The Senior Program Manager will lead advertising projects, ensuring timely execution and budget adherence while managing client relationships and enhancing workflows. They will oversee production, collaborate with teams, and implement strategies for project success.
About The Role
As a Senior Advertising Program Manager on The Athletic’s Commercial team, you will be an expert collaborator responsible for executing innovative, integrated custom advertising programs for our partners. You’ll work closely with Sales, Strategy, Planning, Audio, Editorial, Social, Product, Marketing, Business Development, PR, and T Brand Studio to bring compelling, strategic, cross-platform programs to life — driving revenue across all sports verticals.
You will serve as the primary point of contact for our clients and internal teams from concept through execution, ensuring projects run on time, on budget, and at the highest quality. You’ll be equally adept at managing complex branded content initiatives and large-scale, integrated programs that include digital, audio, print, experiential, and live event components.
A successful candidate thrives in a fast-paced environment, anticipates challenges, communicates clearly, and consistently delivers exceptional results for both clients and internal stakeholders.
This role is 100% remote for candidates currently residing in the United States or Canada.
Responsibilities
- Project Management & Execution:
- Lead and manage integrated advertising programs from pre-sale through post-sale.
- Serve as the primary point of contact for clients and agencies, ensuring all deliverables are on track, within scope, and aligned with client objectives.
- Develop project scopes, timelines, budgets, and staffing plans in partnership with cross-functional teams and external vendors.
- Oversee production workflows for branded content, digital, print, audio, experiential, and live event campaigns.
- Build and maintain project delivery trackers, proof-of-delivery documents, and campaign recaps.
- Manage project budgets in collaboration with Revenue Operations, ensuring healthy margins and timely billing.
- Identify and mitigate potential risks to projects or the business.
- Client & Stakeholder Management:
- Build and maintain strong client relationships through clear communication, effective meeting leadership, and thoughtful problem-solving.
- Partner with Sales, Strategy, and Creative teams to translate client objectives into actionable, executable plans.
- Advocate internally for client needs and ensure obligations are met.
- Provide strategic and consultative advice to clients throughout the campaign lifecycle.
- Leadership & Process Improvement:
- Act as the go-to resource for all production-related matters on assigned programs.
- Ensure consistent adoption and use of project management tools across teams.
- Share learnings and best practices from past programs to improve future work.
- Collaborate with leadership to refine processes, optimize workflows, and scale operations.
- Align production resources, balancing quality standards with budget requirements.
- Creative & Strategic Partnership:
- Engage in early-stage concepting with creative and strategy teams to shape ideas that are both innovative and executable within budget and timeline constraints.
- Recommend production approaches that maximize impact while meeting project requirements.
Requirements
- BA/BS degree in a related field or equivalent work experience.
- 5–7+ years of relevant program management experience, preferably in a media or publishing environment with significant pre-sale involvement.
- Proven track record managing integrated advertising programs from concept through delivery.
- Experience collaborating with content studios on custom branded content campaigns.
- Strong understanding of creative production processes for digital, video, audio, print, experiential, and live events.
- Ability to manage multiple complex projects simultaneously in a fast-paced environment.
- Skilled in budget management, contract negotiation, and vendor coordination.
- Exceptional communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills.
- Extreme attention to detail and quality.
- Passion for sports and The Athletic’s mission.
The annual base salary range for this role is $95,000.00 - $105,000.00 USD. The total compensation offered for this position may vary based on factors such as education, experience, skills, and location. It may also include non-cash rewards and benefits. The base salary range is subject to change and may be modified in the future.
Top Skills
Project Management Tools
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