Project Manager

About us

We are Ave – a graphic design studio based in Kings Cross, London. We specialise in working with the charity and not-for-profit sector. With an ethical outlook and a creative edge, we provide strategic brand, print and website design consultancy services to a range of clients. Collaborating only with the organisations we love, we work hard to push, evolve, and reshape our clients’ brand identities and communications with our holistic, bespoke approach. Our work combines beautifully crafted graphic design with strategic, targeted messaging, in a way that delivers real, measurable results.

The role

We are looking for an exceptional Project Manager with plenty of experience within the creative environment to join our busy team. The role is varied and hands on; you’ll be responsible for working solo on projects as well as within a team, taking projects through from initial briefing to final delivery. Having a friendly and professional demeanour is important as your role includes a lot of client management. You’ll be the sole project manager with five designers to work alongside.

• Project responsibilities: project tasks (quoting, management, setting up project team, scheduling and workflow), accounting (budgeting, POs, invoicing)
• Reporting: You’d be reporting to the Creative Director
• Hours: Monday to Friday, 7.5hrs a day (you can either do 8.30-5.00 or 9.30-6.00)
• Where: Our studio is in Kings Cross. We generally go in two or three days a week and work from home for the other two, but it is flexible
• Perks: 24 days holiday (exc bank holidays), plus your birthday and the days between Christmas and New Year. Christmas bonus, Paid overtime, Annual training/courses allocation. One Friday off every 6 weeks for professional development.
• Salary: Approx. £33-36k depending on experience

The person we would love to meet is:

• Experienced. You’ll be working across multiple projects for multiple clients, which are all at different stages, from briefing to delivery. Your experience will enable you to feel comfortable at each stage of a project, knowing what to look-and-ask-for from clients and the design team

• Confident. Feeling comfortable in a fast-paced environment is going to be imperative, as is having the ability to be spontaneous and reprioritise work depending on the day to day activity in the studio

• Informed. You will need to have vast experience in the creative design process and a strong knowledge of production techniques, suppliers and materials

• Communicative. Dialogue is core to your role. You will be talking frequently to clients via email and calls, as well as the design team. You will need to be confident in what you’re talking about, articulating clearly and in a timely fashion

• Organised. The role involves coordinating design reviews internally prior to work being sent out, as well as booking in internal reviews and brainstorming sessions. Raising invoices and purchase orders, as well as liaising on outstanding invoices. You’ll need to feel well equipped to source quotes and get suppliers on board for suitable jobs

• Fastidious. You’ll be well trained in proofing design layouts and amends, as well as checking for design consistency

It is important for you to be an honest, calm, exacting person with a serious attention to detail. Being prepared for the next meeting or briefing is critical. You will need to be Mac literate and feel comfortable with project management and accounting software. We currently run-on Google Docs, Trello, Streamtime and Asana, with accounting in Xero.

Experience

• At least 4+ years of experience in project management
• Proven track record in client and supplier management, as well as running a small design team