Associate Director - Program Management

Company Description

Leo Burnett is a communications agency powered by its HumanKind operating system, with the belief that creativity, data and technology work together to transform human behavior and drive prosperity for clients. Part of Publicis Communications, Leo Burnett Worldwide is one of the world's largest agency networks with 85 offices and more than 8,000 employees. The global agency works with some of the world's most valued brands including Aldi, Bank of America, Campbell's, Dunkin, Firestone, Jim Beam, Kellogg's, Nintendo, Tillamook and UnitedHealthcare among others.

Overview

The Associate Director of Program Management is responsible for the health and quality of a large client program, or a large portfolio of programs, focusing on maintaining margin, operational and delivery efficiency, risk mitigation and resolution.

The ideal candidate should have experience structuring and leading multi-million-dollar global marketing and advertising programs comprised of multidisciplinary resources and parallel lines of business, with demonstrated success in collaborating with key agency partners, including but not limited to Creative, Client Services, Finance, Strategy, Data and Analytics, Media, PR, and Technology.  Experience with managing multi-channel engagements (video, TVC, print, digital, experiential, activation, etc.) is required.

They will also possess a proven ability to represent the Program Management field with internal and client leadership, and be deft at building and maintaining strong relationships with agency, client and third-party partners. They will work with these entities to proactively solve business challenges and contribute to the development of operational processes that adapt to evolving business challenges, guidelines and industry standards.

Responsibilities

• Work with key account and client partners to develop and instill processes, workflows and tools that support the profitable delivery of client work. Contribute to a culture of delivery efficiency and excellence with direct reports and larger Program Management department.
• Responsible for leading a team in the scoping and management of multiple, concurrent, large scale-projects and client engagements totaling over $5-10MM annually.
• Collaborate with third-party media partners, PR agencies, and strategic client partners to ensure seamless delivery of integrated brand initiatives.
• Partner with Client Service and Finance leads to actively manage business challenges, client relationships, developing annual scopes and contracts, estimates and staffing plans against scoped work, and maintaining profit margin. 
• Partner with Creative to effectively shepherd and manage the evolution of creative work, ensuring quality at all points from concept through delivery. Active partnership with Resource Management, Production, and Technology departments to ensure connections and collaborations happen where they should, in support of innovative and award-winning creative ideas.
• Maintain and enforce high standards of communications and documentation, including status and financial reports, timelines, scopes, change orders, burn reports and forecasting, standard processes and asset management.
• Maintain departmental values, vision, direction and responsibilities with key program collaborators.
• Partner with internal collaborators to continuously optimize existing operational processes and systems, ensuring consensus and compliance with directs.
• Demonstrate strong leadership skills in creatively addressing complex problems with a positive and professional attitude, emphasizing emotional intelligence.
• Proactively manage, provide guidance, and develop clear communication standards around program and business-related risks, including mitigation planning and crisis management.

Qualifications

• 8-12 years’ experience in a creative services organization, working with high profile brands and leading senior cross-functional collaborators including strategy, media, data and planning, creative, editorial, experience design, production, technology, operations, finance, and resourcing.
• 3-5 years' experience managing a team of Associate-to-Senior Program Mangers.
• 2-4 years’ experience directly engaging with clients. Experience with Client Procurement and/or Client PMO teams a strong plus.
• Expert-level knowledge and deep experience in project management, including scoping, staffing, estimating, managing burn, and creating processes that support 360˚ integrated campaigns,  multi-faceted engagements, and global programs.
• Comfortable managing through ambiguity and operating at speed in a dynamic, fast-paced environment.
• Familiarity with managing media partnerships and PR initiatives.

Additional Information

Our Publicis Groupe motto “Viva La Différence” means we’re better together, and we believe that our differences make us stronger. It means we honor and celebrate all identities, across all facets of intersectionality, and it underpins all that we do as an organization. We are focused on fostering belonging and creating equitable & inclusive experiences for all talent.

Publicis Groupe provides robust and inclusive benefit programs and policies to support the evolving and diverse needs of our talent and enable every person to grow and thrive. Our benefits package includes medical coverage, dental, vision, disability, 401K, as well as parental and family care leave, family forming assistance, tuition reimbursement, and flexible time off.

If you require accommodation or assistance with the application or onboarding process specifically, please contact [email protected].

Compensation Range: $95,950- $150,995 annually. This is the pay range the Company believes it will pay for this position at the time of this posting. Consistent with applicable law, compensation will be determined based on the skills, qualifications, and experience of the applicant along with the requirements of the position, and the Company reserves the right to modify this pay range at any time. Temporary roles may be eligible to participate in our freelancer/temporary employee medical plan through a third-party benefits administration system once certain criteria have been met. Temporary roles may also qualify for participation in our 401(k) plan after eligibility criteria have been met. For regular roles, the Company will offer medical coverage, dental, vision, disability, 401k, and paid time off. The Company anticipates the application deadline for this job posting will be 12/02/2025.

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.

 

Compensation Range: USD $95,950.00 - USD $150,995.00/Annually. This is the pay range the Company believes it will pay for this position at the time of this posting. Consistent with applicable law, compensation will be determined based on the skills, qualifications, and experience of the applicant along with the requirements of the position, and the Company reserves the right to modify this pay range at any time. Temporary roles may be eligible to participate in our freelancer/temporary employee medical plan through a third-party benefits administration system once certain criteria have been met. For regular roles, the Company will offer medical coverage, dental, vision, disability, 401k, and paid time off. The Company anticipates the application deadline for this job posting will be 11/15/2025.