Programs Manager Jobs in Berkeley, CA (NOW HIRING)

    Marketing Programs Manager

Common Sense Media is the leading nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of kids and families by providing the research-backed information, education, and independent voice they need to thrive in the age of apps, algorithms, and AI. We rate, educate, and advocate for policies to protect and prepare kids online. Our ratings, research, and resources reach more than 150 million users globally, over 1.4 million educators, and more than 100,000 schools worldwide every year. Learn more at commonsense.org. 

The Opportunity

The marketing programs manager will serve as the central orchestrator of creative and marketing workflows across our entire marketing team, ensuring seamless production and on-time delivery of campaigns, partner marketing initiatives, and grant deliverables. This role requires a highly organized production professional who understands how creative and marketing work gets made—and knows how to keep it on track across multiple functions simultaneously.

Location: San Francisco, CA 
Reports to: Senior Director, Brand Marketing
Salary: $85,600–$101,650
Type: Full-time, exempt

What You'll Do
A key part of this role is serving as the primary liaison for partnership and grant-related creative deliverables, ensuring commitments to external partners and funders are met with quality and on schedule. You'll be the connective tissue between our marketing functions (brand, growth, membership, educator marketing, and events) and internal and external stakeholders, bringing structure, accountability, and efficiency to a dynamic, fast-moving environment. 

Creative Production & Workflow Management

• Own the intake process for all creative and marketing requests across the full marketing team, conducting thorough project scoping to identify dependencies, requirements, and resource needs. Triage submissions from the team's intake form, surface and resolve outstanding questions before work begins, and enforce intake protocols to prevent unplanned work from entering the pipeline.
• Drive the hands-on production of creative and marketing assets across campaigns and initiatives, ensuring high-quality output from briefing through final delivery. Maintain a strong working knowledge of design, video, content, and digital marketing production processes to credibly manage timelines and flag issues early.
• Develop and maintain project timelines across all marketing functions that account for team capacity, reconcile multiple workstreams to identify conflicts and dependencies early, and ensure the full marketing team consistently meets deadlines and is resourced appropriately.
• Balance workloads across marketing team members and functions to optimize productivity. Collaborate with department leads (brand, growth, events, membership, etc.) to flag capacity constraints and secure additional resources as needed.
• Control project budgets and timelines across marketing workstreams, combating scope creep through disciplined change management and clear documentation. Establish guardrails that prevent unplanned work from derailing the team's strategic priorities.
• Implement and optimize project management systems and workflows to increase team-wide efficiency. Oversee digital asset management on the brand hub and ensure systems are used consistently across the marketing organization.

Partnership & Grant Deliverables

• Serve as the primary liaison for partner marketing and grant-related creative production, including commitments to partners and grant funders. Track deliverable requirements, manage production timelines, and ensure all partner and funder commitments are met with quality and on schedule.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Serve as the primary point of contact between the marketing team and internal partner departments (education, advocacy, development, PR, and others), ensuring projects are scoped correctly, with clear communication and timely delivery of marketing assets.
• Coordinate social media content intake and production workflows in close partnership with the social media manager.
• Manage relationships with external vendors, freelancers, and creative partners across all marketing functions, including resource allocation and performance management.

CMO & Team Operations Support

• Partner closely with the CMO to support team management and operational needs, including planning and executing team offsites, team meetings, and cross-functional team gatherings.
• Coordinate logistics, agendas, pre-work, and follow-up for recurring and ad hoc team meetings, ensuring sessions are productive and action-oriented.
• Support the CMO in tracking team-wide priorities, goals, and key milestones, helping maintain visibility and accountability across the marketing organization.
• Assist with the preparation of internal communications, presentations, and materials on behalf of the CMO for team and leadership audiences.
• Drive ongoing improvements in marketing operations by identifying bottlenecks across functions and recommending process optimizations that support the CMO's broader team strategy.

What We're Looking For

• 5 to 7 years of experience in project management, marketing operations, or creative production roles, with demonstrated experience working across multiple marketing functions.
• 2 to 3 years of experience coordinating cross-functional workflows or projects, with the ability to manage multiple complex workstreams simultaneously.
• Hands-on production experience with creative and marketing teams (brand, growth, events, video, social media) and a strong understanding of how marketing work gets made end to end.
• Experience supporting senior leaders, including executive-level coordination, meeting facilitation, and team operations.
• Experience managing deliverables for external partners, sponsors, or grant funders, including tracking commitments and ensuring on-time, on-spec delivery.
• Exceptional organizational skills, with obsessive attention to detail.
• Strong communication and relationship-building skills across all organizational levels.
• Demonstrated ability to set boundaries, manage scope, and push back constructively when necessary.
• Proficiency with project management tools (especially Asana) and creative collaboration platforms (Figma, Google Workspace).
• Budget management experience and financial acumen, including vendor relationship management.
• Ability to remain calm under pressure during high-stakes campaign launches and tight deadlines.

Nice to Have:

• Experience implementing or optimizing creative intake and workflow systems at the department or organization level.
• Background in a creative or marketing discipline (design, video production, growth marketing, etc.) providing hands-on credibility with functional teams.
• Experience in mission-driven nonprofit environments where processes need to scale rapidly.
• Understanding of digital asset management best practices.
• Familiarity with grant reporting or compliance requirements for creative deliverables.

What We Offer

• The chance to work with talented, passionate professionals.
• A great health and welfare benefits package, including medical, dental, vision, and a matching 401(k).
• An organization that offers work/life balance.
• The opportunity to really make a difference in the lives of kids and families!

Common Sense Media provides equal employment opportunities to all qualified individuals and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, pregnancy, age, national origin, physical or mental disability, military or veteran status, genetic information, or any other protected classification or characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.

Common Sense Media will also consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records. However, job offers are made on the condition that the applicant subsequently passes a criminal background check. If the background check indicates a prior criminal conviction, we will conduct an individualized assessment to determine whether the conviction should result in denial of employment. Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider employment for qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.