Lessons from coordinating purpose-driven communications across teams, time zones and timelines
Comms, PR and marketing are fast-paced professions. And no matter how compelling the message, how urgent the cause or how sharp the copy, none of it lands without strong project coordination. Ideas need execution. Strategy needs process. And for that, you need good project management.
Communication work is often deadline-driven and partner-dependent. Since we also work with remote teams, overlapping deliverables and a high expectation of quality, project management is not a back-office function. It’s part of the creative process.
Here’s how we approach it at AMS, and what we’ve learned about making complex projects run without losing momentum or people.
The challenge: Combining delivery with coordination
Most of our projects are led by communications professionals who also manage timelines and team workflows. We work in small, focused pods where people need to be both strategic and hands-on. That means our project managers often step in to review content, liaise with partners, lead team check-ins and, when needed, create content themselves.
In a recent campaign, one of our team members managed a UN agency project that involved multiple stakeholders, from research partners to youth contributors. She was responsible for keeping the work on track, but also helped shape the messaging, reviewed outputs and coordinated sign-off across multiple partners. This mix of delivery and coordination is common in our setup, and works well because the person leading the process understands the substance as well as the schedule.
Practical tools and rhythms
After much experimentation (which remains ongoing). We use a mix of tools and routines that fit our team size and client needs.
- Software:
- We track tasks on Trello, using a Kanban-style board with clear owners for each item, focused on deliverables that are scoped and scheduled.
- We’ve tried other platforms (Monday.com, Asana, Slack, Notion, even WhatsApp) but we’ve adopted Trello this year as it’s easy to use, flexible and visual.
- Meetings:
- We meet weekly as a core team to track progress and raise issues
- We hold project meetings for each ‘pod’ every Tuesday morning, to look ahead at the week’s priorities and hold each other accountable.
- Focus amid the whirlwind:
- We use a version of the Four Disciplines of Execution (4DX) to guide our business processes and weekly check-ins. Each team member commits to a set of actions they’ll take that week, linked to key project or business goals.
- We then review what’s been done and what needs adjusting, using simple dashboards (in a Canva deck) that we update together manually each week. The idea is to focus on what moves the work forward, rather than getting lost in reactive tasks or unmeasurable outcomes.
Working across time zones and preferences
As a remote-first organisation, we’ve had to design our ways of working carefully. Most of our team is within a two-hour time zone window of the Netherlands, but everyone has different working patterns and personal commitments.
We avoid Friday meetings to protect time for deeper work or rest. We use WhatsApp to keep each other informed, and we rely on well-prepared agendas and clear documentation shared in advance, to keep meetings efficient.
We build in time for reflection and connection. Weekly team calls include space for gratitude, creative prompts or sharing something that worked well. We don’t think this is extra: it’s essential for a team that works across distance.
Matching tools to people
We’ve also learned that it’s not about the tools – it’s about how people use them. You can have the perfect Trello board, but if the person using it is confused or overworked, it won’t help. So we invest time in making sure everyone knows what’s expected, how the process works, and where to raise concerns.
We also try to scope properly. That means breaking down deliverables into manageable units, estimating how long things will take, and reviewing regularly. One of the things we’ve noticed is that tasks labelled the same can take wildly different amounts of time. So we make a habit of checking in and adjusting where needed.
Good project management is invisible when it works
When a project is well managed, it feels easy. Deliverables arrive on time. Reviews are smooth. The right people are included, but no one is overwhelmed. And the admin is the minimum viable process required to make things work.
That ease takes real effort behind the scenes. But it’s worth it, because having strong project management protects quality, supports collaboration and helps purpose-driven teams deliver on their promises. In our experience, the best project managers are reliable, clear and generous. They hold the structure so others can do their best work.
That’s what we aim for at AMS: communications with purpose, supported by processes that help people work well.
If you’re delivering complex communications under pressure, we’d be glad to help.
Get in touch to explore how we support nonprofit teams with project coordination that protects quality and momentum.
Let’s build systems that work for your mission and your people.
