Senior Project Lead

Carnegie; Westford (MA); On-site; USD 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Carnegie in the United States seeks a Senior Project Lead to connect higher education clients with internal teams and drive multi-stream marketing campaigns. You will act as the primary operational partner, keeping projects on schedule, within budget, and aligned with client goals to boost student enrollment and engagement.

This role requires leading cross-functional teams, managing multi-workstream accounts, and guiding teams with strong communication across remote environments.

Qualifications

• 6–9 years of experience in higher education, marketing, or agency environments with increasing responsibility.
• 3+ years coordinating cross-functional teams and managing multi-workstream client accounts.
• Bachelor’s degree (PMP, Agile, or equivalent certification preferred).
• Strong understanding of integrated marketing campaigns across multiple channels.
• Advanced proficiency with project management tools, including Asana, Google Suite, and remote collaboration platforms.
• Experience or interest in using AI tools to improve processes and client experiences.
• Proven ability to guide teams through change, handle ambiguous projects, and solve problems with high autonomy and emotional intelligence.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills across remote environments.

Responsibilities

• Act as the primary strategic contact for assigned higher ed clients, running regular status updates, performance reviews, and planning sessions.
• Lead complex, multi-workstream marketing projects from onboarding through final delivery.
• Build and manage integrated project timelines, ensuring deliverables meet quality, brand, and strategy standards.
• Run project reviews, approval milestones, and strategy calls to align internal teams and clients.
• Mentor project leads and cross-functional teams on operational best practices and account management.

Skills

Cross-functional coordination

Project management

Communication skills

Remote collaboration

AI tools usage

Leadership & mentorship

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Tools

Asana

Google Sheets

Google Slides

Google Workspace

Job description

About The Role

The Senior Project Lead connects higher education clients with internal teams to run high-impact marketing campaigns. You will serve as the main operational partner for clients, keeping projects on schedule, within budget, and aligned with client goals to boost student enrollment and engagement.

Search

Solutions

• Enrollment
• Student Success
• Branding
• Institutional Strategy
• Digital Advertising

Case Studies

• Rice University
• Ohio Wesleyan University
• The University of Mississippi
• Kettering University
• Florida Southern College
• University of Texas at Tyler
• See All

About The Role

The Senior Project Lead connects higher education clients with internal teams to run high-impact marketing campaigns. You will serve as the main operational partner for clients, keeping projects on schedule, within budget, and aligned with client goals to boost student enrollment and engagement.

What You’ll Own

Client Relationship Management

• Act as the primary strategic contact for assigned higher ed clients, running regular status updates, performance reviews, and planning sessions.
• Learn each client’s institutional goals, market position, and target audience to guide marketing plans.
• Partner with Account Directors and Portfolio Leaders to expand existing accounts and secure contract renewals.

Project Operations & Delivery

• Lead complex, multi-workstream marketing projects from initial onboarding through final delivery.
• Build and manage integrated project timelines, making sure deliverables meet quality, brand, and strategy standards.
• Run project reviews, approval milestones, and strategy calls to keep internal teams and clients aligned.
• Hold project managers and creative teams accountable for hitting target milestones on time and within scope.

Risk & Budget Oversight

• Monitor project performance, revenue, and burn rates to keep accounts profitable and within budget.
• Identify and fix project or relationship risks early before they elevate.
• Flag potential timeline, scope, or financial impacts to internal leadership immediately.

Team Leadership & Mentorship

• Mentor project leads and cross-functional teams on operational best practices and account management.
• Help build training programs and skill development initiatives for Project Leads.
• Support hiring and onboarding activities for new project leads.

What You Bring

• 6–9 years of experience in higher education, marketing, or agency environments with increasing responsibility
• 3+ years of experience coordinating cross-functional teams and managing multi-workstream client accounts
• Bachelor’s degree (PMP, Agile, or equivalent certification preferred)
• Strong understanding of integrated marketing campaigns across multiple channels
• Advanced proficiency with project management tools, including Asana, Google Suite (especially Google Sheets and Google Slides), and remote collaboration platforms
• Experience or interest in using AI tools to improve processes and client experiences
• Proven ability to guide teams through change, handle ambiguous projects, and solve problems with high autonomy and emotional intelligence
• Strong verbal and written communication skills across remote environments
• Ability to work at a computer for prolonged periods

Why This Role

You sit at the intersection of client strategy and day-to-day execution. By bringing structure, clarity, and direction to complex marketing projects, you will directly help colleges and universities reach prospective students while driving growth and efficiency across our internal teams.

About Carnegie

For more than 30 years, Carnegie has been a leader and innovator in higher education marketing and enrollment strategy, offering groundbreaking services in the areas of Research, Strategy, Digital Marketing, Lead Generation, Slate Optimization, Student Search, Website Development, and Creative that generate authentic connections.

Learn more about who we are, what we do, and what we care about.

No phone calls or unscheduled visits to the office, please. Carnegie is an equal-opportunity employer.