AI Program Manager Jobs in Chicago, IL

Company Description

EVERSANA INTOUCH® is a global, full-service marketing agency network serving the life sciences industry, and is the first – and only – agency network to be part of a fully integrated commercialization platform through EVERSANA®. We provide next-generation creative and media services, enterprise solutions and data analytics services for clients.

We get fired up when people talk about getting—and staying—healthy. That’s where we find our inspiration: in the very human experiences of patients, doctors, and even each other. Then, we collaborate on ways to make caring for one’s health more achievable, connecting patients and physicians with the information and tools they need.

We embrace diversity in backgrounds and experiences. Improving patient lives around the world is a priority, and we need people from all backgrounds and swaths of life to help build the future of the healthcare and the life sciences industry. We believe our people make all the difference in cultivating an inclusive culture that embraces our cultural beliefs.

Job Description

WHAT DOES A PROGRAM MANAGER - AI AGENCY DO?

EVERSANA's AI Agency is redefining how life sciences brands plan, create, and activate omnichannel marketing. We operate at the intersection of AI-driven content intelligence and precision omnichannel execution - combining the EVERSANA AI Agency Platform (built on Google Cloud, Gemini, and Vertex AI) with the Orchestrate™ Omnichannel Operating System to deliver measurable commercial impact for pharma and biotech brands.

We are a practitioner culture. That means we don't wait for the industry to catch up - we explore, we build, we break things, and we figure out what AI can actually do in a regulated commercial environment before our clients have to ask. If you are the kind of person who has already built your own workflows in tools like Gemini, Claude, Perplexity, or Midjourney - who reads the release notes, experiments on weekends, and shows up to client meetings with something real to show - this role was written for you.

The Program Manager is the operational backbone of client engagements within the AI Agency. This is not a traditional project management role - it is a delivery leadership role that owns the execution of complex, multi-workstream client engagements from kickoff through sustained performance. You will serve as the connective tissue between strategy and execution, ensuring that what we promise in a scope of work translates into delivered value on time, on budget, and with measurable client impact.

You will own the day-to-day orchestration of client work - coordinating Strategic Operators, Creative Operators, Activation Directors, and platform teams to deliver unified outcomes. You will translate client objectives and strategic plans into executable project plans, manage resources and timelines, navigate dependencies and blockers, and ensure every engagement operates with clear accountability and predictable delivery rhythms. This role requires someone who can hold the line on scope, anticipate risks before they become problems, and drive teams toward outcomes without losing sight of the bigger strategic picture.

Our employees are tasked with delivering excellent business results through the efforts of their teams. These results are achieved by:

Project Planning & Execution

• Lead project planning for new client engagements - translating statements of work and strategic briefs into detailed project plans with clear milestones, deliverables, dependencies, and resource requirements.
• Develop and maintain project timelines, workback schedules, and delivery roadmaps that account for client review cycles, regulatory requirements, platform dependencies, and cross-functional coordination needs.
• Own the day-to-day execution of client projects - running daily standups, tracking progress against milestones, identifying blockers, and ensuring teams have what they need to deliver on time.
• Establish and maintain project governance structures - including status reporting, risk logs, change request protocols, and client communication cadences - that provide transparency and accountability throughout the engagement lifecycle.

Cross-Functional Team Coordination

• Serve as the central coordination point for cross-functional delivery teams - including Strategic Operators, Creative Operators, Activation Directors, Client Solutions, platform engineering, and external vendor partners.
• Facilitate seamless handoffs between strategy, creative, activation, and platform delivery - ensuring work moves efficiently through the pipeline without rework, delays, or misalignment.
• Resolve scheduling conflicts, resource constraints, and priority tensions across multiple concurrent projects - balancing client urgency with team capacity and strategic importance.
• Partner with functional leads to ensure the right people are staffed to the right work at the right time - advocating for resource adjustments when project needs shift.

Client Communication & Expectation Management

• Serve as a client point of contact for project status, timeline updates, and delivery coordination - building trust through consistent communication, proactive transparency, and reliable follow-through.
• Lead project meetings, including kickoffs, check-ins, milestone reviews, and retrospectives - ensuring meetings are productive, action-oriented, and move work forward.
• Manage expectations around scope, timelines, and deliverables - clearly communicating what's included, what's not, and what trade-offs exist when priorities shift.
• Surface and escalate project risks, scope changes, or timeline impacts to Account Directors early - providing clear options and recommendations for path forward.

Scope & Budget Management

• Own project-level budget tracking and resource utilization - monitoring hours against budget, identifying variances, and flagging financial risks before they impact account profitability.
• Manage scope boundaries vigilantly - identifying scope creep early, documenting out-of-scope requests, and working with Account Directors to convert scope changes into formal change orders.
• Track project profitability at the workstream level - understanding where time is being spent, where efficiency can be gained, and where process improvements can improve margin without compromising quality.
• Contribute to scoping and estimation for new work - providing input on level of effort, resource requirements, and delivery timelines based on actual project experience.

Process Improvement & Delivery Excellence

• Identify patterns, inefficiencies, and friction points in delivery workflows - and build solutions that make the next project run more smoothly than the last.
• Contribute to the development of standardized delivery frameworks, project templates, and process documentation that improve consistency and scalability across the AI Agency.
• Lead post-project retrospectives with internal teams - capturing lessons learned, celebrating wins, and converting insights into actionable process improvements.
• Partner with operations and enablement teams to evolve project management tools, reporting templates, and delivery best practices that support the AI Agency's growth.

