Project Manager

Please read this posting thoroughly (and all the way to the end) and know we do not accept resumes without the accompaniment of a cover letter. We want to get to know you a bit, so help us out!

 

Enjoy the Journey With PixelSpoke! 

PixelSpoke is an environment for the good-humored, analytical, creative spirits inside each of us — and we’re looking for the next outstanding team member.

 

About the Position

You will work in partnership with our other two Project Managers as part of a small, engaged team of strategists, designers, and programmers to build compelling websites and other digital projects while fostering and owning ongoing relationships with a pool of roughly ten clients and serve as the main point of contact.

Your client responsibilities will include setting clear project goals and expectations, regular updates, clearly documenting all requests, managing the budget, and preventing scope creep, among other detail-oriented tasks. You’ll also be responsible for providing training to clients on how to make updates to their websites and provide ongoing support and quality assurance.

You will also be working with other team members completing internal quarterly initiatives.  These can range from documenting a critical process to determining ways to bring more levity to the workplace.

The work is fast-paced and includes a lot of pulling things together from many different people – your clients, the internal team, and freelance partners.

 

A Day in the Life

Each day starts with a short team huddle to get everyone on the same page. After that, you might check emails and answer questions from the internal team and clients about current projects. Then you might jump into a video call with a client to give a progress update on existing work and talk strategy about how new website features would help them reach their upcoming goals. At lunchtime, you might join a teammate on Zoom and chat while you eat, or you might go for a walk and get some fresh air.

After lunch, you join the client services meeting, where you’ll complete some bookkeeping-related tasks, share team announcements and delve into discussion and/or issues solving.  You and your team might brainstorm ideas to improve the scheduling process or how to manage expectations with clients on a complicated third-party integration. The meeting closes with assigning follow-up tasks to team members.

Later you spend some time reviewing the status of your active projects and ensuring budgets are on track. After doing a weekly client check-in, you might meet with a strategist to provide context for a wireframe they are building on a new website feature. You then catch up on small web support client requests by assigning and updating Jira tickets (our issue and task assignment tool) to various team members. You may respond to an email from a client interested in a new project and work with your team to scope the size and requirements of the project. You end the day by putting the finishing touches on reviewing a custom microsite to clean up any final quality issues in advance of a client meeting the next day.

 

More about the Position

 
We’re Looking for Someone With…

• 3 – 5 years of Project Management experience
• Excellent attention to detail
• Ability to quickly identify when a project begins to veer off scope, assess the cause, and take steps to implement a resolution
• Ability to communicate clearly and translate technical info into simple client-friendly language
• Ability to build client relationships, motivate teams, and lead by example
• Adept organizational skills
• Experience with management & communication tools and an ability & willingness to learn new ones

Year 1 Success Metrics

• # of projects handled and $ revenue under management
• Average gross margin on projects is 50%+
• A Net Promoter Score (client satisfaction survey) of 70+
• Client retention & growth (this can take the form of a to be determined existing sales target)

Key Questions 

• Can you communicate easily, credibly, and pleasantly about topics like scheduling, money, and technology?
• Are you at ease leading a group project, including being sensitive to your colleague’s work styles, strengths, and challenges, while still moving the projects forward?
• Are you at ease interfacing with colleagues who have other expertise? (ie. designers, coders, and UX [user experience architects])
• Are you able to review completed work (QA) to assure that it meets the client’s expectations?
• Are you able to easily task switch between reactive and proactive client needs on a daily basis?
• Can you work with a team to inspire creative solutions that address clients’ needs?
• Can you contribute to the assessment and streamlining of existing internal processes?
• Are you comfortable thinking through marketing and business objectives while still managing the day-to-day project management aspects of accounts?
• Can you manage your own time effectively and work well with a team to make sure projects stay on schedule and budget?
• Are you comfortable having courageous conversations and coming up with creative solutions to delight multiple stakeholders?
• If you’re not sure about your answer to a few of these questions, are you excited by the challenge of learning how to develop these new skills?

If you answered “yes” to these questions, we want to meet you!

 

What Does 100% Remote Position Mean?

This is a 100% remote position. We will provide a computer and most necessities for your at-home office set-up. This position may require additional travel to Portland, Oregon, up to 3 times a year for strategic planning (apart from the annual retreat). Travel and lodging for this will also be covered by the company.

If after the pandemic you would like to join us in the office and you are planning to or already reside in the Portland area, we would be delighted to have you do so, but there is no expectation. We would not cover moving expenses. To learn more about our remote work culture and the expectations for our remote employees, please see “A Word about Remote Work During and after the Coronavirus” at pixelspoke.com/careers.

 

Why Join the PixelSpoke Team?

We have a lot of reasons for loving our workplace, but here are a few of the biggest ones:

• Our Core Values: Our culture determines how we communicate with each other and our clients, and everything we do is guided by our core values of Enjoy the Journey, Improve Every Day, Everybody Wins, Solution not Blame, Curiosity with a Purpose, and Authenticity. Learn more about our core values at pixelspoke.com/who-we-are/

• High Quality Work & Outstanding Clients: PixelSpoke has received numerous awards for our outstanding creative work, and we actively seek out clients that are aligned with our desire to make the world a better place.
• Business as a Force For Good: As a worker-owned cooperative and certified B Corp that has been honored as a “Best for the World” company in 2017, 2018 and 2019, PixelSpoke strives to make the world a better place by treating our employees well and improving our environmental, community, and workplace impact.

Learn more about our culture at pixelspoke.com/who-we-are/ and learn more about our benefits and perks at pixelspoke.com/careers.

 

Our Hiring Process

We have a more thorough hiring process than most small businesses. This is because we believe that the cost of a mis-hire is enormous to both an individual and a company. Our process consists of several interviews, a review of your career history, and in-depth reference checks. We want you to find the ideal position for your skill set and strengths.

Studies have shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply for jobs unless they believe they meet every one of the qualifications as described in the job description. We are most interested in finding the best candidate for the job, and that candidate may be one who comes from a less traditional background. We would encourage you to apply, even if you don’t believe you meet every one of our qualifications described.

People of all identities, including women, people of color, people with disabilities, people of different ages, veterans, members of the LGBTQ community, and formerly incarcerated individuals are strongly encouraged to apply. We have so much to say about our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion; please read our full statement at pixelspoke.com/careers.

If there is anything we can do to accommodate you to participate fully in the recruitment or interview process, please let us know in your cover letter or by emailing careers@pixelspoke.com.

 

How to Apply

If you feel you can contribute to a dynamic, growing company, please begin your application process by submitting your application here, along with a brief cover letter that answers the following questions:

• What are your salary expectations?
• Which core value resonated with you the most and why?

No phone calls, please.