Creative Project Manager (FTC 12 Months)

Job Introduction

Key Purpose:

To provide effective project management for brand projects across the business and ensure they are planned, managed and delivered on brand, and effectively to brief and budget.

A bit about the role

Role Scope:

This is a critical role in delivering extraordinary customer experiences for Selfridges. Part of a cross departmental function, working across Creative, Communications and Customer teams, to facilitate the management and delivery of key initiatives and campaigns. The jobholder will also interact with many other departments in the business (e.g. Buying and Merchandising, Visual Projects, Retail Operations etc.) and external partners, to ensure content is of a consistently high standard.

The jobholder will provide essential coordination, working with 2 other Project Managers and under the guidance of the Head of Project Curation, to plan and coordinate the delivery of both brand campaigns, calendar events (Easter, Valentine’s etc.) and other key miscellaneous projects
as required.

The role will be critical in originating and/or maintaining detailed documentation – including critical paths, budgets, status reports and project packs - for each stage of cross-functional campaigns. The job holder will demonstrate excellent communication and organisational skills and ensure relevant documentation is accurate, useful and up to date. They will be able to provide transparency and clear accountability at all times.

The job holder will be required to present at a Senior level in the business, so confident presentation skills and the ability to give clarity to multi-layered projects is preferred.

Although project management skills are the key requirement, projects may originate from the Creative, Customer or Communications team, so the jobholder should have an affinity with the creative/ art world, as well as understanding of the fashion/ retail and digital worlds. They must also have a strong desire to surprise, amaze and amuse customers.

Key Responsibilities

• Understanding the Creative Concept brief for campaigns, and developing a deep understanding of the Selfridges brand
• Building relationships across Creative, Communications and Customer teams, as well as the wider business, ensuring effective and evolving communication processes are in place with key stakeholders
• Determining resource requirements and planning the facilitation of projects
• Maintaining and sharing weekly project status updates, creating master critical paths and project packs for campaigns and regularly updating and communicating to key stakeholders as necessary/ requested
• Taking/ producing detailed, succinct notes with action points from campaign steering meetings.
• Coordinating campaign steering meetings, and chairing them as required
• Presenting project overviews at various forums across the business, up to Director level
• Prompting delivery teams to supply documentation to relevant stakeholders, and miscellaneous tasks related to the management of the project.
• Arranging and/ or attending key meetings for the Creative, Comms and Customer teams as required, updating on process when relevant.

Budget and Finance

• Monitor campaign budgets, ensuring that functions are communicating their latest spend and updating trackers and line manager accordingly.
• Communicate correct codes to Project Team leads at the outset of project delivery
• Maintain a clear visibility & transparency on all budget expenditure on all projects at all times, communicated directly and competently with finance and accounts as appropriate.

People and Communication

• Build strong and effective working relationships with Project Leads to ensure campaigns are running smoothly.
• Operate with meticulous accuracy, probing and analysing projects looking for gaps in information or planning.
• Communicate confidently, clearly and openly with people using a range of styles and media.
• Produce written work and data that is accurate, clear and well presented.
• Use impeccable organisational skills to facilitate focus, accuracy and quality in the relentlessly fast paced turnover of content.
• Communicate matters of logistics and scheduling to all stakeholders clearly, ensuring all areas of remit/responsibility are understood and agreed. 
• Adhere to all company policies and procedures, e.g. absences, time and attendance and holidays, etc.

Person Specification

Qualifications/Training

• Educated to degree level or similar (or with comparable experience)
• Alternatively, project management specific qualifications

Experience

• Proven experience in assisting in the delivery of multi-channel projects or comparable, including experience tracking expenditure and producing schedules.
• Digital experience an advantage.
• Working in a creative or brand-based environment, but with project management focus
• Experience of working in the fashion, retail, media or art world preferred

Technical Skills

• Advanced level of competence in Excel, PowerPoint and Word
• Understands when to use different programs
• Confident using PCs & Mac
• Can resolve technical difficulties when they arise

A bit about you

Personal Attributes/Behavioural Skills

• Highly organised and methodical
• Resilient – able to cope with pressure, be flexible, think quickly to solve problems and safeguard the team’s ability to deliver

• Confident and articulate
• Positive, cheerful and self-motivated - approaching tasks with energy and enthusiasm
• Seeks to understand the differing views of others, conflicting pressures or differing peak work times, but able to challenge appropriately

• Intuitive, levelheaded and calm. Can clearly demonstrate they have understood what is being asked of them and learn and develop processes from any relevant feedback.

• Strong interest in the Creative / Fashion world.