Project Manager for a Product Design Firm [CLOSED]

Are you passionate about building systems and running teams in a fully-remote business? Do you love geeking out about growth and efficiency, and constantly trying to improve business process and make things run more smoothly?

THIS MIGHT BE THE ROLE FOR YOU!

Think Bold Studio is growing and we have a position on our team — where making sure the day-to-day operation runs smoothly is your core responsibility.

As the Project Manager, you will be managing our small design team, communicating with our customers and suppliers, and helping to grow our little business past the 200k mark.

At Think Bold Studio, we work with premium wine and spirits brands to create distinctive packaging that elevates their products. With inspired design and quality production, our packaging solutions spark an instant connection between consumers and brands (see our website here to learn more about our work), and we’re looking for someone who is excited to play a huge role in that!

As the right-hand and second boss of the business, you’ll get to bring all your skills to the table - project management, delegating and managing a team, strategic visioning, and taking big ideas and turning them into to-dos to check off (and you love ALL of it). Think of yourself as the one who really runs the show -- we’re looking for someone who wants to take ownership and feel like a partner, not an employee.

MORE ABOUT YOU

This is a key role in our team, and reports directly to and serves as the right hand to our Integrator. You have a fierce sense of loyalty and are always thinking of what is best for the business first.

You love to be part of a team while simultaneously leading and delegating others to a specific outcome. You get great joy from making sure your team is taking care of and is happy. You’re a cheerleader that looks out for your people but can also deliver hard news when needed. Your idea of a good time is making sure all of our systems and operations are running like a well-oiled machine.

You take personal accountability seriously. If we have a project deadline on Monday at 9am, you deliver it by EOB on the previous Friday. If a meeting starts at 11am, you’re present and accounted-for at 10:50am, with a meeting agenda in-hand that you’ve taken the initiative to create. You find gaps in our current processes and figure out how to fill them without being asked. You share the solution, not the problem. You show up in excellence in everything you do, and you require the same from everyone on your team.

You’re always on the lookout for new ways to be more efficient and you HATE inefficiencies and wasting time. You love the idea of having ONE main client and a steady paycheck, working in a business where you care deeply about the work we do, and have the autonomy, and know that your opinions matter.

MORE ABOUT US

We’re a packaging design firm that works with premium wine and spirits brands to create distinctive packaging that elevates their products. With inspired design and quality production, our packaging solutions spark an instant connection between consumers and brands.

We have a low tolerance for mediocre design. We aim to be the very OPPOSITE of that -- creative challengers of the status quo invested in super-premium design solutions for our clients’ products.

As a team, we value a growth mindset, striving for excellence, passion for what we do, resourcefulness, and transparency.

We’re a small team of 5, and we take pride in our work, but at the same time, we don’t take ourselves too seriously. We would always rather you come to us with a fuck up or when something didn’t go as planned, versus trying to fix it hastily just to save face. We have a high standard for excellent customer service and customer experience, but we’re pretty chill when it comes to tech mishaps and other small things. We learn as we go, with the focus placed on continuous improvement, not perfection.

We operate based on the principles of EOS, and every team member is accountable for their functions and results. The role of the Project Manager is key to our success as a team, and we treat it accordingly.

CORE RESPONSIBILITIES & TASKS

You’ll spend most of your work hours managing the design team and making sure that the projects are progressing according to the plan and the tasks are being delivered on time. You’ll be closely collaborating with the Business Development Manager, working out the scope of work for the upcoming projects and preparing project plans. You will also be communicating with the customers and providing project status updates, liaising with suppliers and subcontractors, and supporting out Integrator with billing and financial performance of all active projects.

Here are some of the things you’ll actually be doing in this role:

ONGOING:

• Oversee all active design project
• Communicate with and manage the design team
• Keep the design team focused so everyone is on deck and understands priorities
• Share relevant info with the Integrator when necessary
• Delegate tasks, and supervise project management tool, ensuring all tasks are on track
• Supervise and manage all aspects of team management (onboarding, training, offboarding, etc.)
• Supervise the subcontractors (illustrators, 3D designers, product photographers) and their tasks, making sure they deliver on time
• Keep on top of billing, making sure the invoices are issue on time and the payments are received upon hitting project milestones
• Operations upkeep: SOPs, file management, refining systems
• Respond to and pay attention to individual team updates in Slack

WEEKLY:

• Meet with the Integrator weekly - report on what we’re working on and what’s coming up
• Ensure projects are delivered on time, and that our clients are getting more than they expect
• Hold and run the stand-up meeting with the design team twice a week
• Check-in with partners where needed (subcontractors, suppliers, etc.)
• Hold and run client onboarding meetings, progress check-ins, and offboarding meetings
• Stay on top of the billing schedule, issue invoices, and make sure they get paid in a timely manner
• Update the team in Slack about what’s our focus for the week and what to expect
• Update the customers on the project status, our progress, any potential delays, and other issues
• Gather clients’ feedback on how we’re doing as a team, and implement necessary improvements
• Deal with any customer issues and resolve any potential conflicts (this doesn’t happen very often!)

