Job title: Senior Creative Operations Manager

Reports to: Head of Creative

Responsible for: Overseeing the delivery of Art Fund’s creative projects from brief to completion

Working pattern: Full time, 2 days per week in the office

1.      About my role

The Creative Operations Manager oversees the day-to-day delivery of Art Fund’s print and digital creative work, co-ordinating projects from brief to completion and ensuring smooth workflows across in-house teams, freelancers and suppliers.

Working closely with the in-house creative team and colleagues across membership, digital experience, programmes and development, the postholder receives and interrogates briefs, provides production guidance, manages capacity and schedules work appropriately. They keep project information up to date, run project meetings, manage feedback and ensure all work meets Art Fund’s creative and brand standards.

The role covers print, digital, social and events collateral, with some light touch animation or video. It also manages rights and reproduction workflows, co-ordinating with the Senior Image Licensing Specialist and Head of Creative to ensure licensing requirements are built into project plans. This role also line manages the Digital and Creative Asset Co-ordinator.

Alongside day-to-day delivery, the postholder supports quarterly and annual planning cycles, helping to map resource needs and schedule major projects. As a brand guardian alongside the Head of Creative, they help ensure all creative output reflects Art Fund’s visual identity and values and support the smooth running of creative operations by maintaining clear processes and making practical improvements where needed.

2.     How we work

Collaborative & Inclusive

·       We work together to achieve success and make the most of opportunities          

·       We value contribution - ensuring everyone's voice is heard and everyone's experience matters

·       We keep up to date with internal and external activities - proactively reaching out and positively responding to requests for support

·       We care about each other, respecting and appreciating differences, so that everyone feels included

Curious & Innovative

·       We try new things     

·       We ask questions     

·       We encourage openness and ideas

·       We embrace change

Expert & Impactful

·       We do our best work, are clear on priorities and understand sometimes priorities change

·       We make decisions based on insights and measurable results                            

·       We communicate on a diverse range of subjects in ways that are accessible to everyone

·       We share our knowledge and expertise, and draw on that of others, to get things done

Trusted & Trusting

·       We're open and honest with each other, giving and receiving constructive feedback

·       We trust others to involve us at the right time              

·       We are trusted, and trust others, to do their best work and deliver on time

·       We celebrate success, learn from mistakes and have a no blame culture

3.     Key accountabilities

Managing and trafficking creative projects

·       Create and maintain schedules for creative projects, ensuring orderly and timely delivery of projects and assets

·       Manage the creative team’s capacity and workload, allocating projects and maintaining realistic timelines

·       Receive and interrogate briefs, providing production guidance and clarifying requirements where needed

·       Coordinate creative delivery for key organisational assets such as the Annual Report, National Art Pass materials and Museum of the Year.

Resource and production planning

·        Lead the operational planning of monthly and quarterly creative intake, working in partnership with the Head of Creative to identify briefs that need strategic or brand-level input, or where risks may arise, and scheduling these at the right points for alignment with Head of Creative

·        Lead project production meetings, manage feedback cycles and ensure clarity of next steps

·        Identify upcoming resource needs, plan resource allocation and recruit freelancers as necessary

Creative operations workflow

·       Keep the creative Trello projects board up to date as the single source of truth, and communicate changes to project timelines to internal colleagues

·       Maintain clear and efficient creative operations workflows

·       Identify opportunities for making practical improvements to creative workflows

Brand guardianship

• Work with in-house creative team to keep brand guidelines up to date and ensure final assets are stored correctly on Bynder

• Provide access to brand guidelines and creative assets to in-house teams and freelancers and suppliers when appropriate

Supplier and budget management

·       Maintain a roster of print, digital asset and production suppliers; negotiate competitive prices and manage tenders

·       Monitor budgets relating to brand, design and print, and advise colleagues on setting realistic creative budgets

·       Work with internal teams to co-ordinate product development and source sustainable suppliers for print and physical materials

Other:

·       To work within Art Fund policies and procedures including, but not limited to, health and safety, data protection, sustainability, procurement, AI, technology and equality, diversity and inclusion

·       To actively participate in the wider life of the Art Fund

·       To undertake other duties as requested by the Art Fund from time to time

4.     About me

Knowledge

Familiarity with print and digital production processes, including preparing assets for delivery

Knowledge of best practice for creative workflows and project management software

Experience with rights, reproduction or image licensing workflows

Understanding of sustainability considerations in print or production 

Skills

Strong organisational and scheduling skills, with confidence leading the operational planning of incoming creative work

Ability to interrogate briefs, manage feedback cycles and maintain clear and communication with stakeholders

Familiarity with digital asset management tools (e.g Bynder)

Experience

Around 6+ years’ experience in studio management, creative project management, trafficking, production or a similar role within a creative, cultural, third sector or agency environment

Demonstrable experience managing multiple creative briefs and projects simultaneously, from intake through to delivery

Experience using project management (e.g., Trello)

Experience working closely with designers, content teams, freelancers and suppliers to keep projects moving smoothly.

Experience supporting or maintaining brand standards across creative output

Comfortable identifying risks, bottlenecks or resourcing issues early and escalating appropriately

Experience with print houses, print production processes, and sourcing suppliers for print or physical materials

Experience identifying and implementing iterative workflow improvements

Personal Attributes

Able to build strong working

relationships with senior

stakeholders