Job Information
Creative Circle, LLC Project Manager in Mettawa, Illinois
This job was posted by https://illinoisjoblink.illinois.gov : For more information, please see: https://illinoisjoblink.illinois.gov/jobs/13426707
Overview of the Role
Our internal healthcare agency client is seeking multipleProject Managers with strong agency and pharmaceutical marketing experienceto join their team. In this role, you will coordinate, schedule, and execute a high volume of print and digital projects within a fast-paced in-house agency environment. You will support account and creative teams by driving timelines, managing documentation, and ensuring all deliverables remain on strategy, on schedule, and within budget.
Ideal candidates thrive in hybrid agency-pharma settings, understand the nuances of regulated (MLR) review processes, and bring the polished communication skills and proactive mindset needed to keep complex project portfolios moving smoothly.
You will partner closely with Account Managers and operate with a high level of autonomy. There is no layered PM structure, so strong ownership is key. Successful PMs here keep the trains running, ask smart questions, anticipate risks and dependencies, and stay deeply connected to the work. The team functions at scale, managing high-volume portfolios under tight timelines.
The Basics
- Duration: 1 year
- Hours: 40 hours/week, Monday through Friday
- Location: Lake County, IL (Mettawa area)
- Schedule: Hybrid - onsite Tuesday through Thursday; remote Monday and Friday
Top 3 Required Qualifications
- Recent advertising agency experience (within the last 2 to 3 years) supporting account or client services, with demonstrated ability to partner closely with AMs in an in-house or internal-agency model. Prior pharma or healthcare agency experience is strongly preferred.
- Experience managing high-volume project portfolios (typical volume for this client is 40 to 60 concurrent projects, with surges to 80 to 100 during peak periods) with rigorous timeline, dependency, and risk management.
- Highly detail-oriented, proactive, and solutions-oriented, with the ability to anticipate next steps, surface risks early, and keep work moving in fast-paced, regulated environments (MLR or similar).
Other Qualifications
- Pharmaceutical marketing experience within the last 2 to 3 years or experience in other highly regulated industries (FDA, government-regulated environments).
- Strong understanding of agency workflows across account, creative, studio, development, and review cycles.
- Experience building and maintaining detailed project timelines, mapping dependencies, and communicating risks clearly.
- Ability to work cross-functionally without direct authority and keep multiple workstreams organized.
- Excellent documentation, note-taking, and communication skills.
- Digital project management and/or print production experience.\ Proficiency with common PM tools; the team uses Kantata (Mavenlink) and Microsoft 365. Experience with Smartsheet or Workfront is a plus.
- Bachelor degree required.
Key Responsibilities
- Manage a high volume of concurrent print and digital projects from kickoff through delivery.
- Build, update, and communicate detailed project timelines, mapping dependencies and identifying risks associated with delays or skipped steps.
- Lead status meetings and document clear, actionable next steps for all partners.
- Route projects through internal workflows, approvals, and MLR (medical, legal, regulatory) review processes.
- Stay closely connected to scope, requirements, and potential bottlenecks across your portfolio.
- Partner daily with Account Managers, creative, studio, and development teams to manage priorities and resolve issues quickly.
- Support marketers who may join projects already behind schedule, rebalancing timelines and workload accordingly.
- Create and maintain core project documentation such as specs, estimates, folder structures, and review materials.
- Serve as a point of contact for third-party vendors, sharing updates and troubleshooting as needed.
- Collaborate with Senior PMs during volume spikes to align timelines and priorities.
- Track time daily and support estimate development and billing activities.
- Communicate proactively and clearly with all cross-functional partners.
- Maintain a high-energy, solutions-focused approach with patience and persistence during onboarding and ramp-up.
In this position, you may have access to client or customer systems, confidential and/or proprietary information or data, including medical data. This position is onsite and requires you to work closely with other individuals in a collaborative team environment. Additionally, drug products may be present in the workplace.
Benefits
Creative Circle\'s Freelance Employee benefits package includes eligibility for Minimum Essential Coverage (MEC) medical plan, dental/vision/term life package, discount prescription program, critical illness, accident, tele-behavioral health