About the Role
The Senior Project Lead connects higher education clients with internal teams to run high-impact marketing campaigns. You will serve as the main operational partner for clients, keeping projects on schedule, within budget, and aligned with client goals to boost student enrollment and engagement.
What You’ll Own
Client Relationship Management
- Act as the primary strategic contact for assigned higher ed clients, running regular status updates, performance reviews, and planning sessions.
- Learn each client’s institutional goals, market position, and target audience to guide marketing plans.
- Partner with Account Directors and Portfolio Leaders to expand existing accounts and secure contract renewals.
Project Operations & Delivery
- Lead complex, multi-workstream marketing projects from initial onboarding through final delivery.
- Build and manage integrated project timelines, making sure deliverables meet quality, brand, and strategy standards.
- Run project reviews, approval milestones, and strategy calls to keep internal teams and clients aligned.
- Hold project managers and creative teams accountable for hitting target milestones on time and within scope.
Risk & Budget Oversight
- Monitor project performance, revenue, and burn rates to keep accounts profitable and within budget.
- Identify and fix project or relationship risks early before they escalate.
- Flag potential timeline, scope, or financial impacts to internal leadership immediately.
Team Leadership & Mentorship
- Mentor project leads and cross-functional teams on operational best practices and account management.
- Help build training programs and skill development initiatives for Project Leads.
- Support hiring and onboarding activities for new project leads.
What You Bring
- 6–9 years of experience in higher education, marketing, or agency environments with increasing responsibility
- 3+ years of experience coordinating cross-functional teams and managing multi-workstream client accounts
- Bachelor’s degree (PMP, Agile, or equivalent certification preferred)
- Strong understanding of integrated marketing campaigns across multiple channels
- Advanced proficiency with project management tools, including Asana, Google Suite (especially Google Sheets and Google Slides), and remote collaboration platforms
- Experience or interest in using AI tools to improve processes and client experiences
- Proven ability to guide teams through change, handle ambiguous projects, and solve problems with high autonomy and emotional intelligence
- Strong verbal and written communication skills across remote environments
- Ability to work at a computer for prolonged periods
Why This Role
You sit at the intersection of client strategy and day-to-day execution. By bringing structure, clarity, and direction to complex marketing projects, you will directly help colleges and universities reach prospective students while driving growth and efficiency across our internal teams.