Recess Studios is a brand agency built to challenge the expected. With offices in Portland and New York, we deliver end-to-end brand solutions, foundational development, consistent application across every touchpoint, and strategic amplification that drives impact. Our multidisciplinary team imagines worlds, crafts honest narratives, and creates experiences at the intersection of culture and commerce. We prize Good Honest Work by Good Honest People, building lasting partnerships through clear standards, tidy operations, and results that exceed expectations.
Job Overview
The Group Project Lead is a senior operational leader responsible for delivering complex projects while owning the performance and consistency of a team of Project Leads. This role combines Senior Project Lead responsibilities with team leadership, resourcing ownership, and project operations management.
This role sets the standard for how projects are scoped, budgeted, staffed, and delivered across the organization. They ensure strong financial discipline, clear operational structure, and a high level of client experience across all work. The Group Project Lead partners closely with Account, Strategy, Creative, Production, Finance, and Executive Leadership to align priorities, forecast demand, and maintain operational clarity.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead a team of Project Leads. Own the standards, tools, and operating model for how projects are scoped, budgeted, staffed, and delivered.
- Build detailed budget sheets for every project. Translate scopes into clear, accurate financial plans that set projects up for strong execution and margin from the start.
- Define how work is structured before it begins. Ensure scope, budget, timeline, and resourcing are aligned and approved prior to kickoff.
- Brief Project Leads on every project post scoping. Set clear expectations on budget, timeline, risks, and delivery approach before handoff.
- Hold Project Leads accountable to operational standards. Enforce discipline across scope control, time tracking, communication, and project hygiene.
- Own resourcing across the organization. Allocate work based on capacity and skillset to maintain delivery quality and team efficiency.
- Partner with Account, Finance, and Executive Leadership to forecast demand, manage utilization, and maintain financial predictability.
- Maintain oversight across all active projects. Identify risks early, step in when execution breaks down, and ensure issues are resolved quickly.
- Ensure consistent delivery across all work. Set expectations for pace, organization, and clarity and hold the team to a high standard.
- Serve as the operational partner to Account Directors. Align on priorities, support strategic account work, and ensure projects are delivered with clarity and professionalism.
- Establish and maintain strong client experience standards. Ensure communication is proactive, organized, and reflects a high level of care.
- Run project closeout standards. Ensure financials are reconciled, deliverables are complete, and key learnings are captured and applied.
- Collaborate cross functionally with Creative, Strategy, Production, Account, and Finance to keep work on time, on scope, and on budget.
- Continuously improve how the team operates. Identify gaps in process, refine workflows, and implement systems that support scale.
- Manage and develop Project Leads. Set expectations, provide feedback, and coach performance to ensure consistent growth and output quality.
Qualifications
- 8+ years in leadership roles within project management or account management at a brand or creative agency
- Minimum of a bachelor’s degree in a related field; advanced degree is a plus.
- Proven experience building and managing project budgets and scopes
- Strong financial acumen including margin management, forecasting, and scope control
- Excellent communication and client management skills
- High level of organization and operational discipline
- Experience with resourcing and capacity planning
- Outstanding organizational and leadership ability; can coach and develop a team of 2+
- Exhibits integrity, accountability, and a bias for action; disciplined, decisive, and willing to be constructively disagreeable when standards are at stake
- Commitment to self-development and developing others
Benefits
- Salary: $115,000 - $130,000
- Medical, dental & vision insurance
- Life Insurance
- Competitive company Holidays
- Flexible PTO
- WFH Flexibility
- 401K w/ Company match