Public Relations Manager jobs in Gaithersburg, MD

About Ogilvy

Ogilvy was founded in 1948 by David Ogilvy. David created a culture that deeply respects and cares about its people and clients. Our mission is to inspire people and brands to make an impact and we are committed to attracting, growing, and retaining the best talent in the industry.

About the Role

Join our Ogilvy office in Washington, D.C. as a Program Manager and become an integral part of our mission to deliver exceptional results for our clients. As a Program Manager, you will play a key role in driving operational excellence, speed to market, and profitability management for our clients' businesses.

In this role, you'll have the opportunity to handle a diverse range of assignments and projects. You'll take ownership of projects, demonstrate strong leadership skills, and foster positive relationships with our internal teams. Your responsibilities will include providing strategic analysis, developing innovative solutions, and championing creative excellence to drive client growth.

We're looking for passionate individuals who thrive on solving complex problems with creative solutions. At Ogilvy, our clients trust us to amplify their impact in Washington and beyond, making every project an exciting opportunity for growth and innovation. Join us if you're ready to tackle challenges head-on, collaborate with a talented team, and make a meaningful impact on our clients' success.

While we prefer candidates to be based in the Washington, D.C. area, we also support a hybrid work model to accommodate flexibility and work-life balance.

What You’ll Do

• Drive and protect margin growth with client services through joint ownership of locally agreed targets.
• Anticipate and address client needs when making delivery decisions.
• Partner with the Head of Operations, DC, PMO leads, and resource management to ensure optimal resource allocation and management for programs and projects.
• Develop and own comprehensive project plans (timeline, scope, budget, and staff plan) spanning client services, strategy, creative, production, media, measurement, and other subject matter expertise.
• Support the project management/workflow system with data entry, reporting, and initial analysis (e.g., capacity plans, resourcing, financial projections.
• Think critically about challenges and needs to make informed, integrated recommendations.
• Foster collaboration with internal and external partners to ensure quality and adherence to delivery guidelines.
• Mentor team members, assign clear roles and responsibilities, and set objectives for growth and development.
• Mobilize and drive the integrated team towards progress and results in support of the client’s strategic vision
• Maintain high levels of team effectiveness and support the development of best practices.

What You’ll Need

• 6-8 years of experience managing programs across multiple accounts.
• Effective interpersonal skills with peers, supervisors, and clients.
• Commitment to creative excellence and innovation.
• Ability to thrive in a dynamic environment with flexibility and resilience.
• Receptive to feedback and continuously seeks opportunities for improvement.
• Demonstrated initiative, independent thinking, and sound judgment.
• Strong ability to work both independently and collaboratively within a team.
• Excellent time management skills and ability to work well under pressure.
• Enthusiastic about solving problems.
• Experience with project management tools like Smartsheet is a plus.
• Agency experience is required.

How We’ll Support You

Ogilvy celebrates its people. Fully. Enthusiastically. Unhesitatingly. We’ll empower you with the tools you’ll need to succeed. We’ll give you the autonomy to seek out new paths and better ways of doing things. We’ll support you with colleagues who are experts in their disciplines, drawn from across the Ogilvy network. And we’ll provide opportunities for you to do work of which you’ll be proud, with people you’ll be proud to call your teammates.

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