Project Manager (Contract), Partnerships

laptop-battery; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 55,104 - 89,544; Full time

Job summary

laptop-battery is seeking a Project Manager to lead branded music programs in San Francisco and other major US markets. This flexible contract role requires 3-7 years of project management experience, strong client communication, and financial fluency. You'll manage timelines, budgets, and execution across various campaigns for renowned brands like Visa and Sony. Candidates must be available for contract work in a dynamic environment, showcasing their experience in managing live events effectively.

Qualifications

• 3-7+ years of project or program management experience related to branded events or experiential marketing.
• Skilled in building and managing campaign budgets, track projections vs. actuals.
• Fluency in Google Workspace and Slack.

Responsibilities

• Lead internal handover from Sales and kick-off process.
• Manage the campaign project's plan and internal workflows.
• Build campaign budget and ensure financial tracking.

Skills

Project management

Budget management

Client communication

Experience with live events

Media planning

Tools

Google Workspace

Slack

Job description

ABOUT US

Sofar Sounds is a global community that connects artists and audiences through unique and intimate experiences. Sofar shows transform everyday spaces — from living rooms and rooftops, to boutiques and museums — into captivating venues for intimate gigs, creating inclusive experiences that bring people closer together. Founded in London in 2009, Sofar creates space where music and arts matter in 400 cities around the world.

Our global team is distributed across the US and UK, and is backed by some of the best-known consumer industry investors (TCG, Battery Ventures, Union Square Ventures, Octopus and others).

THE ROLE

Sofar’s Partnerships team builds and delivers branded music programs for some of the world’s most recognized brands, including Visa, New Balance, Sony, Delta, Arc’teryx and more. As we scale our slate of partner programs in the US, we’re building a flexible pool of contract Project Managers we can plug into specific campaigns as they come through the door.

We’re looking for experienced PMs based in major markets across the US with a focus on NYC, San Francisco, Chicago and LA, who can take a signed deal from kick-off through event delivery and final wrap report. You’ll be the operational engine behind a partnership campaign, owning the timeline, the budget, the media plan delivery, the content calendar, and the show-day execution. You’ll work hand‑in‑hand with our Sales lead, Finance, local Sofar teams, and external client stakeholders to deliver flawless programs that meet (and beat) brand objectives.

This is a contract role within a project‑based pool. We’ll match contractors to campaigns based on availability, geography, and program complexity.

What you’ll do:

• Own the post‑sale kick‑off process — lead the internal handover with Sales, build the internal kick‑off deck, and run the external client kick‑off call
• Set up and maintain the campaign’s project plan, internal Slack channel, and stakeholder workflows from day one
• Build the campaign budget in the Budget Tracker, drive sign‑off with Finance, and stay accountable for tracking allocated costs, active projections, and final actuals
• Approve all expenses and manage vendor invoicing through to final reconciliation
• Deliver and track performance against the internal media plan — paid and organic across YouTube and Meta
• Working with our Head of Content, ensure seamless content delivery across the full campaign arc: pre‑show ticket promotion and local posts, live show‑day capture, and post‑show recap videos, performance edits, and reporting
• Work with our local teams to book and contract venue, artist, production and events staff
• Act as the day‑to‑day project lead for the client — setting communication norms, managing approval cycles, and keeping everyone aligned on timeline and milestones
• Deliver the final campaign wrap in collaboration with Sales lead: content recap, dashboard, and metrics reporting against KPIs
• Bring operational rigor and a calm hand to a fast‑moving cross‑functional team — holding Sales, Finance, local teams, marketing, and creative accountable

Who you are:

• You have 3–7+ years of project or program management experience — ideally in branded events, experiential marketing, music, agency‑side production, or partnerships delivery
• You’ve owned campaigns end‑to‑end before, from contract signature through final wrap report, and you’re comfortable being the single point of accountability for delivery
• You’re financially fluent — you can build and manage a campaign budget, track projections vs. actuals, and partner cleanly with a Finance team for sign‑off
• You understand how paid and organic media plans come together — platforms, impressions, CPV, added‑value items — and you can track delivery against committed numbers
• You’ve produced live events (music a plus, but not required) and know what it takes to make show day go smoothly — venue, artist, crew, MC, run of show, contracts, briefs
• You work fluently in Google Workspace, and Slack, and you instinctively reach for clarity when things get ambiguous
• You’re an excellent client‑facing communicator — you can lead a kick‑off, hold a hard line on scope, and present a wrap report with equal confidence
• You’re comfortable managing multiple workstreams in parallel and partnering with creative, marketing, finance, and local operations teams simultaneously
• You’re available for contract work and energized by a flexible, project‑based engagement model — we may staff you on a single campaign or several, depending on your bandwidth
• You have working knowledge of the US live events, brand partnership, and experiential landscape

$40 - $65 an hour