Programme (Project) Manager

With a history that dates back over 80 years, Starcom is a global communications planning and media leader. We are an agency still grounded in our founding principle that people are at the centre of all we do. Each day, we apply this belief to harness the transformative power of data and technology to inspire and move people and business forward. With more than 7,000 employees in over 100 offices around the world, we are the flagship Publicis Media agency that uses our 'Power of One' business model, with teams that span multiple disciplines across clients such as Aldi, P&G, Primark, Samsung, Stellantis, and Visa.

We place a huge focus on our People, and have driven flagship D&I and L&D programmes within Publicis Media; our goal is to help every individual reach their fullest potential, and we encourage everyone to make "Brave Plays" in how they approach their work and their own career development. As a result, we have an exceptionally energised and committed talent base, all of us proud of our welcoming and supportive culture, as evidenced by our recognition as one of Campaign's Best Places to Work for five years in a row, Media Week's Agency of the Year 2025 and one of the Sunday Times Best Places to Work 2025.

Overview

The Programme Manager is central to ensuring the smooth operation, governance and delivery of a complex integrated programme spanning multiple European markets.

Working closely with the Business Director and capability leads, you will establish and embed robust programme management standards, oversee cross-functional delivery, and proactively identify and resolve operational challenges.

While a background in media planning or activation is not essential, you must be comfortable navigating integrated marketing ecosystems and quickly understanding how different capabilities interconnect.

This is a role with real accountability and influence - requiring confidence, structure and a strong delivery mindset.

Responsibilities

What You'll Be Responsible For

• Own and lead programme-level governance, including milestone planning, status reporting, and risk & dependency tracking
• Develop and maintain integrated project roadmaps across regional and market-level activity
• Manage RAID (Risks, Assumptions, Issues, Dependencies), proactively resolving or escalating where required
• Co-host decision-making workshops and steering sessions to drive alignment and pace

Ways of Working & Process Excellence

• Establish, standardise and continuously improve operating processes, SOPs and templates
• Partner with capability leads to build scalable, repeatable ways of working
• Lead retrospectives and optimisation initiatives to enhance efficiency, quality, and speed

Cross-Capability Coordination

• Act as the connective tissue between Media, Measurement, Social & Influencer, Shopper Marketing, and Data & Tech teams
• Ensure clear handoffs, aligned timelines and shared accountability across workstreams
• Translate strategic priorities into clear operational plans with defined owners and delivery milestones

Stakeholder Management & Communication

• Build trusted relationships with senior client stakeholders and agency leadership
• Facilitate working sessions, status meetings and steering committees
• Prepare and present clear, concise programme updates and recommendations

Tools, Reporting & Enablement

• Own and optimise project and workflow management tools (e.g. Asana, Smartsheet, Jira, MS Project)
• Develop transparent delivery reporting covering milestones, risks and SLA performance
• Support adoption of new tools, dashboards and operational frameworks

Qualifications

What We're Looking For

• Good experience in programme or project management within an integrated marketing, media, digital or transformation environment
• Strong understanding of project governance frameworks and operational best practice
• High proficiency with project management tools ( Asana, Smartsheet, Jira, Miro, etc.)
• Excellent stakeholder management skills, including experience working with senior leaders
• Highly organised, proactive and confident managing competing priorities
• Comfortable facilitating workshops and operating in ambiguity
• Experience within a global, highly matrixed organisation
• Demonstrated success delivering high-value projects (€1m+)
• Strong Excel and PowerPoint skills
• Experience working within production or integrated marketing ecosystems
• Familiarity with marketing measurement approaches (MMM, experimentation, learning agendas)
• Experience supporting operating model or transformation initiatives

Additional Information

Starcom has fantastic benefits on offer to all of our employees, full details of which are shared when you join. This includes the classics like Pension, Life Assurance, Private Medical, as well as Reflection Days, Shared Parental Leave, and spans other initiatives like:

Please check out the Publicis Career Page which showcases our Inclusive Benefits and our EAG's (Employee Action Groups).

At Starcom, we are proud to be an equal opportunities employer. We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds, and do not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, nationality, religion or belief, disability, age, citizenship, relationship status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other protected characteristic.

We are committed to providing a fair, accessible, and inclusive recruitment process. If you have any access needs - for example, related to disability, neurodivergence, or a health condition - please let us know. We'll work with you to ensure the process works for you. Sharing this information will never impact your application.

Guided by our values, we listen with empathy, uplift each other, take responsibility, and embrace change - building a culture where everyone feels seen, respected, and genuinely included.