Program Manager

Aquent; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 110,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Aquent, a leading US marketing and creative solutions firm, is seeking a Program Manager to drive integrated marketing initiatives for a significant retail partnership. You will plan and execute campaigns that broaden awareness, boost engagement, and communicate the partnership's value across channels.

You will collaborate with strategy, creative, merchandising, loyalty, CRM, digital, operations, and agency partners to develop integrated project plans, manage timelines, identify risks, and

Qualifications

• 4+ years of account, project, or program management in marketing.
• Bachelor's Degree.
• Proven ability to manage multiple cross-functional marketing programs.
• Strong project management, organization, and prioritization skills with exceptional attention to detail.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Experience developing integrated project plans and managing complex timelines.
• Strong problem-solving skills with ability to identify risks and propose solutions.
• Thrive in a fast-paced, evolving environment.
• Passion for marketing, retail, and delivering exceptional client experiences.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end execution of integrated marketing initiatives across multiple workstreams.
• Develop detailed project plans, timelines, milestones, and deliverables.
• Coordinate execution across marketing, creative, merchandising, customer loyalty, CRM, digital marketing, operations, agencies, and the retail partner’s teams.
• Track project health by identifying risks, dependencies, resource constraints, and timeline impacts; escalate as needed.
• F acilitate recurring project meetings, document decisions and action items, and drive accountability across cross-functional teams.
• Maintain documentation including project schedules, action logs, timelines, meeting notes, and project trackers.

Skills

Project management

Cross-functional collaboration

Communication skills

Attention to detail

Time management

Stakeholder management

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Project management platforms

Collaboration tools

Job description

Join a leading company in the retail industry, known for expanding access to a premium beauty experience nationwide. This is an exciting opportunity to make a significant impact by driving integrated marketing initiatives for a key retail partnership. As a Program Manager, you will be at the forefront of planning and executing strategies that grow awareness, drive engagement, and bring the unique value of this collaboration to life.

About the Team

The marketing team for this significant retail partnership plays a critical role in growing awareness, driving engagement, and bringing the unique value of the collaboration to life through customer loyalty initiatives, promotions, integrated marketing campaigns, client-centric storytelling, and event activations.

Job Summary

This role supports the planning and execution of integrated marketing initiatives that drive the business for a significant retail partnership. You will partner closely with marketing strategy teams, creative teams, merchandising teams, customer loyalty teams, operations teams, agency partners, and various cross-functional teams to deliver marketing programs on time and with operational excellence. You will be responsible for developing integrated project plans, managing timelines, coordinating cross-functional deliverables, identifying risks, and ensuring initiatives are successfully executed across the company and its retail partner.

Duties and Responsibilities

Enterprise Marketing Program Operations and Execution

• Manage end-to-end execution of integrated marketing initiatives across multiple workstreams, ensuring projects are delivered on time and aligned to business priorities.
• Develop and maintain detailed project plans, timelines, milestones, and deliverables for assigned marketing initiatives.
• Coordinate execution across marketing, creative, merchandising, customer loyalty, customer relationship management, digital marketing, operations, in-store experience efforts, data analytics, agencies, and the retail partner’s teams.
• Track project health by proactively identifying risks, dependencies, resource constraints, and timeline impacts, escalating issues as appropriate.
• Facilitate recurring project meetings, document decisions and action items, and drive accountability across cross-functional teams.
• Communicate project status, key milestones, risks, and changes to stakeholders throughout the program lifecycle.
• Support successful execution of seasonal campaigns, promotional initiatives, customer loyalty programs, events, retail marketing, and other marketing initiatives.

Cross-Functional Planning & Program Coordination

• Partner with marketing strategy teams and cross-functional teams to translate business priorities into actionable project plans.
• Coordinate planning milestones, approvals, creative reviews, and cross-functional deliverables.
• Ensure dependencies across workstreams remain aligned and teams have the information needed to execute successfully.
• Build collaborative relationships across the company, the retail partner, agencies, and internal business partners to remove obstacles and support seamless execution.
• Maintain documentation including project schedules, action logs, timelines, meeting notes, and project trackers.

Marketing Operations

• Support continuous improvement of marketing processes by identifying efficiencies and recommending operational enhancements.
• Maintain program documentation including project templates, timelines, trackers, governance documents, and playbooks.
• Ensure project management tools and reporting remain accurate, current, and actionable.
• Contribute to standardized ways of working that improve consistency and execution across the Marketing organization.

Program Management Tools & Business Enablement

• Utilize project management tools to manage timelines, reporting, resource tracking, and project communications.
• Maintain dashboards, trackers, shared resources, and reporting to support program visibility.
• Support implementation of new tools, templates, and process improvements that enhance Marketing Program Management capabilities.

Working Conditions

No physical work demands

No environmental exposures

Light travel required, approximately 1x time during contract period

Qualifications

Must-Have Qualifications

• 4+ years of experience in account, project, or program management in marketing.
• Bachelor's Degree.
• Proven ability to manage multiple cross-functional marketing programs simultaneously.
• Strong project management, organization, and prioritization skills with exceptional attention to detail.
• Ability to build strong partnerships and collaborate effectively across multiple organizations.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Experience developing integrated project plans and managing complex timelines.
• Strong problem-solving skills with the ability to proactively identify risks and recommend solutions.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, evolving environment.
• Passion for marketing, retail, and delivering exceptional client experiences.

Nice-to-Have Qualifications

• Experience with various project management platforms and collaboration tools.