Senior Account/ Project Manager (Maternity Cover)

We're looking for a Senior Account / Project Manager to lead and own delivery across big digital and brand projects at Athlon. This is a maternity cover role to start as soon as possible, with the potential to move into a permanent position based on business needs and performance.

At Athlon, we take Brave Ideas to market. As a Senior Account/Project Manager here, you will take the lead in delivering large-scale brand and website projects and programmes of work, ensuring they are delivered on time, on budget, and to the highest quality. You will oversee the full project lifecycle, from planning to execution, ensuring smooth collaboration between internal teams and clients.

As the client's key point of contact, you will confidently navigate challenges, proactively solving problems and identifying opportunities for relationship growth. With strong leadership and organisational skills, you will guide teams, foster collaboration, and uphold best delivery practices, continuously refining processes to enhance efficiency. You thrive in fast-paced environments, maintaining a calm, proactive, and solutions-focused approach while keeping multiple work streams aligned.

Your deep understanding of digital solutions, technology, and delivery processes ensures projects run efficiently, and your hands-on approach means you are always ready to step in and drive progress.

• Independently drive forward the successful delivery of digital projects and programmes of work.
• Confidently and independently collaborate with internal teams, clients and third parties, defining project goals and leading the team to success.
• Manage several complex projects simultaneously, independently prioritising and delegating where necessary.
• Build and nurture exceptional client relationships through providing a proactive and reliable service.
• Identify and solve complex project issues, with a forward-thinking and solution-focused approach, escalating to the Delivery Director where necessary.
• Comfortably own and define the delivery plan for large web projects, able to calmly pivot and re-plan a project where needed.
• Interrogate briefs with confidence and drive forward projects of all sizes with focus and pace.
• Lead client discussions, articulating project information excellently and confidently.
• Follow our standard practices, templates and tools, working with the Delivery Director to optimise processes.
• Lead and facilitate project meetings, ensuring clear objectives and well-prepared briefs to drive productive discussions and decision-making.
• Diligently monitor and report on project finances, identifying and addressing budget risks at an early stage.
• Ensure revenue targets are precisely forecasted and maintained, considering all possible dependencies and building in contingencies.
• Create and maintain comprehensive project documentation, ensuring quality, accuracy and consistency throughout.
• Efficiently organise and maintain all project information and files.
• With an understanding of the bigger picture, actively seek out account growth opportunities and work alongside client partners on proposals.

• Support the delivery of our account management framework.
• Support our Client Service Director in the delivery of our account management framework.
• Proactively identify client growth opportunities.
• Maintain and update agency pipeline and account health reporting.

• Support the wider team, culture and marketing.
• Work with and support the wider Delivery team.
• Oversee Junior and Mid-weight project managers on smaller projects.
• Support Delivery team resource planning.
• Actively drive process improvements, identifying opportunities to streamline workflows and boost efficiency.
• Attendance at monthly virtual agency meetings and quarterly in-person meet-ups.
• Contribute to the overall agency culture, helping to make Athlon a great place to work.

• Be Brave - Take chances and try new things. Growth comes from stepping outside your comfort zone, and nothing can substitute genuine new experiences.
• Take Ownership - Be a pro. Act like a champion and own your domain - not almost, but fully. All the way, all the time.
• Team First - Talent wins games, but teamwork wins championships. Respect and support your team. Treat colleagues fairly, build friendships, and share ideas candidly. We achieve our mission together.
• Craft Everything - Every detail matters. Quality comes from care, skill, and the constant pursuit of something better than "good enough."
• Passion Over Apathy - One person with passion outshines forty who are merely interested. Passion turns challenge into progress. Bring energy, even when it's hard, and use it to inspire and lift.

We expect you to be knowledgeable in:

• Project Management and delivery methodologies e.g. Agile & Waterfall.
• End-to-end digital projects and products, from inception to maintenance.
• Delivery processes across: Branding, Design, Website production.
• Account management within an agency environment.

• Minimum 5 years experience in digital project and product management.
• Able to confidently deliver large scale websites and brand projects.
• Comfortable working with diverse clients and internal teams, across various time zones.
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced environment, managing several projects simultaneously.
• Experience managing and reporting project budgets.
• Experienced with stakeholder management and aligning multiple parties.

• Demonstrates a responsible and positive, can-do attitude even when under pressure.
• A reliable, trusted and resilient individual.
• Solution focused, with a proactive and positive attitude.
• An excellent communicator.
• A collaborative, helpful and resourceful team player.
• Sharp attention to detail and a drive for perfection.
• Has an active interest to learn and develop.
• A high degree of personal motivation and professionalism.
• Excellent time management and prioritisation skills.
• Strong decision making ability.
• Empathetic and approachable, able to mentor and support the growth of junior team members.

Your line manager is the Client Services Director. You will work within the Project Management team. This is a remote role that will require some travel for key client and internal meetings.

The chance to work on innovative, high profile projects that make an impact. A flexible work set-up - remote, hybrid, or whatever helps you do your best work. A competitive salary with a benefits package to match. Room to grow your career within a fast-growing international design.