Head of Project Management

What You’ll Do

As the Head of Project Management, you will lead the regional Project Management and SaaS function responsible for delivering high-impact digital advertising campaigns and implementations at scale.

You will oversee the team responsible for end-to-end project delivery, from initial scoping and briefing through production, QA, launch, and reporting. You will lead Project Managers, SaaS specialists, and Creative Delivery Managers, establish operational standards, drive cross-functional alignment, and ensure the team delivers projects on time, at quality, and in line with client and business expectations.

You will thrive in this role if you are an experienced delivery leader who can operate strategically while staying close to execution. You are comfortable managing complex implementations, resolving escalations, improving workflows, adopting new technologies, and building high-performing teams in a fast-paced, collaborative environment.

In this role, you will:

• Lead and manage the Project Management and SaaS function, including team structure, capacity planning, performance management, and career development
• Own the end-to-end delivery strategy for implementations and campaign launches across creative, media, production, QA, and client-facing workstreams
• Oversee multiple implementation pods and ensure consistent delivery standards across projects, clients, platforms, and teams
• Establish and maintain operating models, workflows, standard operating procedures, SLAs, governance frameworks, and escalation paths
• Drive resource planning and allocation to ensure appropriate coverage, capacity, and efficient utilization across the portfolio
• Partner closely with Customer Success, Production, Creative, Media, QA, Product, Engineering, and other global stakeholders to ensure successful delivery
• Provide leadership on complex, high-value, or high-risk implementations, including executive escalations, recovery plans, and client communications
• Ensure project risks, dependencies, delays, and scope changes are identified early, clearly communicated, and actively managed
• Establish effective project governance, including regular status reviews, operational reporting, health checks, and performance tracking
• Ensure teams maintain strong project controls, including timelines, milestones, ownership, documentation, quality checks, and change management
• Improve implementation efficiency by identifying process gaps, reducing operational friction, and driving automation and standardization
• Lead the adoption of AI-enabled workflows and automation to improve project planning, delivery speed, quality, forecasting, reporting, and team efficiency
• Identify practical opportunities to use AI in areas such as risk detection, resource planning, quality assurance, documentation, reporting, and stakeholder communication
• Partner with the Devs, Product, Engineering, and Operations teams to evaluate, pilot, and scale processes and AI/automation solutions that improve campaign delivery
• Establish appropriate governance and quality controls for AI-enabled workflows, including data privacy, accuracy, security, and human oversight
• Drive team adoption of new tools and technologies through enablement, documentation, best-practice sharing, and change management
• Partner with CSs and commercial teams during the pre-sales and scoping process, as required, to validate feasibility, effort, timelines, dependencies, and resource requirements
• Ensure proposed creative and media strategies can be implemented effectively within platform, operational, and technical constraints
• Support the delivery of client-facing plans, timelines, SLAs, and implementation frameworks.
• Build strong relationships with senior stakeholders and serve as an escalation point for delivery-related concerns
• Use delivery data, operational metrics, and AI-supported insights to improve forecasting, team productivity, quality, client experience, and business outcomes
• Contribute to regional and global planning, business reviews, organizational design, and continuous improvement initiatives
• Promote a culture of accountability, proactive communication, collaboration, innovation, and high-quality execution

What We’re Looking For

We’re looking for a senior lead with deep experience managing implementation teams and complex digital advertising operations. You should be confident leading through ambiguity, building scalable processes, improving operational performance, and balancing strategic priorities with day-to-day execution.

You’ll be a great fit if you:

• Have 10+ years of experience in project management, implementation management, delivery operations, or a related discipline, preferably within digital advertising, marketing technology, SaaS, or other complex technology environments
• Have significant experience leading implementation, project management, or delivery teams, including people managers and multiple concurrent workstreams
• Have a proven track record of managing complex, multi-market, cross-functional implementations from scoping through launch and post-launch optimization
• Have experience building and scaling implementation teams, operating models, workflows, governance frameworks, and standard operating procedures
• Are an effective people leader who can coach, develop talent, set clear expectations, and build high-performing teams
• Are highly skilled in capacity planning, resource allocation, prioritization, forecasting, and operational planning
• Are a strong communicator who can influence senior stakeholders, manage difficult conversations, and provide clear executive-level updates
• Are confident managing client expectations and leading escalations involving timelines, quality, scope, resources, or delivery risks
• Have strong commercial judgment and can assess project feasibility, effort, timelines, dependencies, and operational impact
• Have experience leading automation, AI adoption, or technology-enabled process improvements within project management, implementation, or delivery operations
• Understand how AI can be applied practically to improve project planning, workflow automation, risk management, quality assurance, reporting, and operational decision-making
• Are comfortable evaluating new AI tools and translating emerging technologies into practical, scalable solutions for delivery teams
• Can promote responsible AI adoption by ensuring appropriate governance, data privacy, quality controls, and human review
• Have experience leading change management and driving team adoption when introducing new tools, systems, or operating models
• Are highly organized and able to manage a large portfolio of complex projects without losing sight of execution details
• Have a strong understanding of digital advertising, campaign production, creative operations, media workflows, QA, and platform implementations
• Are comfortable working with global teams across multiple time zones
• Have experience using project management, reporting, and collaboration tools, including Google Workspace and spreadsheet-based planning tools
• Are data-driven and able to use operational metrics and AI-supported insights to identify trends, improve performance, and support decision-making
• Bring a solutions-oriented, proactive, and accountable leadership style
• Have a positive, team-first mindset and enjoy building strong partnerships across functions
• Are flexible and available to support critical launches, escalations, and business needs across global operating hours

About Smartly

Smartly is the AI-powered advertising technology company transforming ad experiences for brands and their consumers. Our comprehensive advertising platform seamlessly integrates the capabilities of media, creative, and intelligence to power more than 800 billion impressions and generate more than 300 billion creatives annually, delivering tangible business outcomes for brands and advertisers.

Smartly is the only company in the industry recognized as a Leader in The Forrester Wave: Creative Advertising Technologies with PwC validating the results it delivers for brands. We manage creative and media for 700+ brands worldwide and $6B in ad spend across the largest media platforms, including Facebook, Google, Instagram, Pinterest, Snap, and TikTok. Our end-to-end technology, unmatched access to media platforms and exceptional customer service help Fortune 500 brands to reach and engage consumers and learn what performs best.Smartly is a multinational and diverse team of 750+ Smartlies from 60+ nationalities, working in 13 countries. Together, we want to create and maintain an inclusive environment where everyone feels respected and heard. Our Diversity, Equity & Inclusion approach is at the heart of it.

Visit Smartly to learn more.


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