Engagement Manager

SYLVAIN is a strategy and design consultancy that provokes progress
for companies, people, and society at large. We believe when commerce and culture unite, real progress is possible. Founded in 2010, SYLVAIN is a member of kyu Collective, a group of independently-led companies that share a similar mission. We have offices in New York City, Richmond, VA, Los Angeles, CA, and Amsterdam, NL. 

We work across a wide range of industries—from technology to financial services to consumer packaged goods to travel and hospitality to transportation and fashion. Our projects are typically bespoke, though they tend to fit into four classifications: Brand, Innovation, Insight and Org Transformation.

Some of our clients include: Walmart, Kate Spade, Milk Makeup, TAIT, Meta, Amazon, Google, Spotify, Netflix, Uber, The New York Times, CBS, Nike, American Express, General Motors, Blackrock, Chanel, and the WNBA. 

Learn more about us at our website, or follow us on Instagram. And check out more of our thinking on our weekly newsletter: Progress Report, and our podcast: Critical Nonsense.

THE ROLE: ENGAGEMENT MANAGER

The Engagement Manager is a gifted multi-tasker, thoughtful communicator, and skilled collaborator. They are able to ‘spin many plates’ in a calm yet agile manner, all while moving work forward. They have an eye for the details while remaining diligent about the big picture and overall project success. They’re connectors at heart–good at building trust within teams, fostering effective collaboration, and driving structured processes.  

The Engagement Manager plays the role of planner and connector on a project by facilitating conversations, orchestrating timelines, and ensuring that all the project pieces are accounted for and delivered on time. They coordinate teams and workflow, support in the business operations of a project, and liaise with third party partners.

The Engagement Manager has enthusiasm for the work SYLVAIN creates, and leans into growth opportunities to learn different types of projects across different client categories. They are curious by nature, entrepreneurial in spirit, and team-oriented. They have an understanding of client perspectives and realities, engage clients in day-to-day project details, and voice client feedback internally where needed. 

Partnering closely with a Director of Enagagement, strategy teams, and design teams, the Engagement Manager sets up successful project plans, team cadences, and tools that drive their project teams forward. 

TYPICAL ACTIVITIES + RESPONSIBILITIES:

Project Management

• Develops an understanding and interest in the SYLVAIN's strategy and creative craft—showing an aptitude track and engaging with the ideas behind the work. 
• Are critical listeners, with the ability to capture, distill and communicate key information captured during internal and client meetings. These notes need to be communicated out in a timely, efficient manner. 
• Understands their role as the hub of all information and detail, maintaining an effective flow of information within teams, including but not limited to setting up job numbers, the project Google Drive, saving all materials to the proper folders for the team, and distribution of key materials to the team. 
• Well-versed in various PM processes and tools to support in the set-up of successful project plans with strategy and design teams across multi-week and multi-month engagements, ensuring efficient and empathetic work plans.
• Manages the creative strategic process and workflow, anticipating, communicating and adjusting for team needs, developing strong cadences for collaborative moments, and proactively re-steering when adjustments must be made.
• Stewards for effective internal meetings. Ensures all meetings are set-up with clear agendas, objectives, and concludes with concrete next steps.
• Supports the team on effective client meetings, ensuring all presentations are formatted properly, speaking roles are clear, everyone has the proper technology downloaded, and everyone is aware of the time constraints of the meeting.
• Facilitates strong working relationships within project teams, and ensures full understanding of objectives, roles, feedback, responsibilities, and timeframes for deliveries.
• Attuned to team dynamics and needs, with optimism and an eye on morale.
• Always willing to raise their hand to help, even if it is not squarely an engagement team responsibility. 

Client Partnership

• Builds trust and credibility with clients by demonstrating strong organizational and communication skills, including calendar management, status documents, delivery of files in the proper formats, recaps of meetings, and meeting prep.
• Is highly responsive to client communications and drafts email responses to clients for ED to review.
• Developing a mastery of the nuance and driving towards mutual benefits and compromise.

Business Operations

• Learning legal and financial terms in order to flag and manage up on matters of project estimates and legal issues. 
• Coordinates and facilitates invoicing for clients, external project partners, and freelancers.
• Handles third party outreach and coordination as needed across the project (research vendors, third party licensing, etc.).
• Understands team makeup, and flags when supplemental staffing is needed or when staffing is no longer needed on their project.
• Leads the development of case studies, and runs point on engaging the reputation team as SYLVAIN when projects are close to completion.
• Understands the ins and outs of their project SOWs, knows when something is within the details of the scope or outside the scope and flags it to the project leads. 
• Has a fluency around major client flags, i.e. needing OOP costs approved prior to incurring them, travel policies, major restrictions or callouts in the MSA, etc.

THE IDEAL CANDIDATE

The ideal candidate will be a... 

• Empathetic leader
• Strategic multi-tasker
• Relationship builder
• Flexible collaborator
• Problem solver
• Impeccable organizer
• Ruthless prioritizer
• Clear communicator 
• Cultural contributor

Other requirements:

• 2-5 years of experience in a similar role and setting
• Experience in Strategy, Design, and Campaign projects
• Mastery of G Suite (Google Drive) and MS Office Suite
• A knowledge of the Adobe suite of products
• Must be willing to work in the office part time/hybrid

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

The base salary for this position at the time of posting ranges by region, outlined below. Individual compensation may vary based on business needs, experience, responsibility level, and qualifications. Not all applicants’ experience will match the qualifications of this role, in which case an alternative role or level may be suggested. 

New York City: $80,000 - $110,000 per year

Richmond, VA: $65,000 - $90,000 per year

The role is eligible for annual review and a discretionary annual bonus. We offer Open PTO and a robust benefits package which can be viewed here. 

We currently offer a flexible working schedule, encouraging teammates to work from the office 3 days per week while enjoying some ‘Work from Anywhere’ benefits throughout the year. 

DIVERSITY AT SYLVAIN

SYLVAIN is committed to building and sustaining a culture that celebrates our diversity and is rooted in community. We recognize that the collective sum of individual differences, life experiences, knowledge, innovation, self-expression, and talent that our employees invest in their work represents a significant part of not only our culture, but our reputation and company’s achievement. 

As an Equal Opportunity Employer, we embrace and encourage our employees’ differences in age, race, ethnicity, disability, family or marital status, gender identity or expression, language, national origin, religion, socio-economic status, veteran status, and other characteristics that make our employees unique. Lending such an array of qualities to our work ensures a human-centered approach to our way of doing things and treatment of each other.