Project Manager, National Geographic Brand & Franchise Team

The Brand & Franchise team is responsible for defining and evolving how the National Geographic brand shows up across its global ecosystem. The team leads brand strategy, campaign development, and franchise building, transforming individual stories and content into cohesive, scalable platforms that drive audience engagement, cultural relevance, and business growth.

Working cross-functionally, the team partners with editorial, marketing, social, consumer products, travel, the National Geographic Society, and The Walt Disney Company to align priorities and deliver integrated initiatives. Acting as a central connector, Brand & Franchise ensures consistency, clarity, and impact across all touchpoints while enabling high-visibility, multi-platform campaign execution.

The Project Manager is the connective tissue of the National Geographic Brand & Franchise team keeping high-visibility, cross-functional initiatives moving with the operational rigor and creative sensibility the world's most iconic brand demands. This person thrives in fast-moving environments, holds the standard across every phase of the project lifecycle, and brings both structure and strategic instinct to everything they touch. Dual reporting into the Brand & Franchise Integrated Planning and Stewardship and Society teams, this person works closely with National Geographic Content, the National Geographic Society, and partners across The Walt Disney Company to drive brand visibility, audience engagement, and commercial growth.

Responsibilities

• Own the brief-to-kickoff transition, ensuring scope, timeline, deliverables, and decision rights are locked before creative work begins.
• Serve as the primary point of coordination between the Brand team and cross-functional partners, including Creative, Social, Legal, Marketing, and external vendors.
• Manage multiple concurrent campaigns across creative and channel disciplines, maintaining portfolio-level visibility for leadership.
• Maintain living project documentation that the whole team can trust at every stage of the campaign lifecycle.
• Track budget actuals against estimates; flag variances and resource conflicts proactively.
• Lead post-campaign reviews and implement process improvements into future campaign operations.
• Coordinate asset management, approvals, and final delivery across all campaign workstreams.

Required Experience

• 5+ years of experience managing multiple projects across brand marketing, strategy, integrated marketing, marketing operations, or franchise-related disciplines.
• 3+ years of experience managing projects and cross-functional initiatives in global, matrixed entertainment and media companies or agencies is highly valued.
• Hands-on experience with budget tracking and financial management, including reconciling actuals against estimates and flagging variances.
• Proven experience using Airtable or comparable platforms, including the ability to design and manage trackers, workflows, and intake systems.
• Advanced skills in Microsoft Suite, with comfort using AI-powered productivity tools and staying current on new workflow technologies.
• Experience building presentations and synthesizing complex information into compelling decks for internal and leadership audiences.
• Candidates are required to live within a commutable distance of one of the headquarters locations in Washington, DC, New York City, or Los Angeles. This position requires onsite work 4 days per week.
• Successful candidates handle uncertainty with confidence, preserving order when priorities shift or information is lacking. They approach challenges from a systems perspective and develop processes that boost team performance.
• Demonstrates curiosity and flexibility by seeking out new tools and expanding knowledge beyond their field.

Required Education

• Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Brand Management, Business, or a related field.

The hiring range for this position in Washington, D.C. and Burbank, CA is $95,500 to $128,000 per year and in New York City is $100,100 to $134,200 per year. The base pay actually offered will take into account internal equity and also may vary depending on the candidate’s geographic region, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience among other factors. A bonus and/or long-term incentive units may be provided as part of the compensation package, in addition to the full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits, dependent on the level and position offered.