The Role

At Upstatement, we believe project management and engagement is all about optimizing creative excellence. As a Project Manager, you will serve as the connective tissue between Upstatement’s craft, business performance, and client experience. More specifically, this fully remote position will…

Set projects up for success via thoughtfully crafted scopes, schedules, and teams.
Lead client and team communication throughout the entire project.
Own and adapt the tools, processes, and systems we use to do the work.
Collaborate with other project leadership to shape the project, guide the team, solve problems, and ensure high-quality work.
Build and maintain healthy client relationships that inspire continued work together.
Collaborate on and own account relationships with an eye towards growth and strategy for our clients.

Last but not least: People who succeed here are empathetic teammates who are candid, kind, caring, and embody our core values. We believe that diverse, inclusive teams make the most impactful work. Upstatement is deeply invested in ensuring that we have a supportive, growth-oriented environment that works for everyone.

Why Upstatement

Upstatement is a digital product studio with an editorial mindset. We use the tools of design, engineering, and journalism to enrich lives and create a more just society. Our 40-person team works with established leaders (MIT, ESPN, PBS, Microsoft) and emerging companies who are about to change the world. We are members of the kyu Collective and combine the energy of a boutique studio with the business maturity of an established global innovation leader.

Work with ethical and mission-driven organizations.
Collaborate in a high-trust environment that empowers creative ownership.
Build a portfolio you can be proud of.
Blossom in a small studio culture full of top talent and peers who help you grow.
Find your path at a place that prizes flexibility: We encourage experimentation, support role switching, and help people balance between maker/manager and lead/support.

What You’ll Do

Own & adapt process. Apply process with purpose to help your project teams deliver effectively. Be a steward of agile, but also comfortable adapting it to suit your team’s needs. Continuously seek to improve the processes we use to deliver digital work as a studio.
Align people and teams. Design and facilitate meetings, workshops, and standups that help your client and project team collaborate effectively.
Strategize about the work. Collaborate with other project leadership like the Product Manager, Creative Director, and Tech Lead to shape the work and make the decisions that keep the project humming.
Watch for risks and opportunities. Keep a steady eye on the long-term schedule, and anticipate what might be coming down the road. Flag risks, big and small, and apply creative problem-solving to mitigate or course correct.
Provide an amazing client experience. We believe every member of the team is responsible for communicating openly and kindly with clients. You’ll lead this effort: encouraging direct conversations between experts, clarifying details, and making tough decisions feel easy.
Grow accounts. Be a confidant to your clients, and find opportunities to continue our work together. Propose extensions, new scopes of work, and drive the execution of contracts.
Be the heartbeat of our projects. Ensure that everyone is engaged and knows what they need to do. Prioritize work, facilitate communication, and clarify everything. You’ll shape an environment where smart people can do amazing work and reach their full potential.

About You

You have experience and opinions about how to tackle digital work with agile teams. You’ve helped a variety of teams design, build, and ship digital products. You understand the principles of agile, and feel comfortable adapting methods to fit different teams and types of work.
You’re autonomous and take initiative. You see problems and get to work solving them. You’re comfortable trying things you’ve never tried before. You know when to ask for help.
You’re reliable and detail-oriented. You’re a process nerd. You love systems. You pay attention to specifics and don’t let details slip through the cracks. You can manage multiple projects simultaneously and prioritize effectively across them.
You’re empathetic and comfortable addressing conflict. You challenge directly and care personally. You know how to frame difficult situations to avoid misunderstandings, name problems, and move toward solutions. You bring optimism, clarity, and calm.
You’re a great communicator. You can answer difficult questions on-the-fly and summarize complex conversations in a few clear sentences. You can help others express their own thinking.
You’re a leader. You’re invested in understanding the motivations and needs of others, and then meeting those needs. You set the tone by proactively signaling the behavior you want from your peers and teams.

Compensation

Upstatement is committed to helping our people grow and providing transparent salary benchmarks. This job fits two possible levels in our skill progression framework (something we’d love to share during the interview process). The level depends the candidate’s unique qualifications, to be determined during the interview process.

Level: PM3
Official Title: Senior Project Manager
Department: Project Management
Salary Range: $85,000 - $100,000

Level: PM4
Official Title: Lead Project Manager
Department: Project Management
Salary Range: $100,000 - $120,000

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Project Manager