MONTHLY

• Organize, conduct, and run team Retrospectives
• Identify key areas where we can improve based on the team’s and client’s feedback, and implement necessary changes
• Keep forecasts of the team capacity, and report this data to the Business Development Manager and the Integrator
• Create project plans and templates, identify the scope of work, deliverable, and milestone for all upcoming projects
• Create and keep updated all relevant SOPs and procedures for our internal processes

QUARTERLY

• Planning and strategy session:
  • To establish what we’re working on for the next quarter
  • Plan out the internal projects and establish priorities
• Team progress reports and efficiency/resource utilization rate
  
  

YEARLY

• A planning workshop for the entire year

You will keep a sense of humor in everything you do and be able to roll with the punches when things don’t go as planned.

REQUIRED SKILLS, STRENGTHS & KNOWLEDGE

• You have a sense of urgency when it comes to delivering results and getting things done
• You love to organize, document, and create operational tools, workflows, and training resources
• You thrive on setting up systems and processes
• You are extremely detail-oriented with a high follow-through
• You are a self-starter and go above and beyond in all you do
• You take ownership and responsibility for your actions
• You are trustworthy and can be counted on to not drop the ball
• You can resolve issues effectively and with no drama - spot issues as they arise, and deal with them in a kind and practical manner.
• You have strong written and verbal communication skills
• You work very well with other people and can build rapport quickly with both team members and vendors
• You are able to handle strong personalities; direct, honest, and candid communicators
• You can be resourceful and scrappy and aren’t afraid to roll up your sleeves when need be
• You love a good challenge and enjoy seeing the job from idea to implementation to completion - all while leading and keeping the team excited and focused
• You love learning new things and can implement new ideas quickly
• You’re coachable and able to take feedback and implement it, and can push back when you spot something that might affect the business. You’re great at giving feedback too.
• You have a growth mindset and love to learn from others while confident in your role as a team leader
• You love to take ownership and pride in the work you do and the team you manage
• You’re curious and diligent
• You think strategically and enjoy making things work better
• You’re dependable and demonstrate a relentless (yet healthy) obsession with values alignment, focus, organization, efficiency, and clarity

Here’s who this position is NOT for:

• Those looking for a “side job” while growing their own business
• Those who want to keep other operations or project management clients
• People who have a lot going on already and don’t have the time and focus to really dive in

TOOLS WE USE IN THE BUSINESS:

• There are various software and tools we use at Think Bold Studio, and we are looking for a candidate with strong experience in most of the tools we use, particularly the ones with ** next to them
• **Asana
• **GSuite: Google Docs, Gmail, Drive
• **Slack
• **Zoom
• WordPress
• LastPass
• Loom
• Stripe
• Zapier

EXPERIENCE:

We require 2+ years in the online business or creative world and ideally 6+ months in a Project Manager role (no newbies and VAs, please). You must have previous experience and a solid understanding of project management and operations specifically in a remote business

HOURS, COMPENSATION, VACATION, etc (ie. what you really want to know!)

• You’ll work on a monthly retainer compensation, and you will work 15-20hours/week to start with (with a quick transition into a full-time role for the right candidate). Some months will be much quieter in the business, and then we have two high seasons per year (March/April and October/November) which might require increased hours. We prefer to pay on retainer so that neither of us is nitpicking about hours. We have a job to do, we want it done, we trust you to do it, and you’re on board with the vision. You get a steady paycheck and autonomy to work in a way that works for YOU.
• You’ll get to take as much paid vacation as you want. Yep. That’s right. We trust that you’ll get the job done and make sure everything is in place if you want to take off for a few days mid-week. And, we also trust that you will be around and there for the business during our busy times and may have to log in on weekends when necessary (busy times). We love to build win-win relationships based on trust and mutual understanding. We hope you do too.
• The compensation for this position is 700€/$850 for a part-time position and twice that amount for a full-time position.
• We’re based in Portugal, but this position is virtual. We have a preference for someone in Europe with a time zone close to ours (Western European time zone plus/minus 2 hours). We will expect you to be available during our normal business hours (10am - 6pm Mon-Fri)
• APPLICATIONS ACCEPTED UNTIL FEB 12, 2021. Training begins on February 22, 2021

If this sounds like you and you believe you’re a great fit for this position, complete the application questionnaire by February 12, 2021.

APPLY HERE https://airtable.com/shrh1xsQpDJskI9pF

We can’t wait to hear from you!