See Associate Director Project Management

AbelsonTaylor Group; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 115,000 - 135,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, Dental and Vision coverage

401k with match

Adoption Assistance

Life Insurance & Disability

Parental Leave

Summer Fridays

Flexible Time Off

Holiday schedule

Learning & Development

Wellness Program

Job summary

AbelsonTaylor Group in Chicago seeks an Associate Director Project Management to lead PM functions for major brands, ensuring on-time, on-budget delivery and high-quality results. You’ll guide PMs, support client service, and collaborate across departments to optimize outcomes.

The role emphasizes leadership, strategic planning, and cross-functional coordination within a hybrid work model in Chicago. A strong pharma/agency background and mentoring experience are preferred.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in communications, marketing, and/or business administration.
• 7+ years of experience in an advertising agency, especially in account/project management in pharma.
• Minimum 2+ years of mentorship/leadership experience.
• Proven track record in producing best-in-class tactics and programs.
• Strong understanding of product lifecycle milestones.
• Multimedia experience across digital, video, and other formats.
• Strong analytical and critical thinking skills.
• Experience with PM tools WMJ, Workfront, and Excel.

Responsibilities

• Lead highly visible and complex projects with unique technology or workflows.
• Supervise Associate Project Managers on routing, approvals, and documentation.
• Manage project budgets and timelines within scope and budget.
• Lead discussions with clients, partner agencies, and third parties.
• Develop conference reports, recaps, and project close-out meetings.
• Identify and mitigate risks; collaborate on escalations.
• Develop annual Statements of Work from PM perspective.
• Provide internal financial updates and client billing summaries.
• Promote PM process adoption using WMJ/Workfront/Excel.
• Lead internal status meetings and share PM insights with clients.
• Participate in new business efforts including SOWs and pitches.

Skills

Project Leadership

Team Oversight

Budget & Timeline Management

Client Engagement

Risk Management

SOW Development

Financial Oversight

Technology Utilization

Cross-Functional Collaboration

New Business Participation

Education

Bachelor’s degree in communications, marketing, and/or business administration

Tools

WMJ

Workfront

Excel

Job description

Summary

At AbelsonTaylor Group, work that makes you feel good isn’t just what we do—it’s who we are. We believe that when you feel good about your work, and where you work, you bring your best self to it. That’s why we create an environment where creativity thrives, teamwork flourishes, and inclusivity is more than just a value—it’s a way of life.

Here, you’ll help propel brands that inspire health and brighter futures, all while finding the support, inspiration, and growth opportunities to reach your own potential. Together, we dream boldly, collaborate deeply, and make a meaningful difference—one idea at a time.

Now, we are currently seeking an Associate Director Project Management to join our team. The Associate Project Management Director role provides leadership to their brands (typically one large one or two smaller ones) and ultimately accountable and responsible for the effective and efficient day to day operations of the project management function, ensuring all work is delivered on time and within agreed upon budget, without compromising quality. You will work with their respective Account Management leads to ensure client needs and expectations are met and ensure a cohesive client service experience their brands. They provide guidance, support, and counsel to the PMs and Associate Project Managers assigned to their brands.

What You’ll Do:

• Project Leadership: Lead highly visible and complex projects requiring unique technology, processes, or workflows. Develop timelines, estimates, and scenarios as needed. Monitor and adjust workflows and resources to optimize project efficiency.
• Team Oversight: Supervise Associate Project Managers (APMs) on routing, approval processes, and documentation of client changes and requests. Escalate issues to the Project Director as necessary.
• Budget and Timeline Management: Manage project budgets and timelines rigorously to ensure projects stay within budget. Monitor scope progress, identify work breakdowns, and proactively estimate for project changes. Communicate overages to internal and client teams.
• Client and Partner Engagement: Lead discussions with clients, partner agencies, and third parties on project deliverables, contingencies, and implications of scope changes. Provide insights and information related to project estimates and overarching budgets.
• Reporting and Documentation: Develop and review conference reports and meeting recaps internally and externally. Lead all project close-out meetings, communicate action items, and provide recommendations for future project optimization.
• Risk Management: Proactively identify , assess, and mitigate risks for assigned accounts. Collaborate with Account, Creative, and other departments on project-related escalations.
• SOW Development: Collaborate with PM leadership to develop annual Statements of Work (SOWs) from a project management perspective. Identify assets, dependencies, resources, costs, and timelines needed for project execution.
• Financial Oversight: Oversee client financial reporting and brand health, including monthly billing summaries and financial analysis. Provide internal financial updates to leadership as required .
• Technology Utilization: Leverage Project Management Software (e.g., Workamajig , Workfront, Excel) to automate tasks, ensure quality, and promote process efficiencies. Ensure consistent adoption within the PM team.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Lead internal cross-functional status meetings and provide project management insights to clients as needed on scopes and individual projects.
• New Business Participation: Participate in new business efforts as needed, including developing proposed SOWs, timing, estimates, and presenting to clients.

