
Head of Creative Operations
- Cape Town, Western Cape
- Permanent
- Full-time
Work set up: HybridOur client in the financial services industry is looking for a Head of Creative Operations Lead to drive and evolve the operational strategy of their in-house creative team. This individual will lead efforts to scale and enhance studio operations, with a forward-looking view on forecasting, workflow optimization, and agile transformation. The successful candidate will partner closely with marketing stakeholders and creative leadership to shape the future state of creative operations and delivery across the global marketing organization.The role operates within the company's open and collaborative creative culture, where work is shared early and often to promote alignment and deliver cohesive, high-impact brand experiences.What you will do:
- Own and evolve end-to-end creative operations strategy, including forecasting, resource planning, and workflow innovation.
- Serve as program lead for operational transformation, including a shift to agile methodologies and scalable operating models.
- Oversee and optimize project workflows from intake through delivery, ensuring efficiency, visibility, and timely delivery.
- Implement and manage traffic and project management platforms (e.g. Adobe Workfront) to streamline operations and enable data-driven decisions.
- Develop and maintain reporting dashboards that provide operational insights to stakeholders and drive continuous improvement.
- Partner with creative and marketing leadership to identify opportunities for operational efficiency and align resources to business priorities.
- Manage the intake of creative requests, ensuring briefs are aligned to priorities and assigned effectively.
- Utilize project management software (e.g., Adobe Workfront) to track and manage projects.
- Evaluate and integrate new tools and platforms to support agile, future-ready studio operations.
- Champion a culture of continuous improvement, cross-functional collaboration, and operational excellence.
- Minimum of 7+ years of experience in creative operations, program management, or project delivery, preferably within financial services or complex enterprise environments, providing support to local team members.
- Proven experience in guiding and managing a marketing and/or creative team effectively, preferably within an internal agency or in-house creative team.
- Proven ability to lead operational transformation initiatives, including process design, tooling, and team change management.
- Deep understanding of creative workflow processes, traffic management, and resource allocation.
- Experience forecasting and planning within matrixed, global environments.
- Familiarity with Agile or scaled Agile models applied to marketing/creative workflows is a strong advantage.
- Strong communication and stakeholder engagement skills, with the ability to influence cross-functional teams and leadership.
- Proficiency in project management and workflow software (e.g. Adobe Workfront).
- Experience using AI tools for content and creative operations.
- Experience working within, and contributing, to an integrated Brand Design System.
- Ability to work effectively with cross-functional teams.
- Strong analytical skills to evaluate and enhance marketing activities.