ERIN ZILLES
Brooklyn Park
Summary
- Senior marketing operations and program management leader with 10+ years of experience in driving vision, strategy, and execution for high-impact marketing communications plans, campaigns, and partnerships in diverse industry environments.
- Extensive experience in planning and executing strategic projects to transform marketing strategy and tactics, streamline the end-to-end customer life cycle, develop high-performing marketing teams, and generate actionable marketing analytics/insights.
- Excels in implementing innovative, customer-centric B2B/B2C marketing and communications plans, brand messaging, product launches, and multichannel campaigns that maximize audience engagement, market penetration, and revenue growth.
- Applies a deep understanding of digital storytelling, strategic communications, and go-to-market (GTM) planning to define and establish data-driven, outcome-oriented enterprise marketing strategies underpinned by simple, inspiring brand narratives.
Overview
13
13
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Marketing Production Manager
Optum
Eden Prairie
12.2024 - Current
- Coordinate cross-functional teams to align on project goals and deliverables.
- Implement process improvements to streamline production workflows and enhance efficiency.
- Collaborate with creative teams to ensure brand consistency across all outputs.
- Analyze project feedback to refine future marketing production strategies.
- Ensure accuracy in all printed materials and email communications before they go into production
- Identify areas where improvements could be made in order to streamline processes or reduce costs.
- Triage and prioritize concurrent initiatives under tight timelines, balancing shifting requirements and ambiguity while maintaining delivery commitments
- Serve as the primary point of contact for complex, high‑visibility initiatives, acting as a strategic partner to business stakeholders and representing their needs across internal teams
- Support proposal‑style workstreams by translating structured requirements into clear, compliant messaging and coordinating inputs from multiple contributors
- Prepare executive‑ready background materials and meeting documentation, including context, risks, dependencies, and recommended next steps
- Leverage AI tools (Copilot) to improve efficiency in drafting, synthesis, and coordination across complex initiatives
Senior Project Manager at Bold Orange, TurboTax
24 Seven
Minneapolis
08.2024 - 11.2024
- Oversee the development of email marketing campaigns while ensuring quality is maintained and that corporate identity is reflected properly
- Lead and orchestrate projects with precision, ensuring key milestones are achieved promptly and accurately
- Fosters robust collaborations within the team and establishing strong partnerships to drive project success
- Identify and define the roles and responsibilities of the client and Creative team to qualify the expectations of the client and ensure customer satisfaction for all projects
- Helps handle and distribute the influx of work accordingly during tax season
- Participates and helps organize scrum-style meetings
- Oversees and manages aspects of ongoing projects and serves as liaison between client relationship managers, creative and production, QA and Ops
Creative Project Manager at Medtronic, Cardiovascular Digital COE
HORIZONTAL TALENT
Minneapolis
11.2023 - 08.2024
- Oversee the development of design projects, brochures, ads, presentations, AEM web pages, Eloqua emails, and social media, while ensuring quality is maintained and that corporate identity is reflected properly
- Provide work estimates, determine schedules, and provide direction to internal and external resources for job completion
- Identify and define the roles and responsibilities of the client and CV Creative & Digital COE to qualify the expectations of the client and ensure customer satisfaction for all design projects
- Lead the onboarding and implementation of Adobe Workfront for the Cardiovascular COE department by training peers, curating and modifying templates, setting up user groups/teams, and being the overall SME for the team
Senior Marketing Communications Specialist, Product Marketing
OPTUM
Eden Prairie
07.2019 - 08.2023
- Collaborated closely with internal and external cross-functional teams (fulfillment, email, design, finance, marketing) for the development of digital and print marketing communications.
- Oversaw deadline-driven projects and campaigns in a fast-paced, matrixed environment, ensuring successful execution while utilizing several platforms for organizing, monitoring, and managing projects efficiently.
- Scheduled and led weekly project status meetings to keep teams aligned and informed while establishing and communicating project timelines and campaign plans through Adobe Workfront, coordinating with creative partners for seamless execution.
- Drove process improvement initiatives related to project work (including partner processes) and administered final creative assets with QA responsibilities while training and coaching new team members.
Materials Manager | Print Buyer
OPTUM
Eden Prairie
12.2016 - 07.2019
- Served as the primary point of contact for print vendors, fostering collaborative relationships and organized, facilitated, and engaged in press checks, ensuring client satisfaction and vendor partnerships.
- Maintained robust working relationships with internal teams and external vendors while playing an active role in direct mail projects, creative format/layout, and deliverable implementation.
- Delivered recommendations and attained approval for optimal print job specifications, quantities, and fulfillment methods while monitoring purchase orders and ensuring accuracy in pricing, General Ledger coding, and quantities.
- Managed project timelines and print production schedules to ensure timely completion and cost-effective delivery of materials by print and fulfillment vendors.
