Freelance Senior Project Manager

At AKQA (part of WPP), we believe in the imaginative application of art and science to create beautiful ideas, products and services. With an entrepreneurial and collaborative approach, we design adaptive digital services and applications that capture the imagination, delivering impressive returns for our clients.

Project Managers at AKQA are trusted delivery partners, bringing structure, clarity, and accountability to complex digital engagements. They build the conditions for great work to happen, aligning teams, managing competing priorities, and ensuring that every workstream moves forward with purpose and precision.

We are seeking an experienced Freelance Senior Project Manager with a strong emphasis on digital product delivery to support a well-known, fast-growing Atlanta-based quick-serve restaurant brand where AKQA has helped spearhead many of their customer and operational innovations. This is a meaningful, high-visibility engagement where strong project leadership directly impacts the digital experiences of millions of people across thousands of locations.

ROLE REQUIREMENTS

• Lead day-to-day project management across a complex digital product engagement, ensuring clarity of priorities, timelines, deliverables, and accountability across all workstreams
• Serve as the central point of coordination across a multi-agency team supporting the client, including internal AKQA disciplines (strategy, UX, design, technology) and other agency partners, ensuring alignment and clear communication across all workstreams
• Manage project schedules, milestones, and dependencies with meticulous detail, proactively identifying risks and driving timely resolution
• Oversee scope management and change control, partnering with discipline leads to assess impact and maintain alignment on approved work
• Support resourcing coordination, ensuring the right people are engaged at the right time across the project lifecycle
• Facilitate regular project ceremonies and working sessions, keeping teams aligned and focused on outcomes
• Maintain clear and consistent project documentation including status reports, decision logs, and meeting notes that keep all stakeholders informed and accountable
• Partner with the client to manage expectations, communicate progress, and navigate complexity with composure and clarity
• Ensure delivery processes align with agile, waterfall, or hybrid methodologies as required by the engagement
• Contribute to continuously improving delivery practices and ways of working within the project and broader team

QUALITIES AND CHARACTERISTICS

• 5+ years of project management experience within a digital agency or product delivery environment, with a strong emphasis on digital products and services
• Proven ability to manage complex, multi-workstream engagements with overlapping timelines, dependencies, and stakeholder groups
• Highly organized and detail-oriented, with strong instincts for anticipating issues before they escalate
• Clear, confident communicator with both technical and non-technical audiences
• Comfortable working independently and proactively in a fast-paced environment
• Proficiency with Jira, Confluence, and Slack as core tools for project management, documentation, and team collaboration
• Collaborative and solutions-oriented, with a team-first approach and a commitment to quality delivery

Location & Commitment

• Hybrid; must be local to Atlanta with two days per week onsite with the client
• July 7, 2026 through November 25, 2026
• 40 hours/week
• Expected compensation: $3,000 to $3,200/week