Job Description

Job title: Project Manager Awards

Reports to: Senior Awards Manager

Direct Reports: Awards Executive

Hours: 0930-1730 (Standard office hours)

Location: London hybrid working available

Salary: £30 - £35 depending on experience, detailed benefits on our careers page

Location:

We offer flexible working to be discussed at the interview and based on the needs of the business.

Role Objective:

The Awards Project Manager is responsible for managing the delivery and project management of D&AD juries and supporting the development and management of the Awards. This includes recruiting and managing awards juries, managing judge and community engagements, driving research, analysis and development of designated categories, contributing to the annual awards review, supporting the operations team and ensuring the highest quality of entries are submitted into the awards.

Dimension of Role:

The Awards Project Manager is required to curate and manage approx. 40 juries for the D&AD Awards in a year-round cycle; identifying and managing communication with over 400 low/mid/senior industry stakeholders, in accordance with targets and requirements that they have identified and feedback from the wider team.

They are required to have, or be keen to develop, a good knowledge of industry luminaries, influencers and others who would lend the right expertise to judging in order to propose suitable Judge recommendations for approval by management.

Confidence in a front-facing role and the ability to build and expand on their existing network will be essential in maintaining a diverse and expert calibre of Judges.

Conducting effective research and analysis will be critical in understanding both Judge and category effectiveness, in making recommendations for future cycles and creating an effective Judge Strategy for approval by management.

Having the confidence to steer the creation of Juries and the ability to anticipate and overcome challenges will be essential to ensure the judging product moves at a timely pace, as will the ability to multitask and support fellow team members during busy months leading up to judging (March-May) and launch (October-November).

Communications:
The role requires external outreach to the industry with regards Judge recommendations, invitations and category development. This can take the form of emails, phone calls including zoom or similar platforms, face to face meetings, hosting round tables or focus group style events. Frequency will be dependent on the time of year with almost daily communications co-ordinated from September through June.

Internal communications with the Awards team on a weekly basis will be required. This includes meeting with project leads, the wider Awards team and direct reports. You will also need to attend a monthly All Staffer with the wider business. Internal communications take place over email, Zoom, G-Chat or telephone, and/or in person.

Responsibilities

Research & Development:

Manage the annual review and development of designated categories

Manage the collation of category feedback and recommendations

Conduct and collate competitor research where relevant

Identify and report on category trends to inform planning

Identify and make recommendations for improvements to entry and awards processes (e.g. formats, systems)

Research, develop and implement the value exchange for Judges

Develop connections with organisations worldwide to help drive jury nominations and inform jury selection

Conduct and collate research to support community, jury and social events where required

Recruitment & Management of Juries:

Create the Judge selection strategy document to inform Jury recruitment, ensuring it aligns with organisation-wide targets

Brief the wider team on Judge requirements, to be collated and placed into Juries

Build juries in accordance with the Judge selection strategy

Undertake industry research to inform Judge selection

Collaborate with the wider team to ensure judging schedules are agreed and communicated to relevant parties

Work with the Senior team to devise and coordinate an events and engagement plan

Oversee the booking for judges accommodation

Oversee travel reimbursements for Judges and guests

Oversee the collation and display of Judge profiles

Manage creation of internal Judge documents to be shared with Jury/Master Hosts

Manage Judges on site during events where required

Manage the coordination and communication with all juries for the first round of independent online judging, ensuring instructions and deadlines are communicated and issues are raised and resolved.

Outreach & Partners:

Oversee the promotion of the Awards on social media amongst our Judges

Represent D&AD at external events where necessary

Identify and manage outreach with potential Judge networks or organisations that can support Judge selection

Attend events and network to identify current industry ‘movers & shakers’ to include in Judge selection

Organise and execute local events with the D&AD community/juries where required

Analytics & Reporting:

Create regular reports and analysis of queries, using this to make any changes to the process to improve efficiencies during the cycle.

Internal and external reporting and analysis on diversity monitoring of awards Judges across all programmes

Prepare and present reports, presentations, correspondence and any other documents as requested by management

Communications:

Manage and implement the year-round Judge communication plan

Ensure an excellent standard of year-round communications to Judges and entrants

Manage the training of additional team members (temporary and permanent)

Manage the preparation and communication of Judge guides and other collateral, ensuring Judges have and understand all relevant information pertaining to judging events

Ad hoc communications regarding community/jury events may be required

Operations:

Support recruitment of sessional staff to ensure there is enough resource to cover project needs when required

Support with the management of sessional staff during the awards production entry project when required

Support operations in the accurate cataloguing, storage, processing and warehousing of all awards entries in your category area ensuring these are ready for judging and presented to a high standard when required

Support in the management of virtual and live judging in a Master Host role when required

Support the wider team on ad-hoc tasks when required

Preferred Skills:

Project management experience

Product development experience

Excellent research and analytical skills

Excellent customer service skills

Excellent process management

Excellent organisational skills

Good interpersonal skills and the ability to communicate at all levels

Good database and systems skills

Ability to work under pressure and to tight deadlines

Ability to work to own initiative and as part of a team

Required Attributes:

Strong communication skills

Strong writing ability including good use of grammar, punctuation etc

Strong networking skills

Flexible approach to workload

Self-motivating and works well under pressure

Knowledge of and experience in the advertising and design industry

Meticulous attention to detail

D&AD is committed to diversity, equality, equity, inclusion and respect for all. Providing a work environment in which all employees are treated with fairness, respect and dignity and which is free of discrimination, victimisation, bullying and harassment. At D&AD we are interested in every individual bringing their ‘Whole Self’ to work and this includes you! Please email vanessa.knight@btinternet.com to let us know if you need any reasonable adjustments to be made for any part of the recruitment process.

In order to comply with the Prevention of Illegal Working, Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act, you will need to provide appropriate documentation that proves that you are eligible to work in the UK.

Due to the number of applications we receive, we regret that you will not be contacted unless you are shortlisted for an interview. If you have not heard from us within three weeks of the closing date of your application you should assume that you have not been successful on this occasion.

Our privacy statement can be viewed on the D&AD careers page.