Firebelly is the real deal. We push ourselves to excel at our craft and work together to make each other better.

About this Role:

In this hybrid role, you will be responsible for the greater project management functions of our team, including managing workloads and utilization for a multidisciplinary creative team, as well as facilitating collaboration between teams across the organization and with our socially-conscious clients. You'll ensure the projects you're overseeing are kept on time, on track and on budget, while contributing valuable strategic insights for our branding and website initiatives.

IDEALLY, YOU ARE:

• A fearless, proactive communicator who values transparency, curiosity and honesty.
• High-energy, ready to get your hands dirty, able to be flexible and know how to adapt to change without risking timelines and quality of work.
• A thoughtful problem solver with stellar organizational skills and meticulous attention to detail.
• Adaptable to change, comfortable with ambiguity and eager to chart the course ahead.
• Familiar with the project lifecycle and technologies specific to branding and website processes, including QA, staging environments, launch protocols and website accessibility
• Experience and/or familiarity with CMS platforms (Craft, WordPress, Webflow, Squarespace etc.) and understanding of web development workflows, including front-end and back-end processes
• Experienced and comfortable with tools like Harvest and Forecast. Ideally proficient or familiar in Google Suite, Basecamp, Dropbox, and Slack.

While every week is different, your work will include:

Project Management + Guidance (60%)

• Take ownership of and accountability for the health of your projects from start to finish.
• Oversee project management best practices and maintain up-to-date process documents.
• Drive multiple complex strategy, branding, design, and website development projects forward simultaneously.
• Create and maintain 6-8+ concurrent project timelines, identifying key milestones, delegating tasks to team members and keeping clients up-to-date on progress.
• Manage budgets, tracking hours spent in each project phase and sharing regular updates with clients and internal teams.
• Collaborate with strategy, design and development teams to create holistic project plans, anticipate challenges, coordinate solutions and keep us moving forward.
• Facilitate productive, positive conversations with studio team as well as clients, ensuring all are on the same page and understand next steps.
• Drive conversations and documentation on website projects, so that functionality is designed within scope, communicated to clients, and handed off to development responsibly.
• Coordinate efficient, effective meetings and workshops, which includes scheduling, A/V set-up (in both the physical and virtual worlds), team prep, time management, note taking and sharing summary reports as appropriate.

Account Relationship Management (30%):

• Develop and nurture client relationships, ensuring our clients understand and engage in our creative process, hold up their end of the bargain and come to you with their questions and concerns.
• Client expectation-setting and proactive communication: spot opportunities to deepen their trust whether through anticipating needs, solving problems gracefully, or finding ways to add value
• Lead project close sessions, creating honest space for team members (and the occasional client!) to reflect on process triumphs, challenges and opportunities for improvement.
• Share weekly reports with leadership around project updates, forecasting, billable utilization and profitability.
• Balance our pragmatic need for efficiency with our spiritual desire for creative play, intense collaboration and extraordinary work.

Office Management (10%):

• Maintain office operations and workplace environment, including managing supplies, mail handling, potential coordination with vendors, and ensuring smooth day-to-day functioning of the physical workspace.

What helps you thrive here:

• 4-6 years project management, design agency and/or non-profit + mission-driven organization work experience.
• Experience leading small or medium-sized website projects.
• Proficiency in Google Suite.
• Knowledge of Miro and Basecamp a plus.
• Curious about emerging technologies, AI tools and best practices to streamline processes, improve efficiency and enhance project workflows.
• Strong facilitation and collaboration skills.
• Open, honest and transparent communication with our strategy, design and development teams — as well as our clients.

Additionally, this role:

• Reports to Firebelly's Managing Director.
• Works closely with the Accounts team to evaluate net new opportunities and set new projects up for success.
• Collaborates with the Accounts team to define overall project practices and processes and team resource allocation for all engagements.
• Operates with significant autonomy, taking full ownership of assigned projects from kickoff through delivery, and serving as the primary point of contact for clients + internal teams

Hybrid Role

This position is a full-time and hybrid role in our Chicago office, located in Humboldt Park. Employees are asked to work from our Chicago office 3 days/week, with some flexibility. At this time, we are not able to relocate any applicants to Chicago. We ask that only applicants located in and legally able to work in the United States apply.

Salary and Benefits

Starting Salary: $75K + Benefits (35 hours/week)

While we maintain high standards of excellence for the creativity and integrity of our work, we also provide uncommon benefits for small studios, including annual mental health and professional development stipends. We offer a competitive salary with fully paid health and vision insurance, unlimited paid time off, and a matching IRA plan.

About Firebelly:

Founded in 1999, Firebelly is a socially conscious creative studio specializing in strategic design. From creating visual identities and sustainable strategies to custom typefaces and killer websites, we lead with a whole lot of love, intention, and a tremendous respect for our clients. Our capabilities span from brand strategy and naming through final execution of print, digital and experiential design. While we partner with a wide variety of clients from almost every industry, all have one thing in common: they are actively working to make a positive impact in the world.

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To apply for this position, email us your resume, a short note on why you'd like to join our team, and 2 references.

If your application is selected to move forward, you can expect the following:

• A 30-minute screening interview with our Managing Director
• A 45-minute interview with our Leadership Team
• A reference check with 2 individuals who have had meaningful work experience with you in the past 2-3 years

Firebelly is an equal opportunity employer that does not discriminate against any employee or applicant because of race, creed, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, national origin, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, pregnancy or any other basis protected by law. Employment at Firebelly is based solely on a person's merit and qualifications.

We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities to qualified individuals with disabilities. This includes providing reasonable accommodation where appropriate. Should you require a reasonable accommodation to apply or participate in the job application or interview process, please contact work@firebellydesign.com.