Senior Project Manager I

Company Description

At Nielsen, we are passionate about our work to power a better media future for all people by providing powerful insights that drive client decisions and deliver extraordinary results. Our talented, global workforce is dedicated to capturing audience engagement with content - wherever and whenever it’s consumed. Together, we are proudly rooted in our deep legacy as we stand at the forefront of the media revolution. When you join Nielsen, you will join a dynamic team committed to excellence, perseverance, and the ambition to make an impact together. We champion you, because when you succeed, we do too. We enable your best to power our future.

Job Description

Lead cross-functional transformation and optimization initiatives from intake through implementation and transition to business-as-usual. This role combines disciplined project management with a process-improvement mindset: clarify the business problem and expected value, structure ambiguous work, redesign end-to-end workflows, and ensure changes are practical, adopted, and measurable.

The role partners closely with Transformation Leads, Process and Deployment Leaders, Product, Technology, Data Science, Operations, Training, and other stakeholders. Success requires the ability to lead through influence, create clarity across handoffs, and connect project execution to operational outcomes.

• Lead the full project lifecycle, including intake, scope, objectives, business case, workplan, milestones, dependencies, resources, risks, issues, decisions, status, escalations, reporting, and closeout.

• Convert complex or loosely defined opportunities into clear project briefs, execution plans, decision points, and stakeholder communications; facilitate kickoff and maintain alignment through delivery.

• Diagnose and redesign end-to-end operational processes using Lean, process-improvement, and service-design principles. Identify bottlenecks, unnecessary work, control gaps, and opportunities to simplify or digitize how work gets done.

• Translate transformation and savings opportunities into measurable requirements, future-state process designs, implementation plans, and success metrics. Partner with Data Translators and operational stakeholders to validate assumptions and value realization.

• Evaluate automation, AI-human handoffs, data flows, and digital-first options while balancing speed, quality, risk, user experience, and operational feasibility.

• Coordinate requirements, documentation, UAT, defect resolution, rollout, communications, training and support readiness, and post-deployment monitoring. Keep Transformation, Project Management, Process, Deployment, Product, and Operations partners in lockstep.

• Use data and, where appropriate, direct observation of the work to test assumptions, improve designs, and ensure solutions reflect frontline realities.

• Track effectiveness after implementation, including savings, cycle time, quality, throughput, adoption, and other agreed measures. Maintain an optimization backlog and lead retrospectives to improve future delivery.

• Influence without formal authority, build consensus across U.S. and global stakeholders, explain complex or sensitive information clearly, and raise risks or concerns with candor and practical options.

• Serve as a resource to project team members and contribute to repeatable playbooks, templates, standards, and ways of working that increase organizational speed and consistency.

Qualifications

• 5–10 years of experience in project management, process improvement, operations transformation, digital transformation, or a related field, with a demonstrated record of independent work product.

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience; advanced degree or relevant certifications preferred (PMP certification required)

• Demonstrated success leading cross-functional initiatives from planning through implementation, including managing dependencies, risks, issues, and competing priorities.

• Practical knowledge of Lean Six Sigma, process mapping/modeling, service design, Agile, and/or other process-improvement approaches. Lean Six Sigma certification is desirable.

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, including the ability to use measures such as cycle time, error rate, throughput, adoption, and financial impact to guide decisions.

• Experience with project planning, process modeling, documentation, and collaboration tools; ability to create clear, actionable artifacts for varied audiences.

• Excellent communication, facilitation, stakeholder-management, and consensus-building skills. Comfortable influencing senior and frontline stakeholders without direct authority.

• Comfortable working independently with minimal guidance, navigating ambiguity, adapting methods to the needs of the initiative, and mentoring or guiding less-experienced colleagues.

Additional Information

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At Nielsen, we promote equal opportunities for all individuals and value a diverse and inclusive workplace.