Note: The job is a remote job and is open to candidates in USA. Ruca is a member-owned global creative cooperative seeking a strong, detail-oriented Project Manager to join their US Studio. The role involves overseeing the full lifecycle of client work and internal projects, ensuring all design assets are delivered to meet client expectations while maintaining clear communication with all stakeholders.
Responsibilities
- Defining project scope, goals, milestones, and deliverables in collaboration with senior management and stakeholders
- Forecasting realistic budgets and timelines, allocate financial and human resources, and track costs throughout the project lifecycle
- Partnering with the Head of Studio on studio-specific initiatives and projects
- Building and guiding cross-functional teams, delegating tasks thoughtfully, and supporting individual team members along the way
- Identifying potential project risks (resource constraints, scope creep, delays, burnout) and designing mitigation strategies to eliminate blockers before they happen
- Maintaining consistent, clear communication with clients and internal stakeholders on status, timelines, progress, and key design findings
- Evaluating project performance and ensuring final deliverables meet both company and client standards before assets are delivered
- Serving as the calm, professional voice of Ruca in every client interaction, even when timelines get tight and client directions may seem unclear
- Juggling multiple projects, multiple teams, and an array of tools simultaneously
- Staying sharp on trends, tools, and best practices, including the evolving AI design landscape
- Collaborating with senior designers and cross-functional teams to maintain a consistent, high-quality brand experience
- Communicating ideas clearly, both visually and verbally, with clients and internal teammates
Skills
- 2–7 years of professional or freelance experience managing projects in a design agency, creative studio, or similarly fast-paced environment
- A track record of delivering complex, multi-stakeholder projects on time and on budget
- Proven ability to manage project teams and directly foster strong cross-functional internal relationships
- Success partnering directly with clients to gather requests and feedback, identify core objectives and success metrics, and translate those into clear direction for internal teams
- Exceptional communication skills, with the ability to facilitate the flow of information between clients and internal stakeholders to ensure alignment, transparency, and successful project delivery
- Experience across multi-channel work, including web/product, brand, and marketing (e.g. social, digital, print, or motion)
- Demonstrated fluency with AI tools in your workflow (workflow automation, AI-assisted ideation, or similar). Show us how you work, not just what you did
- Exceptionally professional and polished when communicating with clients and stakeholders; this person is always buttoned up, never rattled
- Calm and effective under pressure; a steady hand when timelines compress or priorities shift
- Kind, charismatic, and a genuine problem-solver; someone people want on their project
- A fast learner who picks up new tools and workflows quickly
- Comfortable working across multiple PM tools (Asana, Monday, Notion, Jira, or equivalent) and able to adapt to whatever the project demands
- Comfortable using AI tools: Claude, Midjourney, Firefly, or equivalent and thoughtful about when and how to use them
- Sharp organizational instincts paired with strong written and verbal communication
- A natural collaborator who can lead a room and also roll up their sleeves
- Organized, reliable, and able to juggle multiple projects without dropping the ball
- Comfortable presenting work and giving and receiving direct feedback
- Agency, startup, or cooperative experience is a plus
- Bonus if you have experience managing basic admin and operations for an agency, start up, or similar organization
Company Overview