Department
🛠 Production
Comp Notes
L1 Salary
$35,000 to $46,500
L2 Salary
$40,740 to $63,750
L3 Salary
$58,000 to $86,750
L4 Salary
$81,000 to $115,500
L5 Salary
$109,750 to $150,000
L1 Hourly Wage
$23 to $31
L2 Hourly Wage
$27 to $43
L3 Hourly Wage
$39 to $58
L4 Hourly Wage
$54 to $77
L5 Hourly Wage
$73 to $100
Billable Target Min
80
Mission 🙏
To deliver great results for users and clients with effective , guiding Cantilever’s intense projects to come in on time, on budget, and to spec.Project Management
Definition of Success 📈
- Achieve a minimum 50% average profit margin each quarter across all projects led.
- This means that if we take in $1 in project fees from the client we should be spending at most $0.50 on labor and vendors.
- Deliver at least 90% of projects on time each year, disregarding delays due to clients.
- Achieve 50% client retention for new clients’ first projects.
- This means that the client comes back for a second project after the first.
- Maintenance work is considered "coming back".
Key Responsibilities 💪
PMs work closely with 
Strategist
- Sets up all the project systems (Harvest, Asana, etc)
- Translates approved s into actionableProject PlansTask
- Gets s into theTaskBig Board
- Monitors s and helps the assignee if they get stuck or blockedTask
- Sets up all internal and external meetings.
- Runs the meetings, setting the agenda, taking notes, and following up with the recording.
- Creates Master Services Agreements/ Scopes of Work (MSAs/SOWs) for s,Diagnostics orNew BuildsTune-Up
- Creates and monitors invoices
- Handles logistical needs during the project, such as system access, licenses, software, travel, etc.
Key Skills 🤹🏽
| Skill | Roles | Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 | Level 4 | Level 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Project Manager | Can schedule a client meeting and follow along, taking notes, and distributing the notes after. | Can schedule, lead, and follow up from a client meeting successfully. Provides confidence for client that project is proceeding in the right direction. Regularly updates the client on status. Is available for questions and answers requests promptly. | Can brainstorm and evaluate new ideas with the client, creating new opportunities to collaborate. Consistently reminds the client about action items outside of our own areas of responsibility. | Can act as a strategist for smaller clients, and thinks strategically even when not acting as strategist. | Is requested specifically by clients. Is a general project management expert and leads our project management practice | |
Project Manager | Understands the basic stages of how web projects are composed. Can read and understand a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) provided by a technical lead/creative director. | Can write a simple WBS for small projects, working from a project vision constructed by a strategist and the team. Can create a suitable project schedule and map tasks into sprints. | Can write a simple WBS for medium-sized projects. Can create a nuanced project schedule based on insight into team skillsets and dynamics. | Can write accurate WBS for large and complex projects, working with teammates. Successfully pads internal estimates to make sure we come in on time and on budget. | Helps strategists identify parts of projects which they are not thinking about. Can help others refine their estimates based on past experience with various tasks, and changes in technology. Can independently adjust a WBS based on an unexpected change or event. | |
Project Manager | Communicates respectfully and clearly to all stakeholders. Might not understand every detail of a discussion, but gathers questions and asks for clarification during and after the discussion. | Can follow project meetings, take accurate and contextually-aware notes, and report back accurately on what was agreed. Can phrase project todos accurately and clearly for staff to execute. | Can follow and contribute to a high-level conversation about project approach and strategy. Can take those findings and reiterate them to staff and clients at the level of their expertise. | Can write accurate and thoughtful project documentation. Can engage with a strategist on the substance of project decisions and help them come to better conclusions. | Can communicate with the same nuance as a strategist about important decisions to do with the project | |
Project Manager | Knows how to track project budgets. Alerts client or senior PM when a budget is in danger. | Takes charge of the budget and schedule. Keeps a close eye on hours throughout the project. Regularly reports on budget and timeline to the client and strategist. Pauses the project and asks for confirmation before exceeding estimates. | Has a sense for when a project or task my go over budget, and reacts accordingly. Can manipulate tasks within a sprint to meet client budget and timeline goals. | Based on observations about the project, suggests technical and design changes that can help our budget/timeline position. Proactively recommends changes to the client. Can adjust staffing plan/WBS based on budget or timeline problems. | Develops and tests new theories about optimizing projects. Works with designers and developers to determine how to optimize their work. Can create advanced schedule structures to optimize delivery dates based on parallel-path execution.
Bonus points: Publishing these findings to the Cantilever blog, or speaking about them at conferences. | |
Project Manager | Has the ability to learn and understand technical concepts. Has a good attitude about trying to learn. Proactively researches topics beyond their area of expertise | Understands the basic elements of how sites work. Understands how a CMS interacts with frontend code to allow a site to be editable. Understands the basics of performance, SEO and accessibility. | Has a basic working understanding of web design & development. Understands why different frontend methodologies work better for different needs. Can explain how the CMSes we use differ, and why we would use one over another. Has a sense for when there is a speed or technical issue on a site and can provide clear, helpful feedback. | Understands broader topics like marketing, branding, and content strategy. Can diagnose problems on a basic technical level by analyzing browser behavior or console warnings. Can analyze customer needs and make confident recommendations on specific technical approaches based on prior experience. | Understands the principles behind our development practices. Can debug a code issue directly and provide useful insight. Can fill in as a strategist for smaller projects. | |
Project Manager | Has the ability to learn and understand design concepts. Proactively seeks knowledge about design. | Understands the basic rules of visual design: hierarchy, balance, order, etc. Understands the core elements of User Experience (UX) and can pick between very good and very bad user experiences on other sites. | Understands basic typographic principles and what makes for "good" typography. Can identify usability flaws in sites and work to address them. Understands Cantilever design standards and practices. Can help clients and designers work together by translating between their different languages. | Can judge and provide feedback on design work from the client’s perspective. Can speak confidently about how design work meets or fails to meet customer needs. Understands industry trends. Understands current technology and how it influences possibilities for designers. | Understands web/branding history and can use historical examples to support a point. Can confidently present design work alone and alongside a creative director. Knows how to use Figma to manipulate and adjust designs if needed. |