An assistant project manager can be vital to the success of any digital marketing agency. Their job is to help keep everyone organized, informed, and on track for success! With so many moving parts in each project, it’s essential to know who needs what information at what time for projects to go smoothly. This means that a project manager requires the ability to keep track of multiple deadlines and prioritize them appropriately. These virtual assistants specialized in project management will also need excellent communication skills as they interact with clients and internal stakeholders throughout all project stages, plus everything else we’ve outlined below!
The Role of an Assistant Project Manager
The virtual project manager engages with stakeholders from initial contact to ensure that their needs are met and that the team works towards an efficient, effective strategy. A stakeholder is someone who has a vested interest in the success of a project or initiative. This can be internal (for example, an employee) or external to your organization (such as a client). Because stakeholders can have different levels of involvement in a project, there are many kinds of stakeholders:
- Clients
- Managers/co-workers
- Vendors
The Responsibilities of an Assistant Project Manager
The assistant project manager will coordinate, monitor, oversee, and organize projects to ensure deadlines are met, necessary personnel are assigned tasks, and scheduling doesn’t overlap. The assistant project manager will delegate tasks to different team members and collaborate with other stakeholders. If there are any issues, they will problem-solve or negotiate to resolve them. Also, they might offer training, but will report back and do so in a presentation.
When working in a marketing agency setting, their excellent communication skills (written and verbal) will shine, revealing their good organizational skills and incredible attention to detail. Moreover, as they are used to working remotely, they can work independently on multiple tasks simultaneously while maintaining high-quality control on all projects they oversee throughout their shift/workday.
Specific Tasks – Schedule Meetings as Necessary or Requested by Clients or Managers
Schedule Meetings with Clients
The assistant project manager or assistant project coordinator will maintain a calendar of all client meetings and ensure that all clients know their scheduled appointments. The assistant project manager will also ensure that all internal digital marketing agency team members see the client’s schedule and prepare for the meeting as needed.
Schedule Meetings with Internal Teams
The assistant project manager or project manager assistant will schedule meetings between the client and various departments within your digital agency, such as a designer, developer, or content strategist.
Schedule Meetings with Vendors
Suppose you work with vendors continuously (such as an SEO firm). In that case, you may want to consider having them meet regularly with your team so they can keep up-to-date on the progress made by everyone involved in managing the account. This is especially important if your digital marketing agency works in multiple industries where complex issues could require immediate resolution during execution (e.g., legal compliance).
Defining the Roles
The assistant project manager or project coordinator will define roles within a project, including internal employees and contractors, and identify resources that may need to be allocated to a project. As the project manager, they will be responsible for managing all the various project tasks. This means the project manager must stay on top of every aspect of your business, from planning and budgeting to overseeing vendors and contractors. While this is not an easy task, it can become even more complicated when working with multiple projects at once or if your company has a large team of internal employees who must simultaneously be involved in various tasks.
To manage both teams effectively, each project manager needs to identify their role within each project and the resources they need to complete their work effectively. The assistant project manager will define roles within a project, including internal employees and contractors, and identify resources that may need to be allocated to a project (if necessary).
The assistant PM or administrative assistant will also work directly with the client during pre-production meetings, where they review concepts before moving on to development; this helps ensure that there are no misunderstandings between the client and the digital marketing agency throughout any given phase of production within an overall digital marketing campaign strategy plan.
Ensuring Open Communications
The assistant project manager will help ensure that communication is open between all parties involved with the project scope.
As a project manager, communication is critical to the success of their projects. To ensure that everyone involved with the project is on the same page, it is vital to have clear communication lines between all parties involved. One way to do this is by using a project management tool like Asana or Trello. For instance, these tools allow you and your team members to communicate in real time about what tasks need to be completed, who will complete them, when they will be done, etc., helping keep everyone informed throughout the process.
Ensure Deliverables are Met Promptly
The assistant project manager will work with vendors to ensure deliverables are met promptly based on the project’s scope. This may include:
- Assisting with vendor selection
- Ensuring you have the right vendors on board
- making sure you have the right deliverables from vendors
- ensuring that vendors are delivering on time and within the scope.
How do Assistant Project Managers Ensure the Deliverables are Within the Proper Timelines?
The assistant project manager will work with managers to ensure all clients and deadlines are on the same page. This includes ensuring everyone communicates with each other and gets all the information they need to do their jobs.
The Assistant Project Manager will Help Define the Required Deliverables regarding budgets.
The assistant project manager will help define the required deliverables for budgets. This includes:
- Assessing budget requirements
- Identifying deliverables for each project
- Understanding the scope of the project and ensuring that all required deliverables are met promptly
The Assistant Project Manager Helps Keep Everyone Organized, Informed, and on Track for Success!
You may be thinking, “Wait a second. I’ve worked with project managers before, and they were great! Why would I need an assistant project manager?”
Well, it’s simple: the role of an assistant project manager is often overlooked. However, the truth is that this position is critical to any successful company, and it can make all the difference between success and failure.
Read on if you’re wondering what an assistant project manager does (and why they’re so important)!
The Bottom Line: Assistant Project Manager for a Digital Marketing Agency
As a project manager, your job is to ensure that projects run smoothly. The assistant project manager supports you with this by providing a wealth of information about the objectives and scope of the project, as well as keeping everyone organized and on track for success!
Are you a digital marketing agency looking to streamline operations and ensure project success? Consider hiring an assistant project manager to handle the administrative tasks, coordinate stakeholders, and keep your team organized. By delegating these responsibilities to a skilled professional, you can focus on high-level strategy and creative execution. Book a free consultation today to discuss how an assistant project manager can elevate your agency’s performance.