Marketing Project and Process Management Senior Manager in Chicago, Illinois at Sidley Austin LLP

Marketing Project and Process Management Senior Manager

The Marketing Project and Process Management Senior Manager will establish and lead a new sub-function within the Marketing Analytics and Operations team. This role is responsible for building scalable project and process management capabilities that enable consistent, efficient delivery of complex, cross-functional marketing initiatives.
The incumbent will oversee a portfolio of high-priority marketing projects, define and operationalize intake and governance frameworks, design and continuously improve end-to-end marketing processes, and provide visibility into work progress, capacity, and risks through standardized reporting and dashboards. The role partners closely with marketing leaders and firm project management counterparts in other departments, codifying best practices through templates, playbooks, and toolkits to enable consistent delivery across teams.
This position requires strong leadership, project and portfolio management expertise, process design experience, and the ability to operate effectively in a complex, matrixed professional services environment.
Project and Portfolio Management

• Own cross-functional project management for large, complex marketing initiatives and pilots, including integrated plans, milestones, dependencies, and decision cadence from initiation through closeout.

• Orchestrate cross-functional delivery across marketing functions and stakeholder groups, aligning timelines, dependencies, and resources.

• Serve as a liaison to project and program management leaders across the firm on cross-departmental and enterprise initiatives.

Governance, Intake, and Prioritization

• Design, implement, and maintain a tiered project framework that applies the appropriate level of governance, rigor, and resourcing based on scope, risk, and strategic importance.

• Define marketing intake, prioritization, and work routing processes, including standardized request pathways, service-level expectations, and escalation mechanisms.

• Influence prioritization and sequencing decisions by providing clear data, recommendations, and tradeoff analyses to marketing leadership.

• Establish and run recurring governance routines (portfolio reviews, prioritization checkpoints, escalation forums) including agendas, decision logs, and follow-through.

Process Design and Continuous Improvement

• Design, document, and continuously improve end-to-end marketing processes (intake through execution and measurement), clarifying roles, handoffs, and dependencies.

• Identify inefficiencies, friction points, rework, and cycle-time drivers and implement process improvements grounded in performance data and stakeholder feedback.

• Identify, codify, and scale best practices across marketing functions to support consistency, efficiency, and quality. Develop and maintain standard templates, playbooks, toolkits, and "ways of working" guidance for consistent execution across marketing teams.

Reporting, Measurement, and Visibility

• Establish measures of success for project and process performance, including delivery, capacity, throughput, and risk indicators.

• Provide portfolio-level visibility and accountability through integrated tracking and status reporting, surfacing progress, capacity constraints, delivery risks, and decision needs.

• Design and maintain dashboards and reporting that provide leadership with visibility into progress, capacity constraints, dependencies, and delivery risks.

• Ensure reporting supports informed decision-making, proactive issue resolution, and continuous improvement.

Technology Enablement

• Partner with IT and Data & AI teams to inform the selection, implementation, and optimization of workflow and project management technologies.

• Ensure tools are aligned to defined processes, governance models, and reporting needs.

Other

• Contribute to the ongoing evolution of marketing operations standards and practices.

• Perform other duties as required.

Education and/or Experience:
Required:

• A minimum of 8-10 years of relevant experience, including managing complex, cross-functional projects or portfolios in a professional services or matrixed organization.

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent work experience.

• Demonstrated experience building or scaling project management, process management, or operations capabilities.

• Demonstrated knowledge and execution of project and portfolio management practices, tools, and methodologies.

• Experience designing and implementing intake, prioritization, governance, and reporting frameworks.

Preferred:

• Project Management Professional (PMP) or similar certification.

• Master's degree in Business, Management, Operations, or a related field.

• Law firm or professional services experience.

• Experience implementing or administering workflow or project management platforms.

• Experience designing intake models, SLAs, and routing across multiple service teams.

• Experience building standard templates/playbooks and driving adoption across a distributed organization.

• Familiarity with continuous improvement approaches (Lean, Six Sigma, service operations) as applied to cycle time and throughput improvement.

Other Skills and Abilities:
The following will also be required of the successful candidate:

• Strong organizational and planning skills.

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.

• Ability to translate complex information into clear insights and recommendations.

• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to influence without formal authority.

• Ability to operate effectively in a matrixed, fast-paced environment.

• Ability to manage multiple initiatives with competing priorities.

• Sound judgment and discretion; ability to preserve confidentiality.

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The target salary range for this role is:

$150,000 - $210,000 if located in Illinois, New York, or Washington D.C.

Salaries vary by location and are based on numerous factors, including, but not limited to, the relevant market, skills, experience, and education of the selected candidate. Our compensation package also includes bonus eligibility and a comprehensive benefits program. Benefits information can be found at Sidley.com/Benefits.

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform the Duties and Responsibilities above satisfactorily and meet the requirements. The requirements listed above are representative of the minimum knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations will be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the job. If you need such an accommodation, please email sidleytalentacquisition@sidley.com (current employees should contact Human Resources).

Sidley Austin LLP is an Equal Opportunity Employer.