Manager, Creative Project Management

8116 - Midtown Office - 2220 W. Broad Street, Richmond, Virginia, 23220

CarMax, the way your career should be!

About this job

The best project managers don't chase deadlines - they get ahead of them. They cue the work before it hits someone's to-do list, giving teams and store partners the time and space to think, plan, and deliver their best. That's the standard this role is built around.

The Manager, Store Creative Project Management sits within the CarMax Creative & Operations team and serves as the primary operational owner for all in-store marketing materials and physical environment creative across CarMax's approximately 300 retail and facilities locations. While this role is organized within the marketing function, its core purpose is to serve store associates and store operations - ensuring every store has the right materials, at the right quality, at the right time.

This is a managerial individual contributor role. The Manager is accountable for moving projects forward: opening and tracking jobs, coordinating with procurement and print vendors on production communication for creative outputs, managing new store and remodel marketing project timelines, and facilitating the cross-functional work between creative, partners, and operational teams. The quality of creative outputs and the integrity of new store and remodel install are the defining measures of success in this role.

Team Overview

The Store Creative team is responsible for delivering the physical marketing and brand experience across CarMax's retail and facilities footprint. Working in close partnership with Store Operations, Creative, Construction, Facilities, Procurement, Legal, and external vendors, the team manages the planning, production, and execution of in-store signage, marketing materials, compliance communications, new store openings, and remodel projects, ensuring stores receive high-quality, accurate, and timely solutions that support both the associate and customer experience.

POSITION OVERVIEW

The best project managers don't chase deadlines - they get ahead of them, giving teams the time and space to think, create, and deliver their best. That's the standard this role is built around.

The Manager, Creative Project Management is responsible for end-to-end project management and production of brand paid social, as well as consideration and acquisition assets. within an assigned area of the CarMax Creative & Operations team. This is a managerial individual contributor role - each Manager owns their workstream hands-on while maintaining the quality, timeliness, and brand integrity of all outputs. Managers report to the Sr. Manager, Project Management & Production and are accountable for managing internal and external creative projects, coordinating stakeholder reviews, owning production planning, and delivering work that meets CarMax's brand and quality standards.

ROLE RESPONSIBILITIES

Campaign & Project Management

• Owns end-to-end project management for assigned creative workstreams - brand paid social, acquisition and consideration advertising (paid search, display, CTV, programmatic, lead gen), and related production - tracking milestones, ownership, and deliverables.
• Translates creative briefs into actionable production schedules and workback plans, including from early-stage or evolving briefs.
• Identifies and mitigates project risks proactively; escalates blockers to the Sr. Manager and partners early.

Production Management

• Manages creative schedules and milestones for both internal and external productions, from kickoff, concepting, and pre-production through shoot, post, and final delivery. Ensures deliverables meet channel, format and brand specifications.
• Partners with the Sr. Manager and creative stakeholders to define external project scopes and statements of work, and reviews partner estimates against approved scope, escalating change orders before work proceeds.
• Runs the review and approval cycle across creative, strategy, and legal stakeholders.
• Oversees talent, music licensing, and usage rights tracking in partnership with production and legal teams, and manages trafficking and delivery of finished assets.

Internal Partner, Stakeholder, and Agency Coordination

• Serves as the day-to-day operational point of contact for creative agency and internal partners and stakeholders across assigned channels; defines deliverables, timelines, and feedback cycles.
• Onboards new partners to CarMax brand standards and workflows.
• Partner with internal teams to manage creative requests, working alongside media strategists and creatives who lead the brief to ensure the ask is clear and aligned.
• Holds internal and external partners accountable to agreed scopes, schedules, and quality standards.
• Supports quarterly and fiscal year planning by providing insight on historic deliverables and current available assets.

Quality Assurance & Brand Standards

• Reviews all assets within their workstream for brand compliance, accuracy, and quality before delivery or publication, enforcing consistent QA against CarMax brand standards and channel specifications.
• Coordinates legal review cycles for usage rights and promotional claims and maintains asset version records and approval documentation.
• Partners with creative leads to protect the quality and integrity of creative output throughout production.

Budget & Production Cost Tracking

• Tracks production costs and actuals for assigned deliverables, reviews video bids against approved scope, and reconciles final costs with the Sr. Manager.
• Flags budget risks or overages early and supports cost-efficient decisions without compromising creative quality.

QUALIFICATIONS

Required

• 4-7 years in project management, campaign production, or creative operations; in-house brand, agency, or combined experience considered.
• 2+ years managing video production, including oversight of agency- or vendor-led shoots from pre-production through final delivery.
• Working knowledge of the video production lifecycle: bidding and estimates, pre-production, production, post-production, finishing, and versioning.
• Experience coordinating legal review for advertising or content assets.
• Strong written and verbal communication; able to present status, risks, and decisions clearly to senior stakeholders.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple concurrent projects and maintain brand and creative quality standards while driving operational efficiency.
• Wiling to occasionally travel for work, up to 4 weeks per year.

Preferred

• In-house brand or agency experience supporting a national consumer brand.
• Experience managing or mentoring junior project staff or coordinators.
• Experience working with external production companies, editorial houses, or post-production vendors.
• Proficiency in monday.com or a similar platform; experience building project boards for cross-functional teams.
• Experience managing talent, music, and usage rights for produced video, and familiarity with delivery specs and trafficking across digital and social channels.
• Experience defining scopes and statements of work with agency or production partners, reviewing bids, and managing change orders and production budgets.
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About CarMax

CarMax disrupted the auto industry by delivering the honest, transparent and high-integrity experience customers want and deserve. This innovative thinking around the way cars are bought and sold has helped us become the nation's largest retailer of used cars, with over 200 locations nationwide.

Our amazing team of more than 25,000 associates work together to deliver iconic customer experiences. Along the way, we help every associate grow their career and achieve their best, at work and in their community. We are recognized for our commitment to training and diversity and are one of the FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work For.

CarMax is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified candidates will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

The annual salary for this position is:

$100,000.00 - $160,000.00

May be eligible for bonus and equity.

Benefits:

Except as otherwise required by state law, CarMax Associates are entitled to the following paid sick, vacation, and holiday time.

Associates that are considered full-time hourly or commission/incentive eligible:

• To earn up to 48 hours of sick time per year accrued on a per pay period basis and between 80 hours and 200 hours per year of vacation time after a 90 day waiting period depending on years of continuous service with the Company.
• For 8 hours of pay for each of a total of 6 paid scheduled holidays per year plus 1 floating holiday. If such an Associate does work on a scheduled holiday due to business need, they are eligible for Holiday Premium Pay.

Associates considered full-time salaried are entitled to paid time away with no specified limit as needed for sick, vacation, bereavement, jury duty, holidays, floating holiday, etc. subject to manager approval.

For more details about benefits, please visit our CarMax Benefits website.

Upon an applicant's request, CarMax will consider reasonable accommodation to complete the CarMax Job Application.