Job Description

Position Overview

At Contrarian Thinking, we help take back Main Street by buying and building businesses the smart way. We help build profitable, scalable businesses predictably, consistently, and less painfully. We buy businesses, teach our partners how to do acquisitions, then we help them scale to create enduring businesses they love to run. We're hiring a Project Manager supporting the Marketing team to act as a force multiplier for the marketing organization.

The Project Manager exists to bring clarity, focus, and execution rigor across a fast-moving marketing function that spans strategy, campaigns, events, content, growth, and cross-functional initiatives. You'll partner directly with the CMO to translate strategy into execution, align teams around priorities, and ensure the most important marketing work actually gets done.

This is not an administrative role. It's a trusted operator who helps the marketing org move faster, smarter, and with less noise. This role is intentionally designed for a high-potential, early-to-mid career operator who wants to accelerate their trajectory by working directly with senior leadership.

What You'll Own

CMO Leverage & Priority Management

• Partner closely with the CMO to clarify quarterly and monthly marketing priorities
• Translate high-level marketing strategy into executable plans
• Pressure-test initiatives before they launch (“Is this the right thing, right now?”)
• Ensure the CMO's time and attention are focused on the highest-leverage efforts

Strategic Marketing Execution

• Drive execution on the most critical cross-functional marketing initiatives (GTM launches, major campaigns, events, growth experiments)
• Turn ambiguous goals into clear plans with owners, timelines, and success metrics
• Identify risks, blockers, and tradeoffs early and proactively resolve them
• Hold marketing leaders accountable to commitments without adding unnecessary process

Marketing Org Alignment

• Act as connective tissue across growth, lifecycle, content, events, product, and ops
• Reduce duplication, rework, and reactive “bottoms-up” planning
• Clarify ownership, decision rights, and dependencies across the team
• Ensure teams understand why work is happening, not just what they're executing

Operating Rhythm & Communication

• Establish and run marketing operating cadences (weekly team syncs, monthly business reviews, quarterly planning)
• Synthesize updates into clear, executive-level readouts
• Create lightweight documentation for priorities, decisions, and plans
• Improve communication between marketing and cross-functional partners

Special Projects & Gap Coverage

• Step into messy or undefined marketing initiatives that need structure
• Lead special projects on behalf of the CMO
• Flex between strategic planning and hands-on execution depending on the moment

What We're Looking For

• 3+ years of experience in marketing, strategy, operations, consulting, or program leadership
• Proven ability to manage complex, cross-functional initiatives end-to-end
• Strong authoritative presence. Able to influence without formal authority
• Highly organized but pragmatic (you optimize for outcomes, not perfection)
• Strong written and verbal communication skills. You can synthesize clearly and concisely
• High judgment, discretion, and comfort operating with ambiguity
• Systems thinker who loves structure but knows when to move fast
• Bias toward action: you don't just surface problems, you solve them
• Located in Austin, TX, or willing to relocate

What Makes You Stand Out

• You're a force multiplier, not a note-taker.
• You have a rare ability to zoom in and out and are comfortable building the operating plan one minute and advising on strategy the next.
• You bring structured thinking to fast-moving environments without slowing things down.
• You naturally create clarity and alignment across teams with different incentives and perspectives.
• You're proactive by default, spotting issues before they become problems and acting without being asked.
• You communicate with precision: your written summaries, briefs, and recaps actually get read and acted on.
• You care deeply about outcomes, not optics. You hold a high bar for execution.

Who You Are

• You're energized by complex, cross-functional problems and take pride in bringing order to chaos.
• You're naturally curious about how businesses actually work and enjoy connecting dots across teams and functions.
• You have a strong bias toward action and are known for getting things done.
• You're comfortable working directly with senior leaders and can challenge thinking thoughtfully when needed.
• You're deeply organized but pragmatic. You know when structure helps and when speed matters more.
• You communicate clearly and concisely, both in writing and verbally.
• You have strong judgment, handle sensitive information with care, and operate with a high level of integrity.
• You care about impact, learning, and ownership.
• You thrive in environments where expectations are high, feedback is direct, and results matter.

This role is for someone who hates busywork and loves making things actually happen. You'll own turning leadership priorities into real execution - driving alignment, unblocking progress, and holding the line on what matters - with autonomy to act and accountability to company results.

Location

Austin, TX - Full-time in office.

Type of Employment

Full-Time

Crew Benefits

• 100% Company-paid health, dental, and vision for all full-time Crew Members with an option to add any dependents.
• Unlimited PTO Policy (with approval from your Direct Support) + 8 paid US holidays
• On-time direct deposit pay 2x/month
• Option to enroll in a 401(k) plan via Vestwell with competitive match options
• Learn expert deal-making and how to buy businesses with 100% free access to all of our courses and our flagship Contrarian Community

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