPM and tracking scope progress.
• Lead annual scope development process, in partnership with business leadership, finance, resourcing and department leadership.
• Work to define resource needs across account with the individual resource management teams in each department.
• Oversee account workflow and establish client‑specific processes to ensure efficiencies and highest quality of deliverables.
• Identify best practices and develop new systems, processes and tools for complex integrated client work.
• Ensure consistent use of tools across all clients and functional teams, supporting the deployment and adoption of enabling tools approved by McCann New York and McCann Worldgroup.
• Leader, mentor to mid and junior level team members.

What You Bring:

• Project management, production, product management, or operations experience within an applicable environment; demonstrated experience directing a variety of integrated projects.
• Expert knowledge of all mediums, including social activations and digital deliverables, capabilities and processes.
• Advanced experience with scope management and staff plan creation; ability to spearhead and confidently lead strategic conversations with senior agency leadership pertaining to staffing and scoping recommendations.
• Partner to Account Leadership team members with ability to solve strategic, account‑level opportunities.
• Strong team leader with a motivating work ethic and analytic mindset.
• Ability to work directly with clients and inform on business process and health.
• Experience in negotiation and conflict management skills.
• Ability to adapt in a fast‑paced environment.
• Ability to communicate effectively in high‑pressure situations.
• 3‑5 years of experience managing large scale, integrated projects.
• A strong ability to mobilize teams to meet common goals.

Location

McCann New York team members must reside in or be willing to relocate to the New York Tristate area unless otherwise agreed upon by their manager and McCann New York’s Human Resources team. McCann New York is a hybrid workplace with three days in office per week.

Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

The strength of our creative capability and innovative thinking has led to some of the world's most celebrated, effective, game‑changing work for top brands. Maximizing that strength means bringing together an extensive mix of socially, culturally, and cognitively diverse talent — and creating conditions where they feel empowered to boldly share the fullest expression of their unique worldview. We fiercely believe in the power of creativity and innovation to positively influence society and inspire greater equity and inclusion within the communities we serve. So, every day we deliberately and intentionally choose to embody our global philosophy of Conscious Inclusion and, in turn, fuel our mission to help brands earn a meaningful role in people's lives.