Principal
Location: Chicago, IL or Washington, DC (or remote for extremely well qualified candidates)
Reports to: Head of Delivery
Starting Salary: $164,000- $182,000 and equity

About Tavern Research

Tavern Research is a political tech startup building tools and insights to help our customers win elections and make better, evidence-based decisions. We specialize in scaling expert human work, such as content generation and survey research to support thoughtful, data-driven civic engagement. We're a venture-backed, mission-driven, fast-moving, and mostly technical team focused on supporting campaigns and organizations working to strengthen democratic participation. We are experimental by design and expect every team member to continuously improve how they work using new tools and technology. Everything else is on our website. If you still have questions, let us know when you apply!

About You

You have extremely strong project management skills and instincts. You excel at managing customer delivery from initial project ideation through successful completion. You're a seasoned professional who thrives at the intersection of campaigns, paid media, and customer relationships — and you're an excellent communicator, both in presenting clearly and listening carefully to what customers and teammates actually need. You're comfortable leading and collaborating with technical teams, and you're genuinely obsessed with how AI is changing the way this work gets done.

About the role

You’ll be the operational backbone ensuring our paid media and creative production work delivers maximum value to customers— on time, on budget, and at the quality our customers expect. You’ll serve as a primary point of contact for customer relationships, the final sign-off on customer-facing materials, and a key voice in how we grow the paid media practice. This role blends project management and strategic thinking in a fast-paced, high-impact environment. You’ll be instrumental in scaling our paid media team while maintaining quality and customer service. 

We value in-person collaboration and expect employees to work regularly from our Chicago office. Washington, D.C.-based and exceptionally qualified remote candidates will also be considered.

Responsibilities

• Manage multiple projects from kickoff to delivery, ensuring timelines, quality, and customer expectations are met.
• Oversee quality control for creative and trafficking, and coordinate delivery of platform-ready and  broadcast-ready materials to customers.
• Collaborate with media buyers and creative teams to scope work, allocate resources, and resolve technical or operational issues.
• Lead customer calls and presentations, guiding teams through paid media strategy, creative direction, and performance insights.
• Improve and scale internal project management.
• Work closely with technical teams to incorporate AI tools into paid media and creative workflows.
• Support business development by leading sales pitches and assembling packages that meet customer needs.
• Identify opportunities to strengthen customer relationships and expand support.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in political campaigns, paid media, or consulting
• Familiarity with media buying and ad operations (digital and/or TV), or close collaboration with media teams.
• Proven project management skills in fast-paced, deadline-driven environments.
• Experience managing high-stakes customer relationships
• Comfortable working with technical teams; curious about using AI and data to improve political work.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with confidence presenting insights to senior stakeholders.

You don't need a degree to work here. You just need to excel at managing complex paid media projects and building strong customer relationships.

Benefits

• Premium health insurance
• Unlimited PTO and paid federal holidays
• 401k match

Tavern Research is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.