Program Manager

Confidential Careers; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Creative Agency is seeking a Program Manager who can own the client relationship as a true partner and run the engine behind it. This role leads complex, multi-channel programs across brand, demand, media, and digital, serving as the client’s day-to-day point of contact.

You will drive internal planning, resourcing, and financial discipline to keep work on track, with experience in B2B/Tech clients within an agency setting.

Qualifications

• 6–8 years of program/project management experience in an agency.
• Experience supporting B2B clients.
• Strong financial management skills.
• Excellent stakeholder communication.

Responsibilities

• Serve as primary day-to-day contact for assigned clients.
• Lead client conversations on status, priorities, and trade-offs.
• Translate client goals into internal direction and plans.
• Spot risks and expansion opportunities and present solutions.
• Maintain dashboards and reporting as the authoritative source of truth.

Skills

Client relationship management

Program management

Cross-functional leadership

Budgeting & forecasting

Vendor management

Workfront familiarity

Stakeholder communication

Tools

Workfront

Job description

Creative Agency is seeking a Program Manager 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:

• 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.
• 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 For

• 6–8 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.