Associate Director, Program Operations & Client Delivery

Bully Pulpit International•Los Angeles, CA

3d•$90,000 - $100,000•Hybrid

About The Position

In this role, you will be the operational leader responsible for the execution of BPI’s largest and most complex client engagements – driving effective, modern and strategic public affairs and corporate reputation marketing campaigns. Focused on our Fortune 100 client portfolio, you will ensure the seamless delivery of multi-million dollar national and international campaigns, with a focus on large-scale creative and media delivery. You will manage the entire operational lifecycle of projects, serving as a senior client-facing voice that ensures efficiency, financial discipline, and a large volume of on-time, high-quality deliverables both internally and externally. You will also coordinate closely with internal creative and media teams.

Requirements

7+ years of experience in program management, operations, or integrated production leadership within an agency or consultancy, with a strong focus on client delivery and financial discipline.
Proven experience managing highly-complex, fast-paced, and large public affairs, corporate reputation, or integrated marketing campaigns for Fortune 100 companies or similarly high-profile clients.
Expertise in managing project budgets, tracking invoicing, and overseeing the financial health of numerous concurrent projects.
Demonstrated ability to create efficient operational and creative workflows that accelerate the development and deployment of assets for large-scale media campaigns.
Experience in leading and mentoring junior staff, driving team alignment and adoption of/adherence to process.
Ability to serve as a senior voice to the client on all operational and project management matters, demonstrating confidence, assertiveness, and diplomacy.

Nice To Haves

Knowledge of creative production workflows and media strategy.
Familiarity with AI tools (e.g., Gemini) and project management software (Monday.com).

Responsibilities

Strategic and Creative Operational Management
External Workflows: Design, implement and streamline workflows between BPI and client-side creative and marketing teams, particularly around production budget management and creative asset production for large-scale media campaigns.
Internal Workflows: Design, implement and streamline workflows within BPI, both within account teams and between creative, media, client services and finance teams. This includes:
Production Quality Assurance (QA): Oversee all stages of production from the account team-side to ensure consistency and quality standards are met.
Tool & Tech Integration: Research and champion the integration of new technologies and operational best practices, including company AI tools, to maximize the speed and quality of creative asset tracking, reviews and approvals.
Financial Management and Project Oversight
Serve as the operational lead across a portfolio of complex campaigns, serving as a senior client-facing voice to keep all projects on track.
Financial Management: Develop and manage project budgets, meticulously track invoicing, budget burn rates, and overall finances, and ensure projects are completed within financial constraints — particularly those involving significant creative production and external vendors.
Tracking Timelines and Deliverables: Rigorously manage and enforce project timelines, milestones, and deliverables across all client-facing and internal production teams. Proactively and diplomatically communicate to client contacts when deadlines are missed and/or timelines impacted.
Staff Bandwidth and Hours: Oversee and track dedicated staff hours and bandwidth across multiple project teams to ensure efficient resource allocation and proactively flag capacity constraints to senior account leadership.
Client and Senior Project Leadership
Foster strong client-side relationships and serve as the senior, client-facing program operations lead across a portfolio of complex, large-scale campaigns for Fortune 100 clients.
Act as a senior point of escalation, proactively identifying risks and leading discussions with clients and internal leadership to keep all projects on track.
Ensure a high degree of standardization and operational excellence across all deliverables to maintain BPI's reputation for quality.
Work collaboratively with cross-team members to ensure all timelines, quality expectations, and operational controls for client deliverables are met.