How your CV stacks up
Upload your CV to see how well it fits this job role
?%
Project Director
Project Director – Experiential Marketing, Sparks (Freeman Company)
About The Freeman Company Sparks
Sparks is a leading global brand experience agency, specialising in the design and execution of award-winning experiences that forge deep connections between brands and audiences. Recognised by Adweek as Experiential Agency of the Year, we combine strategic insight and unrivalled execution to deliver branded activations, corporate events, trade shows, and immersive experiences worldwide. Our passion for creativity, innovation and flawless delivery ensures brands leave a memorable, impactful impression.
Our hybrid London team provides a collaborative environment, balancing in-office presence (with weekly dedicated days) and flexible remote working to support project execution across clocks, currencies, and time zones.
The Role: Summary
The Project Director leads and delivers end-to-end global projects (varied scopes and sizes), ensuring a seamless, high-quality experience that aligns perfectly with client briefs.
Key responsibilities include:
- Proactively managing project teams, including vendors, producers, creatives, and client stakeholders
- Key involvement in pitches, proposals, tenders and feasibility investigations
- Maintaining client relationships across ideation, planning and post-event review
- Hybrid working pattern with one set in-office day per week (typically Wednesday) at our London office
This is an exceptional opportunity for a dynamic, detail-oriented professional to play a pivotal role in defining and executing world-class experiential campaigns—award recognition on the horizon for all who join us.
Key Responsibilities
Client Leadership & Engagement
- Deeply understand client needs and translate them into actionable briefs for the entire team
- Build trust through transparency, proactiveness, and tailored advice
- Serve as the primary client-facing liaison across the project lifecycle—strategic vision to final wrap-up
- Champion effective communication, balancing clarity with adaptability to client feedback
- Collaborate with Account Directors, Information Architects, Research Teams, and Creative Directors to refine and execute high-impact experiences
Team & Resource Management
- Nurture junior talent, mentoring through complex global campaigns
- Oversee operations logistics—delegate resources and juggle competing demands efficiently
- Manage diverse project reports across multiple studios, ensuring cohesive delivery
- Develop a shared service model for administrative and production support
Reasons to use Rodeo
Start with a chat, not a search bar
Grad scheme, placement, apprenticeship? Not sure what you want yet — that's fine. Your agent talks it through with you and turns "I have no idea" into a shortlist.
It searches the market for you
Every day your agent scans the market matching roles against what actually matters to you, not just keywords on a CV.
Only hits
No noise. No "maybe this fits." Just roles with a clear explanation of why they're right — and where to focus when applying.
Creative Execution with Purpose
- Participate in ideation, ensuring creative integrity is preserved across all deliverables
- Enhance value-creation by identifying and proposing incremental improvements at all project stages
- Align production and technical teams with creative vision, ensuring seamless collaboration
Full-scope Project Coordination
- Lead complex multi-disciplinary projects from concept to closure, coordinating across the EMEA region
- Drive standardised project delivery with clear documentation and processes (status updates, kick-off meetings, etc.)
- Actively manage budgets from conception to reconciliation—forecast, negotiate, track, and approve expenses
- Brief accounting/dep departments and counterpart studios or regions to align financial controls
- RFP & Tender preparation services: Turn briefs into winning proposals, from feasibility grids to final cost models
- Proactive ** Risk Mitigation**: Identify challenges early and implement mitigations
- Vendor Stakeholder Management:
- Select, negotiate and retain top-tier suppliers (e.g., from our Sendero Preferred Supplier Panel)
- Oversee contract terms and commercial negotiations (on-site, transportation, accommodations, etc.)
- Post-Event Review: Present key metrics and insights to clients to inform future campaigns
Core Project Delivery Tasks
- Bids & Quotes: Translate project goals into industry-leading cost assessments
- Budget Ownership: Monitor cash flow via supplier reporting and internal controls
- Documentation: Produce transparent and consistent project storytelling (including operating budgets)
- Sustainability: Assess environmental impact across scopes and flag where holistic sustainability can be integrated
- Travel Coordination:
- Develop international logistics—transportation, accommodation, and site access
- Unstress events: Anticipate hiccups and deploy flexible contingency solutions
Essential Qualifications
Experience
- Got it all: Minimum 8 years in events/experiential, project management or production (full-time or freelance)
- Proven success in international event delivery with end-to-end ownership
- Proficiency across: live events, consumer activations, trade shows, web, digital, film production
- Hands-on experience developing high-value tenders, responses, or proposals
- Leveraging project management tools (MS Project, Asana, Trello) and frameworks
- Vendor & contractor negotiation expertise—balancing price with price-value trade-offs
Get help with your application
Your very own career expert that helps elevate your application to the next level.
Technical Proficiency
- Microsoft Office Suite mastery (Excel—advanced formulae, pivot tables, budget dashboards)
- Vendor portal assumptions: Understanding how to invoice and reconcile expenses via integrated systems
Soft Skills & Cultural Fit
- Problem-solving: Caveat emptor ("buyer beware") with a fresh point of view
- Stakeholder liaison confidence—actively engage with production, creative studios, local teams, and clients
- Play in the sand: Strong emphasis on creative exploration and "what if?" scenarios in reviews
- Voice-presence: Build trust in new echelons (e.g. leadership buy-in for projects)
- Six-year status (non-compulsory)—full clean driving license (whether manual or automatic) is highly valued for site visits
What We Bring to You
We're not hiring for a job at Sparks—we're inviting you to shape our next wave of impactful client relationships. If you thrive at the nexus of creativity, strategy, and crisis management, we'd love to meet you.
The Freeman Company minimizes paperwork but invests in vibrant programs:
Essential Benefits
- Medical, Dental & Vision Insurance
- Life, Accident & Disability Short- & Long-term
- 401k Retirement Plan (with company match)
- Generous Paid Time Off (to say nothing of mental health resources)
- Flexibility: Hyper-agile—eval our policies?
Cultural Values
- Empathy first: Understanding individual workplace needs
- Diversity spotlight: Inclusive action planning across thresholds
- Skills growth: In-house development funds/training stipends
Diversity Commitment
We value diversity in all its forms. The Freeman Company offers equal opportunity employment, ensuring consideration for all without regard to race, religion, sex/gender (including identity and expression), age, national origin, disability, genetics, veteran status, or any other status protected by law.
#SparksEMEA Application starts here!
“It took my CV and asked me questions relevant to understanding what kind of jobs to suggest for me. Suggestions were almost perfect. Jobs were exactly what I’ve been looking for.”
Jessica, London
Skills
Location