Senior Project Manager — AI-Driven Integrated Campaigns

Publicis Groupe Holdings B.V; Johannesburg; On-site; ZAR 850,000 - 1,400,000; Full time

Job summary

Publicis Groupe Africa seeks a mid to senior Project Manager to own day-to-day delivery of integrated campaigns and projects across digital, content, retail and events. You will scope, plan, coordinate across teams and manage budgets, timelines and risks to ensure on-time delivery.

The role requires independent ownership of medium-to-complex projects, multiple workstreams and strong client and supplier liaison. Johannesburg-based, with opportunities to lead AI-enabled processes.

Qualifications

• Five years of relevant project-management experience in marketing, advertising, production, events or sponsorship.
• Diploma or higher qualification; formal PM training is advantageous.
• Experience using project, financial and workflow systems such as Chase with strong spreadsheet and reporting skills.
• Experience managing suppliers, budgets and multiple workstreams; on-site delivery and health & safety knowledge.
• Hands-on experience using AI in project delivery or operations with examples of improved planning and coordination.
• Experience supporting operating-model or workflow change and coordinating implementation.

Responsibilities

• Interrogate briefs with Client Leadership to confirm objectives, deliverables, acceptance criteria and approvals.
• Build detailed schedules, milestones and resource plans; agree estimates and delivery assumptions before work begins.
• Coordinate work across Strategy, Creative, UX, Technology, Media and Production, adapting the delivery approach to the project.
• Run kick-offs, status meetings and reviews; maintain clear actions, owners and deadlines.
• Monitor progress and quality gates, anticipate bottlenecks and negotiate practical recovery options with the teams.
• Keep clients and internal stakeholders informed of delivery status, decisions and risks.
• Maintain project estimates, purchase orders, commitments and actual costs; flag variances and scope changes.
• Coordinate supplier quotes, procurement and invoice reconciliation with Finance.
• For scoped events or activations, coordinate venues, travel, suppliers, run sheets and on-site teams.
• Maintain risks, issues, dependencies and change records; expedite concerns with clear options and timing.
• Lead project reviews, close financial administration and translate lessons into better plans; support less experienced coordinators.
• Support Executive Operations Lead to implement the future-fit operating model across projects and workstreams.
• Lead rollout of workflows, platforms, governance and AI-enabled processes; clarify responsibilities and manage dependencies.
• Drive behavioural change through briefings, training support and coaching; monitor adoption and escalation of issues.
• Track milestones, adoption and operational benefits; report progress and risks; maintain client service and business continuity.
• Identify AI use cases, share practical learning and measure improvements in quality, speed or effectiveness.

Skills

Integrated delivery

Planning

Budget control

Stakeholder coordination

Project management

AI in project delivery

Education

Project management qualification

Tools

Chase

Job description

Publicis Groupe Africa seeks a mid to senior Project Manager to own day-to-day delivery of integrated campaigns and projects across digital, content, retail and events. You will scope, plan, coordinate across teams and manage budgets, timelines and risks to ensure on-time delivery.

The role requires independent ownership of medium-to-complex projects, multiple workstreams and strong client and supplier liaison. Johannesburg-based, with opportunities to lead AI-enabled processes.