Risk Management & Problem Solving

• Anticipate project risks before they materialize - including resource constraints, timeline conflicts, dependency gaps, client availability issues, and technical blockers.
• Build contingency plans and mitigation strategies for high-risk projects - ensuring backup options exist when things don't go according to plan.
• Navigate ambiguity and make decisions under pressure - knowing when to escalate, when to problem-solve independently, and when to bring teams together to find a path forward. Demonstrate a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion through continuous development, modeling inclusive behaviors, and proactively managing bias.
• All other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR?

Experience

• 7+ years of experience in project management, delivery leadership, or program management within pharma, life sciences, healthcare marketing, or agency environments, with a track record of delivering complex, multi-workstream client engagements on time and on budget.
• Demonstrated experience managing cross-functional teams in a client delivery environment - including coordinating creative, strategy, technology, and operations teams to deliver unified outcomes.
• Working knowledge of pharma commercialization and marketing operations - including brand strategy, omnichannel campaign development, content production workflows, regulatory review processes, and the compliance requirements that govern pharma marketing.
• Experience managing project budgets, tracking resource utilization, and operating with P&L accountability - with an understanding of how delivery efficiency impacts account profitability.
• Prior experience working in a fast-paced, early-stage, or high-growth environment where processes are still being built and adaptability is required.

Skills & Capabilities

• Delivery operator: You know how to take a complex scope of work and break it into executable plans with clear owners, deadlines, and success criteria - and you know how to keep those plans on track without becoming a bottleneck.
• Coordination expert: You can orchestrate multiple teams, timelines, and dependencies simultaneously - ensuring nothing falls through the cracks and everyone knows what's expected of them.
• Clear communicator: You can run a client meeting with confidence, deliver a difficult message with clarity, and write a status update that tells people what they need to know without wasting their time.
• Scope guardian: You know where advisory ends and execution begins, and you hold that line with clients and internal teams - even when it's uncomfortable.
• Problem solver under pressure: You don't panic when things go sideways - you assess the situation, build options, make decisions, and keep the team moving forward.
• Process builder: You see patterns in chaos and build lightweight systems that make work more predictable, scalable, and repeatable without adding bureaucracy.

Practitioner Mindset - Non-Negotiable

This is a hard filter, not a cultural nicety. EVERSANA AI Agency is a practitioner culture. We expect every member of this team to be an active explorer of AI and marketing technology - not because it's trendy, but because our clients are paying us to know what's possible before they have to ask.

• You are actively using AI tools in your daily work right now - not just for writing emails, but to build workflows, test prompts, generate creative, analyze data, and solve problems you haven't been trained to solve yet.
• You follow what's happening in the AI and martech space closely enough to have real opinions - about what works, what doesn't, what's overhyped, and what pharma brands should actually pay attention to.
• You experiment before you wait for permission. When a new tool drops, you open it. When a client asks 'can AI do X?', you've already tried.
• You can credibly demonstrate what AI-generated content, journey logic, or platform automation looks like to a skeptical CMO - not in theory, but with something you've actually built or run.
• You are energized by ambiguity and early-stage environments - you know how to operate in a space that is still being defined, and you help define it.
• You hold high standards for clarity and push back when a plan isn't ready to execute.
• You default to intellectual honesty with clients, even when the honest answer is 'not yet.'
• You care about measurable outcomes, not just smooth engagements.

Additional Information

Patient Minded I act with the patient’s best interest in mind.

Client Delight I own every client experience and its impact on results.

Take Action I am empowered and hold myself accountable.

Embrace Diversity I create an environment of awareness and respect.

Grow Talent I own my development and invest in the development of others.

Win Together I passionately connect with anyone, anywhere, anytime to achieve results.

Communication Matters I speak up to create transparent, thoughtful, and timely dialogue.

Always Innovate I am bold and creative in everything I do.

Our team is aware of recent fraudulent job offers in the market, misrepresenting EVERSANA. Recruitment fraud is a sophisticated scam commonly perpetrated through online services using fake websites, unsolicited e-mails, or even text messages claiming to be a legitimate company. Some of these scams request personal information and even payment for training or job application fees. Please know EVERSANA would never require personal information nor payment of any kind during the employment process. We respect the personal rights of all candidates looking to explore careers at EVERSANA.

EVERSANA is committed to providing competitive salaries and benefits for all employees. If this job posting includes a base salary range, it represents the low and high end of the salary range for this position and is not applicable to locations outside of the U.S. Compensation will be determined based on relevant experience, other job-related qualifications/skills, and geographic location (to account for comparative cost of living). More information about EVERSANA’s benefits package can be found at eversana.com/careers. EVERSANA reserves the right to modify this base salary range and benefits at any time.

From EVERSANA’s inception, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion have always been key to our success. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer, and our employees are people with different strengths, experiences, and backgrounds who share a passion for improving the lives of patients and leading innovation within the healthcare industry. Diversity not only includes race and gender identity, but also age, disability status, veteran status, sexual orientation, religion, and many other parts of one’s identity. All of our employees’ points of view are key to our success, and inclusion is everyone's responsibility.

Consistent with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and applicable state and local laws, it is the policy of EVERSANA to provide reasonable accommodation when requested by a qualified applicant or candidate with a disability, unless such accommodation would cause an undue hardship for EVERSANA. The policy regarding requests for reasonable accommodations applies to all aspects of the hiring process. If reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the interview and hiring process, please contact us at applicantsupport@eversana.com.