How to hire a digital project manager

How to hire a digital project manager, step by step

Here's a step-by-step digital project manager hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a digital project manager job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new digital project manager
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a digital project manager do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your digital project manager job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find a digital project manager for hire on a part-time basis or as a contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

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   A digital project manager's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, digital project managers from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   Here's a comparison of digital project manager salaries for various roles:

   Type of Digital Project Manager	Description	Hourly rate
   Digital Project Manager	Advertising, promotions, and marketing managers plan programs to generate interest in products or services. They work with art directors, sales agents, and financial staff members.	$27-61
   Brand Manager	A brand manager is a professional responsible for adapting a brand strategy that targets the potential market for a company's product while maintaining its integrity. Brand managers assist in developing products while managing budgets for the advertising and promotion of their new products... Show more	$34-62
   Product Development Manager	A product development manager spearheads the development of new products within a company. Most of the time, their responsibilities revolve around conducting marketing research and analysis to determine consumers' needs, coordinating with the product development team to come up with new ideas, proposing business plans to the executives, and creating prototypes... Show more	$40-73

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Project Management
   • Digital Marketing
   • WordPress
   • Client Facing
   • Jira
   • Digital Transformation
   • Scrum
   • Customer Service
   • PowerPoint
   • Web Development
   • Marketing Campaigns
   • Status Reports
   • Google Analytics
   • Project Scope

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage ongoing site optimization according to SEO and SEM best practices.
   • Utilize and manage development in ecommerce and CMS platforms including Magento, Wordpress and Drupal.
   • Manage SEO client strategies throughout the duration of the project and after the project is completed.
   • Manage new site design, data integration and front-end programming and customer relationships management (CRM) programs.
   • Manage day-to day project responsibilities for all digital components for a new CRM campaign for the Wendy s account.
   • Manage all business and website development efforts for the online marketing team, including support of three B2C businesses.

   More digital project manager duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your digital project manager job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A digital project manager salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, digital project managers' average salary in nebraska is 43% less than in california.
   • Seniority. Entry-level digital project managers earn 55% less than senior-level digital project managers.
   • Certifications. A digital project manager with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in a digital project manager's salary.

   Average digital project manager salary

   $86,043yearly

   $41.37 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level digital project manager salary

   $57,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 5, 2025

   Average digital project manager salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$112,174	$54
   2	New Jersey	$99,571	$48
   3	Washington	$97,085	$47
   4	Texas	$92,136	$44
   5	Virginia	$91,873	$44
   6	New York	$87,571	$42
   7	Massachusetts	$85,430	$41
   8	Arizona	$81,467	$39
   9	Oregon	$80,759	$39
   10	Maryland	$80,538	$39
   11	North Carolina	$80,234	$39
   12	Indiana	$78,476	$38
   13	Tennessee	$77,999	$38
   14	Connecticut	$77,734	$37
   15	Illinois	$77,516	$37
   16	District of Columbia	$77,042	$37
   17	Minnesota	$73,639	$35
   18	Pennsylvania	$72,555	$35
   19	Georgia	$72,530	$35
   20	Michigan	$71,593	$34

   Average digital project manager salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Apple	$157,109	$75.53	36
   2	Intuitive Surgical	$140,731	$67.66	11
   3	Avanade	$136,552	$65.65
   4	Pwc	$133,056	$63.97	632
   5	Accenture	$130,467	$62.72	362
   6	Baker Hughes	$129,777	$62.39	8
   7	NTT Data International L.L.C.	$129,492	$62.26	79
   8	Huron Consulting Group	$127,520	$61.31	83
   9	VF	$127,282	$61.19	5
   10	Connors Group	$122,953	$59.11
   11	Wpp Us Holdings Inc	$122,484	$58.89	46
   12	Moderna	$122,402	$58.85	1
   13	Caterpillar	$121,626	$58.47	21
   14	ABB	$117,509	$56.49	26
   15	Radancy	$117,058	$56.28
   16	The Walt Disney Company	$116,381	$55.95	67
   17	The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation	$113,647	$54.64
   18	Deluxe Entertainment Services Group Inc.	$112,815	$54.24
   19	Davis Elen Advertising	$112,006	$53.85
   20	Premier System Integrators	$110,786	$53.26

4. Writing a digital project manager job description

   A digital project manager job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. Below, you can find an example of a digital project manager job description:

   Digital project manager job description example

   Cognizant is a strategic partner to the Fortune 2,000, helping the world's most influential companies to build software and solutions, empowering our clients' businesses and enabling their competitive advantages.
   
   Cognizant Interactive helps clients reinvent products, experiences and business models to create new value, differentiation and drive revenue in the digital economy.
   We take an Experience centered approach which uses human insights to take ideas from vision to outcome and building end to end experience led solutions that enables brands to transform their customer and employee experiences using design, marketing and commerce capabilities
   
   Job Summary
   
   Cognizant is looking for a Digital Learning Project Manager with 8+years of experience in managing projects in learning domain.
   
   An ideal candidate is someone who enjoys working in a fast paced, collaborative environment. Someone that values the "team" and leverages the opinions and expertise of their teammates to deliver quality.
   
   Roles/Responsibilities:
   Project definition, communications and change management. Risk Identification and Mitigation. Stakeholder management and regular report outs to senior management Project tracking and project status reporting Defining success metrics, analyzing data and extrapolating actionable business insights Process documentation and documentation management Managing a team with a diverse array of talents and responsibilities Formulate suitable Strategies to organize and monitor inter-connected projects
   
   Required Qualifications:
   Bachelor's degree or master's degree in business or related field. Proven work experience as a Training Consultant or similar role and has conducted Training Needs Analysis. Familiarity with Learning Management Software (LMS) and has knowledge of traditional and modern job training methods and techniques. Proven experience in program management techniques and Methods. Competency in Microsoft applications including Word, Excel and MPP. Strong communication skills both speaking and writing. Strong proficiency in English Vendor management experience Proficiency in using project management tools Certifications like PMP or CSM, preferred.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right digital project manager for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your digital project manager job on Zippia to find and recruit digital project manager candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   During your first interview to recruit digital project managers, engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. During the following interview, you'll be able to go into more detail about the company, the position, and the responsibilities.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new digital project manager

   Once you have selected a candidate for the digital project manager position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize the agreement with a contract.

   It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new digital project manager. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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How much does it cost to hire a digital project manager?