Integrated Project Manager

Company description

Publicis Groupe is a global leader in communication. The Groupe is positioned at every step of the value chain, from consulting to execution, combining marketing transformation and digital business transformation.

This role is for the Agency Machine, which sits inside of Publicis:

At Machine_, we’re driven by an experienced team of individuals that are passionate about producing relevant and engaging creative work and experiences, whilst at the same time building solid, long-term relationships with our clients.

Overview

Title: Integrated Project Manager
Location: JHB
Reporting To: Operations Director South Africa

ROLE PURPOSE
The Mid to Senior Project Manager owns the day-to-day delivery of assigned integrated campaigns and projects, from briefing and scoping through production and other practices such as media from approval, release and close-out. The role turns requirements into workable plans and keeps teams, clients and suppliers aligned on scope, responsibilities, costs and deadlines.

The role requires independent ownership of medium-to-complex projects and several concurrent workstreams, with escalation of material commercial, resource or delivery decisions to the relevant delivery lead. Work may span digital, content, retail, production and, where included in scope, events and activations.

Responsibilities

PROJECT SCOPING AND PLANNING
• Interrogate briefs with Client Leadership and specialist teams to confirm objectives, deliverables, acceptance criteria, dependencies 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.

EXECUTION AND STAKEHOLDER MANAGEMENT
• Run kick-offs, status meetings and reviews; maintain clear actions, owners and deadlines and follow through without requiring repeated supervision.
• Monitor progress and quality gates, anticipate bottlenecks and negotiate practical recovery options with the responsible teams.
• Keep clients and internal stakeholders informed of delivery status, decisions and risks, working within agreed communication and approval responsibilities.

BUDGET AND SUPPLIER CONTROL
• Maintain project estimates, purchase orders, commitments and actual costs; flag variances and scope changes before additional spend or work is committed.
• Coordinate supplier quotes, procurement and invoice reconciliation with Finance, following approval policies and agreed turnaround times.
• For scoped events or activations, coordinate venues, travel, suppliers, run sheets and on-site teams with appropriate production and health-and-safety support.

RISK MANAGEMENT AND PROJECT CLOSE OUT
• Maintain risks, issues, dependencies and change records; escalate material concerns with clear options and their timing, cost or quality implications.
• Ensure documented approvals, quality checks, final asset handovers and organised project records are complete before closure.
• Lead project reviews, close financial administration and translate lessons into better plans; support less experienced coordinators where required.

FUTURE-FIT OPERATING MODEL & TRANSFORMATION
• Support the Operations Director to implement, manage and lead adoption of the future-fit operating model across assigned projects and workstreams, translating the agreed direction into practical delivery plans.
• Lead the day-to-day rollout of agreed workflows, platforms, governance and AI-enabled processes; clarify responsibilities, manage dependencies and coordinate teams through implementation.
• Drive behavioural change through briefings, training support and coaching; monitor adoption, resolve delivery barriers and escalate structural issues or decisions to the Operations Director.
• Track implementation milestones, adoption and operational benefits; report progress and risks, recommend improvements and maintain client service and business continuity throughout the transition.

AI CAPABILITY AND FUTURE WAYS OF WORKING
• Use approved AI tools to support project planning, status reporting, risk identification and workflow automation; validate schedules, dependencies, estimates and recommendations before acting on them.
• Demonstrate effective prompting, iteration and critical evaluation. Use only approved tools and data; protect client information and intellectual property, check rights and provenance where relevant, and retain human accountability for final work.
• Identify appropriate AI use cases, share practical learning and measure improvements in quality, speed or effectiveness. Recognise tool limitations and escalate uncertain, inaccurate or inappropriate outputs.
• Deliver projects by matching each milestone with the right people, skills and tools from the Publicis Toolstack.
• Reimagine how milestones are delivered using AI and automation, building scalable templates and workflows that future-fit our business.

Qualifications

• 3-5 years' experience in a creative, advertising, or integrated communications agency.
• Proven project management of large-scale integrated campaigns.
• Experience leading integrated agency teams across ATL, Digital, and Media.

Additional information

PLEASE NOTE:
Publics Groupe is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and prohibits any forms of Discrimination or Harassment. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all our employees in line with our Employment Equity Plan. All appointments will be based on qualifications, experience and best fit but preference will be given to all affirmative action candidates or designated groups.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Should you not hear from us within 2 weeks after submitting your application, please consider your application as unsuccessful.