- Developed procedural documentation and job aids to streamline tasks and processes and generated reports on Fulfillment Ordering System (FOS) usage and inventory levels for informed decision-making.
Project Manager
PERISCOPE
Minneapolis
11.2015 - 12.2016
- Orchestrated job organization and provided clear instructions for accurate file preparation, utilizing mockups, annotated PDFs, soft proofing tools, and email communication.
- Ensured high quality by meticulously checking print-ready files before client delivery, organized and led status meetings with internal and external partners, and served as the client-facing representative for high-profile clients, cultivating strong client relationships.
- Oversaw project scopes efficiently and mitigated risks, developed timelines to ensure successful project lifecycles, and fostered daily communication with customers, contributing to the maintenance of robust customer relationships and rapport.
Project Manager, Custom Applications
IMAGINE! PRINT SOLUTIONS
Shakopee
02.2014 - 11.2015
- Demonstrated deep expertise in functional area-related tasks, including color separations, soft/color proofing, and color printing, while managing print-on-demand clients and overseeing their project timelines with a strong focus.
- Coordinated and directed project team members and vendors to ensure adherence to project timelines and proactively investigated discrepancies in inventory, shipments, and fulfillment management to prevent future occurrences.
Project Manager (Sheetfed)
IMAGINE! PRINT SOLUTIONS
Shakopee
12.2013 - 02.2014
- Managed incoming projects from sales staff, overseeing the end-to-end job processing cycle while examining and organizing each job, ensuring alignment with corresponding estimates, and developing components for the Planning Department.
- Delivered valuable in-house support to the sales team, addressing customer inquiries and information needs, and maintained effective communication channels among customers, sales, and the plant for all ongoing projects.
Customer Service Representative
IMAGINE! PRINT SOLUTIONS
Shakopee
01.2013 - 12.2013
- Led client interactions by promptly responding to phone calls and emails, addressing their needs and requests effectively while maintaining inventory, processing customer requests, and onboarding new clients, adhering to established guidelines.
Education
Bachelor of Arts -
University of Minnesota Duluth
Duluth, MN05.2010
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Skills
- Organizational Leadership
- Strategic Planning & Execution
- Program & Project Management
- Marketing Collateral Development
- Strategic Marketing Communications
- Client Relations & Customer Support
- Business Process Improvement
- Technology Implementation
- Project Planning & Execution
- Stakeholder & Vendor Management
- Adobe Workfront
- Strategic Partnerships & Alliances
- Digital & Print Marketing
- Inventory Management
- C-Suite & Executive Relations
- Project Lifecycle Management
- Cost Reduction Strategy
- People & Team Leadership
Certification
Foundations of Digital Marketing and E-Commerce, Coursera, 01/01/23
Personal Information
Title: SENIOR PROJECT MANAGER | CREATIVE MARKETING SPECIALIST
Professional Highlights
- Trained, mentored, and guided 2 new employees in Q1 2023 at Optum and successfully led the end-to-end completion and delivery of multiple projects for industry-leading clients such as Target, Delta Airlines, P&G, John Deere, Best Buy, etc., 01/01/23
- Achieved a 99.9% accuracy rating for all direct mail campaigns at Optum while delivering $6M in annual cost savings by eliminating postage and other print efficiencies., 01/01/23
- Supported the curation of new project templates and increased operational efficiency at Optum by reducing the time spent on tasks between diverse departments., 01/01/23
- Helped lead the department-wide implementation of a new project management system (Workfront project management software) at Optum while serving as a subject matter expert (SME) to fellow Materials Managers on all aspects of the tool., 01/01/23
- Oversaw the execution of multiple special projects at Imagine! Print Solutions, successfully optimizing the process for outbound shipments, inventory management, and timely completion of hot jobs., 01/01/23
Timeline
Marketing Production Manager
Optum
12.2024 - Current
Senior Project Manager at Bold Orange, TurboTax
24 Seven
08.2024 - 11.2024
Creative Project Manager at Medtronic, Cardiovascular Digital COE
HORIZONTAL TALENT
11.2023 - 08.2024
Senior Marketing Communications Specialist, Product Marketing
OPTUM
07.2019 - 08.2023
Materials Manager | Print Buyer
OPTUM
12.2016 - 07.2019
Project Manager
PERISCOPE
11.2015 - 12.2016
Project Manager, Custom Applications
IMAGINE! PRINT SOLUTIONS
02.2014 - 11.2015
Project Manager (Sheetfed)
IMAGINE! PRINT SOLUTIONS
12.2013 - 02.2014
Customer Service Representative
IMAGINE! PRINT SOLUTIONS
01.2013 - 12.2013
Bachelor of Arts -
University of Minnesota Duluth