Marketing Project Manager

The National Restaurant Association and National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation are proud to be part of a highly respected industry, providing hospitality, opportunity, and quality of life. And much like the industry we represent, we have a dynamic, diverse, and inclusive culture, grounded in trust, hospitality, collaboration, and innovation. These are the core values that inspire our work, and what we are looking for in a highly proactive, poised, detail-oriented, and organized Project Manager to support the execution and coordination of organization-wide marketing campaigns.

As the Programmatic Marketing and Activations Project Manager, you will play a critical role in driving marketing effectiveness through strong project management, stakeholder communication, and process optimization.

Ideal candidates bring a minimum of five years of experience in marketing project management, campaign activation, or related role, preferably within a nonprofit, association, or membership-based organization.

Position requires a self-starter with a proven ability to lead process design and cross-functional coordination, manage multiple projects and ensure timely delivery of assets, both internal and vendor-produced. Must be highly proficient in using project management tools and experience developing SOPs that support efficient workflows and seamless collaboration between verticals, and bring the professionalism, and confidence to work effectively with project teams and executive stakeholders.

You will thrive in this role if you are energized by a fast-paced and fluid work environment, and are known for your unflappable, can-do attitude.

Position must operate out of our DC office, with a required three days onsite, Monday – Wednesday, with flexibility to work remote on Thursday and Friday.

The work you will do as the Programmatic Marketing and Activations Project Manager will be integral to ensure accountability and operational excellence across our marketing initiatives. We look forward to hearing from you!

Responsibilities

Campaign and Activation Management

• Partner with internal teams and external vendors to ensure timely creation and delivery of campaign assets.
• Manage the delivery of vendor-produced assets, including tracking retainer hours and monitoring outputs for quality and alignment.
• Track campaign performance metrics and contribute to ongoing campaign optimization through reporting and insights.

Project Management

• Own timelines, deliverables, and resource coordination for multiple marketing initiatives across departments.
• Implement and maintain project tracking systems to ensure transparency, accountability, and on-time delivery.
• Serve as the point of contact for day-to-day project progress and troubleshoot bottlenecks proactively.
• Support special projects and administrative needs for senior leadership as needed.

Vendor and Asset Management

• Oversee third-party vendor relationships related to marketing activations.
• Track and report on vendor retainer hours, asset outputs, and delivery timelines.
• Ensure vendor deliverables meet brand standards and campaign.

Financial & Invoice Management

• Manage departmental invoice processing, including reviewing, coding, and submitting invoices for approval.
• Track marketing budgets against vendor spend and campaign allocations.
• Partner with Finance to ensure timely processing, reconciliation, and reporting of expenses.
• Maintain accurate records of invoices, contracts, and payment status.

Content & Campaign Calendar Oversight

• Maintain and distribute a centralized, enterprise-wide campaign and content calendar.
• Ensure calendar reflects real-time updates, cross-team dependencies, and scheduled activations.

Communication & Reporting

• Lead monthly stakeholder meetings to share campaign updates, asset status, and performance insights.
• Deliver clear, actionable updates to cross-functional teams and senior leadership.
• Collect input and feedback to inform campaign strategies and resource planning.

Process Development & Workflow Optimization

• Develop and implement standard operating procedures (SOPs) to support efficient and repeatable workflows across marketing and cross-functional teams.
• Identify and solve for process gaps that hinder collaboration or asset delivery.
• Foster a culture of transparency, accountability, and operational excellence.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree is preferred, with a minimum of five years of concentrated experience in marketing project management, campaign activation, or related roles. Prior experience in a nonprofit, association, or membership-based organization is highly desirable.
• Proven track record of managing complex projects with multiple stakeholders, vendors, and deadlines.
• Highly proficient in project management tools such as Asana, Monday.com, Wrike, or similar platforms.
• Demonstrated ability to create SOPs and streamline processes to drive better collaboration and workflow efficiency.
• Strong vendor management skills, including tracking outputs and managing retainers.
• Experience managing budgets and invoice processes in coordination with Finance.
• Strong organizational, problem-solving, priority-setting and time management skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Foresight in anticipating issues and pragmatism in using resources available in any given project.
• Strong interpersonal skills and a collaborative mindset.
• Proficiency across Microsoft Office including Excel, Word, Outlook, and PowerPoint. Ability to learn other computer software programs, enter and maintain accurate data/information.
• Comfort with ambiguity; ability to cope with a fast-paced work environment that changes quickly.
• Occasional travel may be required.

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities

The National Restaurant Association, National Restaurant Association Solutions, LLC, and The National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (together, “Company”) is committed to equal employment opportunity, and it is Company's policy to take affirmative action to employ and advance in employment protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.

It is our policy to recruit, hire, train, and promote persons in all job titles, and ensure that all other personnel actions are administered, without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status and disability, or other legally protected status, and we will ensure that all employment decisions are based only on valid job requirements.

This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws.

For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.