Project Manager, Creative Operations & Workflow Excellence

Spectraforce Technologies; North Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Spectraforce Technologies in North Chicago, IL is seeking a Project Manager, Creative Operations & Workflow Excellence to lead portfolio operations for non-technical teams. You will align priorities with business goals and drive data-driven visibility into work across the portfolio.

Working in a hybrid environment, you will oversee intake, prioritization, capacity planning, and Jira governance to deliver measurable improvements in productivity and transparency.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Communications, Project Management, Operations Management, Marketing, Organizational Effectiveness, or a related discipline.
• 2
• 7-10 years of experience in Project Management, Creative Operations, PMO, Workflow Management, Portfolio Management, or Program Management.
• PMP certification preferred.
• Proven experience supporting cross-functional teams and managing complex project portfolios.

Responsibilities

• Oversee project intake, prioritization, resource planning, capacity management, demand forecasting, and portfolio reporting.
• Act as the operational lead for the Jira environment, developing scalable workflows, dashboards, automations, and reporting frameworks.
• Collaborate with diverse professionals to translate business priorities into actionable plans and establish practical ways of working.

Skills

Project portfolio management

Workload management

Data-driven reporting

Stakeholder management

Jira strategy & workflows

Education

Bachelor's degree in Business/PM/related field

Tools

Jira

Jira Service Management

Job description

Position Title: Project Manager, Creative Operations & Workflow Excellence

Work Location: North Chicago, IL 60064

Assignment Duration: 3+ months

Work Arrangement: Hybrid - 3 days on-site (Tue, Wed, Thurs)

As a Project Manager, Creative Operations & Workflow Excellence within the Enablement AI Experience Team, you will play a key role in driving operational excellence across a multidisciplinary team supporting a wide range of business initiatives, from employee enablement and communications to events, creative production, workplace experiences, organizational change management, and AI adoption. You will establish the processes, tools, and governance needed to bring visibility, consistency, and data-driven decision making to how work is managed across the portfolio.

Responsibilities

You will oversee project intake, prioritization, resource planning, capacity management, demand forecasting, and portfolio reporting to ensure work progresses efficiently from request through delivery. As the operational lead for the team's Jira environment, you will develop scalable workflows, dashboards, automations, and reporting frameworks that provide leaders with clear visibility into project demand, workload distribution, resource utilization, delivery performance, and future capacity needs. Your work will enable informed decisions around prioritization, staffing, and strategic investments.

Success in this role requires strong collaboration across a diverse group of professionals and stakeholders. You will partner with team members across multiple disciplines to translate business priorities into actionable plans, balance competing demands, identify risks and dependencies, and establish practical ways of working that support both execution and transparency.

This is not a traditional software development or Scrum Master role. Rather than supporting agile software delivery, this position focuses on portfolio operations, work management, and business reporting for non-technical teams. The Project Manager will adapt Jira and project management best practices to create meaningful visibility into team activity, operational performance, resource constraints, and organizational priorities while enabling leadership to better understand the value and impact of the team's work.

Years of experience/education and/or certifications required

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Communications, Project Management, Operations Management, Marketing, Organizational Effectiveness, or a related discipline.
• 7-10 years of experience in Project Management, Creative Operations, PMO, Workflow Management, Portfolio Management, or Program Management.
• PMP certification preferred.
• Proven experience supporting cross-functional teams and managing complex project portfolios.

What are the top 3-5 skill requirements should this person have?

Project Portfolio and Workload Management

Manage a diverse portfolio of creative, operational, facilities, communications, events, onboarding, OCM, employee experience, and AI adoption workstreams while aligning priorities to business objectives.

Portfolio Analytics, Leadership Reporting, and Capacity Planning

Develop and maintain workload tracking, capacity planning, demand forecasting, executive dashboards, and operational reporting that help leadership assess team utilization, project demand, delivery performance, resource constraints, and future staffing needs.

Process Improvement and Operational Excellence

Identify inefficiencies, streamline workflows, establish governance processes, and drive continuous improvement initiatives that increase productivity, predictability, and overall team effectiveness.

Strong Organizational, Communication, and Stakeholder Management Skills

Effectively partner with colleagues across varied disciplines and work styles, facilitate planning discussions, manage competing priorities, communicate project status, and ensure Jira-enabled workflows are practical, usable, and aligned to how the team actually operates.

Jira Strategy, Reporting & Workflow Optimization

Design, implement, and manage Jira workflows, automations, dashboards, intake processes, and reporting structures that improve operational efficiency, visibility, and accountability for non-software teams.

What is a nice to have (but not required) regarding skills, requirements, experience, education, or certification?

• Experience supporting multidisciplinary non-software teams, such as communications, creative services, facilities planning, event operations, onboarding programs, employee experience, OCM, learning and development, marketing, or talent engagement organizations.

• Experience implementing Jira Service Management, intake management, or resource planning frameworks.
• Experience developing workload analytics, demand planning, workforce planning, utilization tracking, or operational analytics frameworks.
• Lean Six Sigma, Agile, PMP, or Change Management certifications.
• Experience supporting AI adoption, employee enablement, digital transformation, or technology adoption programs.
• Pharmaceutical industry experience.

What type of environment is this person working in?

Group setting

Work Schedule (Define days,# of hours)/ Is Overtime offered or required? If yes, how many hours, what impact to scheduled working hours?

Overtime not required

Does this position offer the ability to work remotely on a regular basis or is it an on-site role? If remote opportunity exists, what are the options (i.e. 1 day remote, 4 days on-site)?

3 days on-site (Tue, Wed, Thurs)

Is the worker onshore or offshore?

onshore

Will there be Domestic and/or International Travel? If yes, list proposed countries and % of time travelling:

No

Reason for opening

To support the Enablement AI Experience Team by serving as the operational lead responsible for project management, workflow optimization, resource planning, demand and capacity management, Jira administration, and portfolio reporting across a varied group of colleagues and non-software workstreams. This role will help establish scalable ways of working, improve operational efficiency, provide leadership visibility into project demand and team utilization, and enable informed decisions around prioritization, staffing needs, and resource allocation.