Summary:

The Project Manager is responsible for driving key initiatives across Gardner White’s Communications + Retail Innovation team from concept through execution. Reporting to the Chief Communications + Retail Innovation Officer, this role provides project management support across Retail Innovation, Communications, and Community Engagement by ensuring alignment, accountability, and progress across cross-functional projects.

The ideal candidate is highly organized, proactive, and collaborative, with the ability to manage multiple projects in a fast-paced environment. They excel at creating structure, anticipating needs, driving execution, and ensuring critical details are completed on time.

Job Responsibilities: 

Project Planning & Execution

• Develop and manage project plans, timelines, milestones, deliverables, and action items for initiatives across Communications, Retail Innovation, and Community Engagement.
• Translate ideas and strategic priorities into clear workplans with defined owners, deadlines, and next steps.
• Drive projects forward from kickoff through completion, ensuring teams remain aligned on scope, timing, and responsibilities.
• Coordinate multiple concurrent projects and proactively identify competing priorities, dependencies, and potential roadblocks.
• Maintain visibility into project status and escalate issues, delays, or decisions when needed.
• Ensure appropriate follow-up and closure on action items and project deliverables.

Cross-Functional Coordination

• Serve as a central coordination point for projects involving multiple departments and stakeholders.
• Facilitate communication between internal teams including Marketing, Operations, Merchandising, Real Estate, Technology, and other business partners.
• Coordinate with external agencies, vendors, and partners as needed to support project execution.
• Schedule and facilitate project meetings, develop agendas, document key decisions, and ensure clear follow-up.
• Help clarify ownership and responsibilities when projects cross functional or departmental lines.

Retail Innovation & Store Initiatives

• Support project management for new store openings, remodels, retail innovation initiatives, showroom concepts, and customer-experience projects.
• Coordinate project timelines across design, merchandising, operations, marketing, communications, and other partners.
• Track key milestones, approvals, installations, materials, and dependencies associated with store and retail initiatives.
• Help ensure concepts move efficiently from planning and design into implementation.

Communications, Community & Events

• Support the planning and execution of major communications initiatives, community partnerships, sponsorships, events, and market activations.
• Develop integrated timelines for initiatives requiring coordination across PR, community engagement, marketing, stores, and external partners.
• Track deliverables, approvals, assets, logistics, and deadlines associated with major campaigns and events.
• Help ensure teams have the information and materials needed to execute successfully.

Department Planning & Visibility

• Maintain a centralized view of active and upcoming projects across the Communications + Retail Innovation organization.
• Develop simple, effective project dashboards and status reports that provide leadership with visibility into priorities, progress, risks, and decisions needed.
• Support weekly project and priority reviews with the Chief Communications + Retail Innovation Officer and department leaders.
• Help establish consistent project management processes, tools, and ways of working across the department.
• Identify opportunities to improve workflows, communication, and coordination as the organization continues to grow.

Qualifications needed to perform this position:

• 5+ years of experience in project management, program management, retail operations, marketing operations, or a related cross-functional role.
• Demonstrated experience managing multiple complex projects simultaneously from planning through execution.
• Exceptional organizational skills with strong attention to detail and follow-through.
• Ability to create structure and clarity in fast-moving or ambiguous environments.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to work effectively across departments and levels of an organization.
• Comfortable holding teams accountable to timelines and deliverables while maintaining strong working relationships.
• Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to anticipate risks, dependencies, and next steps.
• Experience developing project plans, timelines, status reports, and leadership updates.
• Ability to balance strategic priorities with hands-on execution.
• Strong proficiency with project management and collaboration tools; experience using a project management platform such as Monday.com is required.

Preferred

• Experience in retail, consumer brands, marketing, communications, events, or related environments.
• Experience coordinating agencies, vendors, and external partners.
• Bachelor's degree in business, project management, communications, marketing, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

This role does not have direct reports. 

Work Environment: 

This position operates primarily in a professional office environment and routinely uses standard office equipment, including computers, phones, printers, and other workplace technology.

Physical Demands:

This employee will regularly be sitting at a computer and will also be standing, walking, and speaking.

Travel:

This position requires travel to all retail locations.

Position Type/Expected Hours of Work:

This is a full-time position, with expected hours of work set based on the needs of the business. Flexibility in scheduling may be required to accommodate special projects 

This job description is intended to convey information essential to understanding the scope of this position. It is not intended to be an exhaustive list of qualifications, skills, duties, or responsibilities associated with the role. 

Equal Opportunity Employer Statement

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and do not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, veteran status, or any other protected status under applicable law.