Management, Mentorship, and Leadership:

• Lead by Example: Be proactive, solution-oriented, and a curious learner.
• Team Management: Manage the entire employee lifecycle for APMs, including recruiting, onboarding, training, development, and performance reviews. Proactively address team HR needs and elevate issues as required.
• Hire, Coach, and Develop Team Members: Assign projects to balance workloads and challenge team members’ skills, ensuring projects showcase the agency's capabilities.
• Provide Regular Feedback: Offer both formal and informal feedback to team members to help grow their creative sensibilities and progress in their craft.
• Perform Team Evaluations: Participate in performance reviews and provide coaching to create growth plans for team members as needed.
• Infuse Psychological Safety into Teams: Facilitate participation, inclusion, and diversity of perspectives on your team and throughout the agency.

What Makes You A Great Fit:

• Education: Minimum of a bachelor’s degree with an emphasis in communications, marketing, and/or business administration.
• Experience: Preferably 7+ years of experience in an advertising agency, particularly in account management, project management, or senior marketing roles within the pharmaceutical industry. Minimum 2+ years of mentorship/leadership experience.
• Project Management Skills: Proven track record in producing best-in-class tactics and programs. Strong understanding of product lifecycle milestones (e.g., label changes, campaign launches).
• Multimedia Experience: Experience managing a wide variety of projects across multiple mediums including digital, video, etc.
• Critical Thinking: Strong analytical and critical thinking skills to address complex project challenges.
• Software Proficiency: Experience with Project Management tools such as WMJ, Workfront, and Excel.
• Leadership and Communication: Established leader with a track record of building trust with clients, IT departments, and partner agencies. Adaptive leadership style with strong emotional intelligence.
• Problem Solving: Ability to adapt leadership style and problem-solving skills to navigate uncertainty and changing priorities.

Benefits and Perks:

• Medical, Dental and Vision coverage
• 401k with Company match of 50% on the first 6%
• Adoption Assistance – Up to $2,500 of financial assistance
• Company Paid Life Insurance, Short-Term and Long-Term Disability
• Short-Term Disability providing 100% of salary coverage
• Paid Parental Leave for birth and non-birth parents (4 weeks)
• Summer Fridays
• Flexible Time Off (FTO)
• 11 Holidays and End of Year Office ClosureCompany provided Learning and Development opportunities
• Wellness Program

Compensation Range: $115,000 - $135,000. The starting salary offer will depend on the candidate’s skills, qualifications, and experience. The company reserves the right to adjust this pay range at any time.

At AbelsonTaylor Group (ATG), we love science, art, and data. Since our beginnings in 1981, ATG has been singularly focused on health, wellness, and pharma products – not sneakers, beer, or cars (though we like those things, too). Besides being passionate about our purpose, we are dedicated to our people and their professional growth and fulfillment. We value a diverse and inclusive workforce and strive to bring together people with unique skills and varied backgrounds to work toward common goals. All qualified candidates will receive consideration for employment without discrimination regarding age, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, disability status, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

This position follows a hybrid schedule, requiring employees to be onsite Tuesday-Thursday each week in our Chicago office. We make reasonable accommodations for employees and applicants with disabilities who require schedule accommodations.

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey.Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiringprocess or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in confidence.

As set forth in AbelsonTaylor Group’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy,we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection.As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measurethe effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categoriesis as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.