Senior Project Manager

Company Description

As Leo Burnett himself once said: “At the end of the day, we’re just people talking to people.” And that sums up how we think. We never forget that on the other side of every screen, watching every ad or reading every tweet are people. Not just pairs of eyes with credit cards. But human beings, who want to be entertained, engaged and listened to. At Leo Burnett we like to make the good stuff in life accessible to everyone. It’s our agency’s big shiny North Star, guiding everything from our work and how we build our culture, to the values we uphold and the initiatives we implement to improve Diversity Equity & Inclusion.

We believe in the power of a strong culture that puts people and creativity at the heart of everything we do. Our incredible team is made up of some of the most passionate and creative minds in the industry, and you’ll be hard pushed to find a more genuinely friendly bunch. We’ve created an informal atmosphere where everyone is invited to share their ideas and thrive. And that way of working. Well, it’s working. We’re proud to say that our staff survey shows record happiness scores over the last 12 months.

We are an open, down to earth and friendly bunch who are always on the lookout for passionate and curious people to join our gang. It’s never been more important to us to reflect the wonderful mix of people who consume our advertising, which is why when it comes to improving Diversity Equity & Inclusion we’re not just talking the talk, we’re walking the walk. Our internal group D&I Allies at Leo’s (DIAL) was formed to help us make and track progress against our commitment to DE&I. DIAL spearheads policies, processes and initiatives to actively advance positive change.

Furthermore, in 2022 we created The Everyone Way, a process designed to embed positive DE&I practices into the creative process with our clients, working alongside DE&I consultancies The Unmistakables and The Diversity Standards Collective. We also support industry‑wide initiatives such as Unstereotype Alliance, Free the Work, Just Runners, WACL and Bloom to name a few. It’s our distinctive approach, combined with our passion for populist creativity and relentless pursuit of excellence that makes Leo Burnett such a uniquely special and enjoyable place to work.

Our Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion

Diversity and inclusion are a core part of our DNA at Leo Burnett. We’re committed to building an inclusive culture that encourages, celebrates, and supports our wonderfully diverse employee group irrelevant of their age, gender identity, race, sexual orientation, physical or mental ability or ethnicity. Diversity and inclusion fuel our creativity and innovation, it enables us to be closer to our people and audiences. We will continue to strive to create a culture and environment where everyone feels empowered and more importantly comfortable enough to bring their full, authentic selves to work. We are committed to providing reasonable adjustments for employees with disabilities and for candidates in our application process. If you need assistance or adjustment due to a disability, please contact us.

Overview

What You’ll Be Doing

We’re seeking a highly motivated Senior Project Manager with strong experience in a fast-paced agency or production environment to join our team. In this role, you’ll lead end-to-end project management for our PayPal account, maintaining a clear overview of all live projects and incoming briefs, while also taking ownership of key projects yourself. You’ll ensure delivery excellence across timelines, budgets, and stakeholder expectations in a dynamic, high-profile client environment.

Specific, We’ll Need Your Help With

• Management and overview of the workflow of multiple projects ensuring that everything is running according to plan.
• Communicating project plans both internally and to clients and partner agencies; managing expectations and ensuring alignment with the client and agency processes.
• Creation of project timelines, updating and adapting as projects evolve.
• Working closely with the Client Services team and other Agency departments to ensure efficient flow of work through the agency.
• Full understanding of the internal workings of the agency and the production processes involved across all channels.
• Ensuring briefs are approved and creative teams are briefed in line with project timings.
• Scheduling reviews and ensuring all relevant parties attend.
• Attending the reviews, setting the agenda at the outset and summarising any action points.
• Facilitating work out of reviews to relevant departments within the agency and to potential third parties, ensuring that everyone is clear on the next stages and that any work is followed up and delivered on time.
• Trouble shooting and proposing alternative solutions in situations where there are timing or delivery challenges.
• Working closely with all departments within the agency and partner agencies to ensure delivery of output is the best possible quality.
• Encouraging teamwork and great communication.
• Overseeing more junior members of the PM team, acting as a mentor and as a point of escalation whilst running your own projects.
• Producing production estimates & PO’s (except TV/Radio).
• Ensuring cost controller approval on estimates where required prior to sharing with Clients.
• Reconciling projects once they are complete.

Responsibilities

What skills we’re looking for

• Creative Competence with Apple applications, including Keynote.
• Competence with Microsoft Office applications, including Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Word.
• Competence with Adobe Creative Suite.
• Full understanding of the creative process, from brief to output.

Culture

• A dedicated and ambitious individual, who shows a real passion for great ideas and not afraid to speak up and have a point of view.
• Self-awareness.
• Someone who’s fun and friendly, with an appetite to get involved with all the extra-curricular things we have on offer.

Commercial

• Ability to always maintain a commercial perspective on work.
• Display confidentiality and professionalism at all times.

What Qualities And Behaviours We Like

• A strong communicator with the confidence to take charge of the delivery of multi-channel creative projects.
• Confident to get your point across and to inform the Project Director and the senior management team of any account statuses, problems, plans and meetings as required.
• Ability to work under pressure, prioritise, problem solve, multitask and drive projects forward.
• Excellent planning and organisational skills with the ability to plan for all eventualities and provide solutions to any arising issues.
• Proactive, always looking ahead and spotting potential pitfalls.
• Willingness to become a champion of the client's business and support where required.
• A contributor to agency culture, striving to help make Leo Burnett an even better agency than it is today.

Additional Information

Leo Burnett has fantastic benefits on offer to all of our employees, full details of which are shared when you join. This includes the classics like Pension, Life Assurance, Private Medical, as well as Reflection Days, Shared Parental Leave, and spans initiatives: Please check out the Publicis Career Page which showcases our Inclusive Benefits and our EAG’s (Employee Action Groups).

At Leo Burnett, we are proud to be an equal opportunities employer. We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds, and do not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, nationality, religion or belief, disability, age, citizenship, relationship status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other protected characteristic. We are committed to providing a fair, accessible, and inclusive recruitment process. If you have any access needs - for example, related to disability, neurodivergence, or a health condition - please let us know. We’ll work with you to ensure the process works for you. Sharing this information will never impact your application. Guided by our values, we listen with empathy, uplift each other, take responsibility, and embrace change - building a culture where everyone feels seen, respected, and genuinely included.