Senior Project Manager (Design)

Role : Senior Project Manager

Reports to : Project Manager, Team Lead

Location : Toronto, ON (Hybrid role)

Agency Overview

Marks is a brand design and experience agency that is uniquely constructed to enable brands to win in an age of constant change.

Fueled by our dual vantage points - embedded partners and future-forward experts - we build brand momentum to move fast, move forward, and move confidently.

As a full-service agency, our expertise extends across all facets of the branding spectrum : strategy, innovation, design, adaptation, integrated marketing communications.

Together, we are 800+ people across 16 studios and 10 countries.

Marks is part of SGS & Co, a brand impact group built with the agility and inventiveness that enables our clients to thrive.

Our sister company, SGS, is an integrated packaging and marketing company. Together, we shift brands to impact.

Position Overview

The seasoned senior project manager plays a pivotal role in supporting the Project Management team across diverse accounts and client projects.

This role involves collaboration with cross-functional teams, and direct client engagement if required. In addition to ensuring project delivery within established timelines, budgets, and scope, at the senior level, you will guide and mentor junior team members and be involved with any process improvements needed.

Key Responsibilities

Project Leadership : Spearhead a diverse range of client projects, ensuring exceptional quality adherence to deadlines, and alignment with budget constraints.

Implement robust project plans and workflows, capitalizing on your comprehensive understanding of creative and design project life cycle.

Proven ability to manage large volumes of work.

Client and Internal Collaboration : Act as a central communication hub among clients, Client Service teams, and internal departments including Creative, Design, Content, Operations and Studio.

Foster positive relationships and efficient collaboration to achieve project objectives.

Process Improvement : Actively contribute to the optimization of project management processes, increasing efficiency and effectiveness across client and internal projects.

Leverage project management tools and techniques to enhance team workflow and project tracking, and proactively identify potential roadblocks, offering strategic solutions to keep projects on track.

Resource Coordination : Coordinate resource allocation in partnership with studio operations, internal schedulers, ensuring availability and optimal deployment of talent and resources needed for project success.

PM load level, notifying PM Director of any capacity issues. Also advising when the team has capacity to take on more work.

Training / Onboarding : Able to provide training / guidance / mentorship to junior team members

Project specific responsibilities

• Ensuring that projects flow seamlessly from conception through to completion, embodying the highest standards of quality, budget adherence, and timeliness.
• Monitor project progress, handle issues and escalations that arise, document and follow up on critical actions, decisions, issues and risks.
• Develop a detailed project plan / tracker to monitor and track progress.
• Create and maintain comprehensive project documentation.
• Develop thorough understanding of internal team operations and processes.
• Manage changes to the project scope, schedule, and costs (working with CS to ensure all costs are captured).
• Review and validate mandatory project information required prior to project kick-off.
• Verify information is accurate on design briefs, and specifications received from the account team and / or client.
• Procure all assets (dielines, copy, packaging / printer specs, reference materials) needed for studio and provide flexible solutions to potential production roadblocks.
• Work within our project management tool to write up work orders, and create project tasks for the studio.
• Facilitate / lead accurate and clear briefing to the creative team and / or Adaptive team in a timely fashion in partnership with CS.
• Act as a liaison between the creative team, external partners, and the account team to obtain missing information and materials.
• Set up and / or attend technical review of projects via pre-pro meetings or onboarding meetings providing valuable insight into project process and next steps.
• Provide the final rounds of QA on all assets - checking all design files to ensure work has been executed to the client brief prior to releasing for final delivery.
• Lead and / or participate in post-mortem meetings to review and provide insight on completed projects.
• Report and escalate issues to management as needed.

Prerequisites

• BA or higher in Graphic Management Services (concentration in packaging is an asset), or Design or in Marketing / Business Administration.
• 6+ years proven experience in project management, preferably in a design environment (concentration in packaging preferred).
• Profound understanding of branding, design, and print-production processes, including knowledge of Flexo, Litho, and Gravure printing techniques.
• Excellent communication skills, leadership qualities, and the ability to manage multiple projects in a fast-paced agency setting.
• Strong proficiency in Microsoft Office suite (Excel, Word, Teams, Outlook), project management platforms, and potentially Adobe software suite, with a focus on solution-oriented approaches and critical thinking.

Personal Attributes :

• Demonstrated ability to lead by example, fostering a collaborative team environment while driving for results.
• A solutions-oriented mindset with unparalleled attention to detail, strong analytical skills, and a proactive problem-solving approach.
• Organized, a self-starter able to prioritize effectively, and possesses a deep interest in brand stewardship and project management excellence.

This role is designed for an experienced project management professional with a passion for driving projects to successful completion and contributing to the overall growth and efficiency of the organization.

The ideal candidate will bring a proven track record in project management within a creative or design agency setting.