Creative Operations Lead

As Operations Lead, you will be the operational spine of the Global Creative Outdoor team, owning the processes, tools and ways of working that allow the team to respond to briefs clearly, consistently and at pace. You will act as the central point for incoming opportunities, leading intake and triage, directing briefs to the right talent, setting projects up properly and making sure work moves through the team with clarity and control.

This is also a people leadership role. You will lead and mentor the Project Management team, helping them feel supported, trusted and able to do their best work. You will set standards, motivate the team, lead by example and create the structure that allows creative, production and delivery specialists to focus on their areas of expertise. You will also help build the capability for the future, improving operational foundations, identifying opportunities for growth and helping the team develop new or improved services.

Operations & Triage: 30%

• Own the intake process for new briefs, ensuring every opportunity has a clear entry point, response route and owner.

• Lead triage by bringing the right senior talent into the room to assess the opportunity, identify risks and guide the approach.

• Ensure projects are set up with the right scope, estimate, schedule, folder structure, documentation and team.

• Maintain visibility of live work, incoming demand, priorities, risks and team capacity.

• Keep processes practical, consistent and easy for the team to use.

Delivery & Workflow: 20%

• Own and improve the operational process from brief through creative development, production, adaptation and final supply.

• Support Project Managers in keeping projects moving, with clear timings, actions, approvals and stakeholder updates.

• Work with creative, production and other Global teams to ensure ideas are deliverable within agreed timings, budgets and technical requirements.

• Help embed consistent project documentation, including estimates, schedules, scopes of work, contact reports, asset trackers and status reporting.

• Ensure the team shows up professionally and consistently across every project.

Team Leadership & Mentoring: 30%

• Lead, support and mentor the Project Management team.

• Create a positive environment where people feel trusted, motivated and able to do their jobs well.

• Set clear expectations, provide guidance and lead by example.

• Build confidence, capability and consistency across the PM function.

• Help resolve pressure points, unblock issues and support the team through busy or complex periods.

Growth & Improvement: 20%

• Work with senior team members to identify opportunities for growth, improvement and new services.

• Bring a business-minded view to operational decisions, balancing creative ambition, commercial opportunity and delivery reality.

• Help turn repeatable success into scalable processes, tools and service models.

• Share best practice, project learnings and inspiration across the team.

• Champion a culture of clarity, accountability, collaboration and continuous improvement.

• Think Big: You’ll help build the operating model for a growing creative capability inside one of the UK’s leading media owners.

• Own It: You’ll bring clarity to complexity and keep the wheels moving.

• Keep it Simple: You’ll turn fast-moving briefs, people and priorities into clear actions and outcomes.

• Better Together: You’ll work across creative, commercial, production and delivery teams to help the capability grow.

In your first few months, you’ll have:

• Taken ownership of the team’s core operating processes and documentation.

• Established a clear intake and triage rhythm for new briefs.

• Built trust with the Project Management team and helped them work with confidence and consistency.

• Improved visibility of live work, priorities, risks and capacity.

• Embedded clearer workflows across creative development, production and supply.

• Helped identify opportunities for new or improved services.

The ideal candidate will be organised, commercially aware and confident leading people through a fast-moving creative environment.

• Experience in creative operations, creative services, project management, production or agency operations.

• Strong understanding of creative workflows from brief through concept, production, adaptation and delivery.

• Proven ability to lead, mentor and motivate Project Managers or delivery teams.

• Confident managing intake, prioritisation, resource planning, project setup and delivery governance.

• Strong stakeholder management skills, with the ability to bring clarity and calm to complex situations.

• Good commercial understanding, including estimates, scopes, budgets, suppliers and delivery models.

• Comfortable building process in a scaling or ambiguous environment.

• Able to identify operational improvements that create creative, commercial or cultural value.

• Strong communication skills and a collaborative, practical, straight-talking style.

• Experience in advertising, media, OOH, creative production or agency environments is required.