Program Manager Lead | Digital | Ogilvy Africa

 

Role Summary

As the Program Manager Lead, you will be responsible for leading and managing the program management team, ensuring a seamless connection between brand teams and our in-house studio. You will oversee the effective intake of briefs, coordination of assets, and delivery of high-quality creative work for a large portfolio of alco-bev brands. You will be a champion for process improvement, team development, and operational excellence.

Reporting to the Head of DigiTribe, you will play a critical role in optimizing workflows, managing resources, and fostering strong relationships with both brand teams and the in-house studio. This is a senior-level position for a highly organized, strategic, and results-oriented leader with a proven track record of managing project management teams in a creative environment.

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Key Responsibilities

Team Leadership & Management

• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of Program Managers, fostering a collaborative, high-performing, and positive work environment.
• Provide guidance, support, and training to team members, ensuring they have the skills and resources to excel in their roles.
• Set clear performance expectations, conduct regular performance reviews, and identify opportunities for team growth and development.

Program & Process Optimization

• Oversee the end-to-end project management process, identifying areas for improvement and implementing best practices to enhance efficiency and effectiveness.
• Develop and maintain standardized workflows, templates, and tools to streamline project intake, asset management, and delivery.
• Monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) to track team performance and identify trends, opportunities, and areas for improvement.

Stakeholder Management

• Build and maintain strong relationships with brand teams and the in-house studio, serving as a trusted partner and advisor.
• Act as the primary point of escalation for project-related issues, proactively resolving conflicts and ensuring effective communication between teams.
• Facilitate regular meetings and communication channels to ensure alignment and transparency across all stakeholders.

Resource Management & Planning

• Manage team capacity and workload, ensuring resources are allocated effectively to meet project demands and deadlines.
• Forecast future resource needs and work with studio leadership to plan for staffing and budget requirements.
• Monitor project budgets and track expenses, ensuring projects are delivered within agreed-upon parameters.

Quality & Delivery Excellence

• Ensure all projects are delivered on time, within scope, and to the highest quality standards.
• Implement quality control measures to ensure accuracy, consistency, and adherence to brand guidelines.
• Drive a culture of continuous improvement, seeking feedback and implementing changes to enhance the overall delivery experience.

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Role Requirements

Education:

• Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Communications, Project Management, or a related field.

Experience:

• 7+ years of experience in project management or account management, with at least 3+ years of experience in a leadership role managing project management teams, preferably within a marketing agency or in-house creative team.

Skills & Knowledge:

• Deep understanding of the creative development process for digital content, particularly for social media.
• Exceptional leadership, management, and team development skills.
• Excellent organizational, planning, and problem-solving skills.
• Outstanding communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills.
• Strong negotiation and conflict resolution skills.
• Proficiency in project management software and tools.
• Strong understanding of budgeting, resource allocation, and workflow optimization.

Personal Attributes:

• A strategic thinker with a results-oriented mindset.
• A strong leader with the ability to inspire and motivate a team.
• Highly organized, detail-oriented, and able to manage multiple priorities effectively.
• A proactive and solutions-oriented approach.
• Excellent judgment and decision-making skills.
• Ability to thrive in a dynamic and fast-paced environment.

 

 

Company Overview

Ogilvy Africa is the largest network agency on the continent catering to 40 countries with a team of ~900 people across Central, East and West Africa. Headquartered in Nairobi - Kenya, Ogilvy Africa manages a portfolio of over 100 brands for clients such as AB Inbev, Airtel, Africa CDC, Bill & Melinda Gates, Coca-Cola, Diageo, Distell, Equity Bank, Exxon Mobil, Kenya Airways, Mastercard Foundation, Mondelez, NCBA, Nestle, Philips, PWC, SAB Miller, Sanlam, Standard Chartered, Total, Tullow, UNICEF, Unilever, Visa, Vodafone and WWF amongst others.

We offer services across the full spectrum of marketing domains including advertising (on and offline), Customer Engagement & Commerce, Digital Transformation, Shopper Marketing, Media, PR & Influence; all under one unified setup. We’ve also created proprietary marketing products in areas such as real-time marketing, social intelligence, virtual experiences, influencer management, e-commerce enablement and content hubs. Our unique operating model, One Ogilvy, allows clients and brands to cut the complexity of agency structures and create seamless omni-channel experiences for their consumers, across touchpoints. Fuelled by the holy trinity of content, data and technology; Ogilvy Africa strives to be the best-practice agency model, for Developing & Emerging markets.

In our 20+ years in Africa, we have won the highest number of regional and global awards for the region including Cannes Lions, Clio awards, Dubai Lynx Festival, SABRE Awards (Global and Africa); to name a few.

Ogilvy is a leading global creative network of WPP. Launched by David Ogilvy over 70 years ago, it’s referred-to as the Agency of Giants, by several industry experts.

 

 

 

Ogilvy Africa Beliefs

• People need regular OS upgrades: Even the best OS will be obsolete tomorrow unless its constantly upgraded. Same is true for people.
• We need more cows than milk men: We are a culture of practitioners, not managers. We contribute before we comment.
• Creative about creativity: Creativity is, and will always be, our differentiator. Creativity now includes holy trinity of Data -Content -Tech.
• Diversity is a competitive advantage: New profiles, new skills, new styles of leadership make us a stronger company.
• Collaborative advantage > Competitive advantage: Find partners who are on top of their game at the skillset we need. It’s the only way to scale at the speed without pretending to have all the answers.
• Team > Individual: You get a lot more done when everyone stops worrying about who gets credit at the end. Teams Succeed, individuals fail.
• Fail often, fail fast: We see entrepreneurs in all our people and encourage a culture of pilots. Test, succeed and scale; or fail-fast learn, learn from the failure, and start something new.