Creative Project Manager (Strategist)

Des Moines, IA (Hybrid)

Salary Not AvailableSenior Level4+ years expFull time

Posted 23 hrs ago

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Job Summary

Own and drive end-to-end creative projects from briefing through delivery, aligning scope with business goals and guiding cross-functional teams to successful outcomes.

Job Description

Responsibilities

  • Join our passionate and fast-paced in-house creative team, the Content Studio, where thoughtful problem-solvers come together to deliver for our brand and business!
  • As a Creative Project Manager (Strategist), you’ll lead creative projects from start to finish—defining project scope, leading client consultations, developing briefs, building timelines, assigning and prioritizing resources, and ensuring projects meet deadlines, business objectives, and more.
  • This opportunity stands out because you will be leading a variety of creative initiatives that bring our brand to life, while collaborating with a dedicated team of creative experts. Your work will be instrumental in spearheading projects that represent Principal, captivate our audience, and drive us toward achieving ambitious goals.
  • This role will be primarily comprised of:
  • Creative management: Own and drive the creative project lifecycle for medium and large, multi-faceted initiatives—from creative briefing and timeline creation to prioritization and client communication. Work hand-in-hand with business partners to define creative project scope, aligning everyone toward a common purpose and goal. Assess project requests to ensure they are clear and complete, addressing any gaps to support business objectives. Lead strategic consultations that help turn ideas, recommendations, and requests into executable creative plans. Oversee a diverse portfolio of paid brand initiatives, shepherding creative work across channels and formats—including web, social, video, animation, and more—while partnering with stakeholders and creative experts to bring ideas to life.
  • Client management: Keep teammates and business partners aligned through the duration of the project with clear, ongoing communication. Educate business partners and proactively manage needs and expectations while serving as the lead point of contact for all Content Studio team activities. Provide strategic counsel to stakeholders, connecting creative solutions to business objectives and driving successful project outcomes.
  • Collaboration management: Establish an environment where great creative work can thrive. Evolve our processes with an eye toward optimization, collaboration, efficiency, and efficacy. Share key processes, guidelines, and standard methodologies. Manage interdependencies among projects, prioritizing and redistributing workloads if needed among creative resources. Maintain project management collaboration tool standards. Share lessons learned from past projects to help inform future work.

Requirements

  • Bachelor's degree, or equivalent experience, preferably in marketing, communications, advertising, public relations, or a related field is required.
  • 4+ years of experience managing creative projects, including but not limited to, video production, social media content, graphic design, websites, brochures, and other marketing or creative deliverables is required.

Preferred

  • Experience using project management software or platforms (e.g., Wrike, Asana, Monday.com, etc.) to manage timelines and foster team collaboration.
  • Ability to present ideas, negotiate, and problem-solve.
  • Ability to balance multiple projects at a time while maintaining sharp attention to detail.
  • Displays resiliency and adaptability while working under pressure in an environment with shifting deadlines and deliverables while maintaining a positive attitude.
  • Consistent record of being organized, accountable, and dependable.
  • Strong leadership and problem-solving skills with a demonstrated ability to exercise critical thinking.
  • Collaboration skills with the ability to build positive relationships.
  • Knowledgeable of the latest marketing trends and maintain proficiency with numbers, budget, and time management.
  • Great listening, written, and verbal communication skills.
  • Candidates with marketing agency experience are highly encouraged.

Benefits

  • Flexible Time Off (FTO) is provided to salaried (exempt) employees and provides the opportunity to take time away from the office with pay for vacation, personal or short-term illness. Employees don’t accrue a bank of time off under FTO and there is no set number of days provided.
  • Pension Eligible
  • Work Environments This role offers in-office, hybrid (blending at least three office days in a typical work week) from Des Moines, IA.

Principal Financial Group

3.9 Glassdoor

Principal Financial Group® is dedicated to improving the wealth and well-being of people and businesses around the world—helping more than 62M customers plan, protect, invest, and retire as of December 31, 2023. Along the way, we commit to supporting the communities where we do business. Improving our planet. And building a diverse, inclusive workforce. We’re proud to be recognized as a Best Place to Work in Money Management by Pensions & Investments for the 11th consecutive year, an Ethisphere World’s Most Ethical Companies for the 12th time and as Forbes The Best Employers for Diversity 2023. Disclosure: Insurance products issued by Principal National Life Insurance Company (except in NY) and Principal Life Insurance Company®. Plan administrative services offered by Principal Life. Principal Funds, Inc. is distributed by Principal Funds Distributor, Inc. Securities offered through Principal Securities, Inc., member SIPC and/or independent broker/dealers. Investment advisory services are offered through Principal Global Investors, LLC or its affiliates. Principal Asset ManagementSM is a trade name of Principal Global Investors, LLC. Referenced companies are members of the Principal Financial Group®, Des Moines, IA 50392. ©2024 Principal Financial Services, Inc. Principal Financial Group Foundation, Inc. ("Principal® Foundation") is a duly recognized 501(c)(3) entity focused on providing philanthropic support to programs that build financial security in the communities where Principal Financial Group, Inc. ("Principal") operates. While Principal Foundation receives funding from Principal, Principal Foundation is a distinct, independent, charitable entity. Principal Foundation does not practice any form of investment advisory services and is not authorized to do so. https://www.principal.com/social-media-disclosures

Des Moines, Iowa, USA
24K employees (675 in marketing)
76% recommend to a friend
86% CEO approval

Traffic Signals

Monthly Visitors
4.6M
Monthly Google Ads Budget
$7.8K
Traffic Source Mix
Search
20.8%
Direct
74%
Referral
4.7%
Social
0.2%
Paid
0.2%

Headcount Trend

Current headcount: ~23.8K

Marketing Team

Marketing Team Size
562 (2% of company)
Median Career Experience
20 years
Median Tenure
7.3 years
Marketing Roles Posted (Last 30 Days)
8

Funding

Total Funding
$700M
Last Raise
$700M
Post IPO Debt, 3 years ago

Funding History

  • Mar 2023
    Post IPO Debt • $700M

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