Studio Operations / Project Manager

Frontier is looking for a Studio Operations / Project Manager to join our team for a 12 month maternity leave contract position.

This is a dynamic and exciting intermediate-senior role that supports cross-team efforts in office administration, project management, and business development. In many ways this position connects us all and is critical to ensure we are an effective team.

About us

Frontier is a design office that believes in the expansive potential of storytelling to help people get somewhere new. We design the strategies, brand identities, and experiences that make big stories real.

For a decade, people have come to us because we’re experts at drawing together diverse perspectives into something unified and resonant. Generating ideas, building consensus, setting direction: we accelerate this work by listening closely and bringing to bear new tools and methods of understanding and shaping what’s next. We draw from diverse realms—like contemporary art, purpose design, playful speculation, and radical technologies—to help organizations and their people understand the edges and make progress that matters.

This pluralistic approach to purposeful branding leads to genuinely inspiring and strategic stories that we turn into momentum-building brand identities, exhibitions, websites, campaigns, books, and videos.

The Role

The Studio Operations / Project Manager manages multiple projects, nurtures productive client relationships and fosters strong internal team dynamics.

They are a leading, active part of projects, setting the tone for the client experience. and working with the creative lead to manage the project successfully. They are proactive, anticipating what the project, client, and team needs in order to keep things moving, keeping all parties informed about what's happening at any given time. They respond to questions, concerns, or flagged items and opportunities.

When done well, this role helps deliver projects on time and on budget, preempts and proactively resolves problems, and ensures a smooth process for our team and our clients.

This role reports to Tom Keogh, CEO. The ideal candidate has between 3-6 years of relevant experience.

Job responsibilities

Project Management (50%)

The Project Manager understands project plans, timelines and deliverables and works with the design team to implement them. They anticipate what's coming down the pipeline in order to balance project commitments and resourcing needs across multiple projects.
 

• Organizing internal and external project kick offs and onboarding the design team
• Organize, prioritize, and clarify project tasks
• Ensure that the work is responding to the brief and the client’s goals
• Participate in and contribute to design team working sessions as appropriate
• Proactively schedule and facilitate internal and external meetings and establish agendas
• Capture comprehensive notes and manage communication and information sharing between the client and design team
• Understand and identify when scope creep is happening and work with the team and the client to resolve
• Assist as needed in the preparation of project deliverables and presentations
• Manage project budgets and timelines, and suggest ways to keep project resourcing within budget while still delivering great work
• Engage, work with and manage freelancers and external partners
• Assist in maintaining project folders in Google Drive (client info, presentations)
• Maintaining project timelines and tasks in Asana and accountability for teams resourcing
• Liaise with suppliers (printers, fabricators, photographers, web developers, sub-consultants)

Client Management

The Project Manager leads the experience clients have working with Frontier, balancing the needs of the client with the needs of the studio to help produce the best work. They are responsible for cultivating a productive relationship with our clients in order to generate organic new business opportunities. When done well, this role has the ability to navigate client challenges, manage budgeting/scoping questions and grow the relationship.
 

• Build a strong connection with the client so they understand that they can come to you throughout the project for questions, clarifications and concerns
• Actively participate in client meetings and presentations

Review client needs, manage their expectations, capture their feedback and communicate it to the team, balancing the client’s point of view with the context of the contracted scope

Business Development

The Project Manager is involved in new and organic business development, helping identify and shape project opportunities. When done well this results in project opportunities that address client needs while making sense for the studio’s service offering and financial realities.

• Have a strong understanding of Frontier services
• Identify and propose opportunities for new and organic growth
• Develop new and organic project proposals, budgets and plans
   

Studio Operations & Administration (50%)

Business Performance Responsibilities:

• Management and oversight of the company’s financial performance and budget, including sales targets
• Contribute to the studio’s revenue forecasting through understanding current project budgets and potential organic growth opportunities.
• Maintain Frontier Revenue Pipeline worksheet and review in bi-weekly and monthly meetings, and guide team on what is required at any time to hit targets
• Have an understanding of where all projects are in their billing cycle
• Provide direction to our bookkeeper to generate invoices in Quickbooks
• Oversee client contract negotiations when needed
• Recruit and negotiate with subcontractors when necessary, executing contracts as needed
   

Administrative and Operations

• Manage company equipment and software subscriptions
• Provide administrative support Senior Leadership team
• Organize couriers and receive shipments
• General addressing of day-to-day issues and resolving whatever problems might arise from a business and operational perspective
• Oversee studio housekeeping/shared space upkeep
• Order studio supplies (workshop materials, office supplies, cleaning products)
• Organize team hangouts (research activities, order meals)
   

Qualifications

• Previous working experience as a Project Manager for 3-6 year(s)
• Excellent organizational and time management skills
• Outstanding communication, presentation and leadership skills
• Superior quantitative and qualitative analytical skills
• Problem solver able to keep calm and efficient under pressure and in crisis
• Excellent written and communication skills
• Comfortable managing multiple priorities and shifting deadlines
• Enthusiastic, well-organized, and attention to detail
• Ability to document, organize, and follow up on important actions and decisions from stakeholder meetings
• Comfortable using web-based tools such as Google Sheets and Docs, Slack, Pitch, Asana, Quickbooks, and Hubdoc
• An interest in art and design and a familiarity with creative projects an asset
• Degree or certificate in design management, business administration, marketing, or related fields an asset
   

Salary range

$70-$90k

How can candidates apply?

Please send your résumé and a cover letter to Lillian Harder, Studio Director (lharder@frontier.is) with “Studio Operations / Project Manager” in the subject line. Please also indicate where you saw this job posting.