Packaging Design Project Manager

Job Summary:

The Creative Operations Manager owns day-to-day project management for an assigned set of programs, driving design timelines and deliverables from kickoff through completion. This role is a strong operational partner to the Sr. Manager, Creative Operations and Design Directors, and serves as the primary liaison between Design and cross-functional partners — including New Product Development (NPD), Product Marketing (PMI), Packaging, and Production — to keep projects on track and running efficiently. The Creative Operations Manager also organizes and manages key assets, meetings, and tracking documents for the Design and Production teams.

Responsibilities:

Project & Timeline Management

• Proactively manage design project timelines and deliverables for an assigned set of programs within the brand portfolio.
• Assist in scheduling and prioritizing work across the design department.
• Communicate timelines and track deliverables for all project milestones.
• Review project Design Briefs to initiate deliverable timelines, coordinating design kick-off timing with New Product Development (NPD) partners.
• Manage the production pipeline in partnership with the Production team.

Cross-Functional & Workflow Coordination

• Facilitate workflow between Design, Product Marketing (PMI), and Packaging teams.
• Manage requests from cross-functional teams (PMI and Sales) — including comps and meeting assets (LPS).

Meetings & Documentation

• Develop and maintain weekly Design meeting agendas and status documents; update and maintain all project tracking documents.
• Lead/support weekly Design meetings.
• Attend and participate in weekly Cross-functional meetings (Innovation, Blue Sky, Design, and Merch) and weekly Packaging meetings, communicating project milestone deliverables and recaps

Expectations:

• Achieves goals with strong attention to detail, tracking progress and anticipating potential issues.
• Builds and maintains effective, collaborative relationships with key partners.
• Continuously seeks to improve process, delivering efficiently with speed and agility.
• Meets time commitments without compromising the quality of work.
• Highly motivated, passionate, and results-oriented.
• Hybrid Role – In NYC office every Tuesday and Wednesday

Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree (Design, Project Management, Graphics Production, or related field/equivalent experience).
• 5+ years of experience in a packaging or creative project management role.
• Excellent partnering and teaming skills, cross-functionally and with external vendors.
• Exceptional communication, influencing, and negotiation skills.
• Customer-service mindset with a collaborative, team-oriented approach.
• Familiarity with Adobe Creative Suite.
• Experience with project management and artwork routing tools (e.g., Asana, Esko, Smartsheet).