Sr. Creative Operations Manager

RPI Print is a leading provider of digital print services, powering creative solutions for high-quality brands such as RPI's own Blurb.com. We are looking for a Sr. Creative Operations Manager to join our hybrid team based in Seattle. 

As the Sr. Creative Ops Manager, you oversee the full lifecycle of creative collateral across our Marketing, Design, UX, and Product teams. This role sits at the intersection of creativity and project management, providing support, inspiration, and leadership to ensure successful project outcomes, from conception through delivery of high-quality creative assets-on strategy, on time, and on budget.

An agent of change, you help the team strike the right balance between creative freedom and operational discipline, and champion continuous improvement. You possess both an analytical background that enables you to manage quantitative planning and a demonstrated ability to think broadly and strategically about creative initiatives. You bring your problem-solving superpowers to a wide range of situations and workflows, leveraging your fluency in data collection and analysis, as well as your deep knowledge of creative workflows and your holistic understanding of our space and business objectives, to help transform creative ideas into high-quality tangible outputs.

Responsibilities:

• Oversee overall quarterly campaign planning cadence and processes, and serve as the primary liaison between teams to align on objectives and expectations
• Manage the creative production process from concept to delivery, establishing clear workflows and timelines for a variety of project types, including copy, creative, marketing, digital, and design development
• Lead resource planning and allocation to optimize team bandwidth and meet deadlines
• Develop schedules, track projects, and help enforce deadlines. Reassess throughout project life cycle to highlight any timeline or resourcing risks, with a close eye on project objectives.
• Facilitate internal meetings, negotiate conflicts, build up teams and group dynamics, and enable creative thought processes and strategy. Provide structure and discipline where needed.
• Collaborate on project scopes and budgets by contributing to estimates of creative resource hours for all projects. Monitor through project life cycle.
• Lead the sourcing and building of relationships among a variety of partners, such as vendors, freelancers, and contractors, and interact closely with the leadership, marketing, design, and product teams.
• Review creative deliverables, ensuring alignment with brand guidelines and strategic objectives
• Identify opportunities for continuous improvement, streamlining processes and improving operational efficiency
• Maintain a centralized system for tracking creative requests, assets, and project status
• Establish and monitor KPIs to evaluate team performance and creative effectiveness
• Foster an enthusiastic and positive work environment, and keep a watchful eye on culture, goals, and objectives while also contributing expertise cross-functionally.
  
  

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's Degree in Marketing, Design, Communications, or related field
• 6+ years of experience in creative project management, preferably in a cross-functional tech environment
• Proven track record of managing multiple complex projects simultaneously with competing priorities in a fast-paced environment, delivering on time and on budget
• Experience with leading project management and creative collaboration tools, including JIRA and Airtable
• Exceptional organizational skills with meticulous attention to detail
• Strong understanding of marketing fundamentals, design principles, and UX best practices
• Clear and concise communication skills with the ability to translate business requirements into creative briefs and spot any gaps
• Experience implementing repeatable processes and driving automation or standardization
• Ability to balance creative excellence with practical business constraints
• Adaptable and self-motivated problem-solver who can navigate ambiguity and shifting priorities
• Diplomatic communicator capable of providing constructive feedback
• Strategic thinker with the ability to anticipate resource needs and potential bottlenecks
• A deep passion for book-making, print services, and/or content creation platforms, with a keen interest in emerging trends and innovations in the space
  
  

You'll be a great fit for this role if you:

• have a strong understanding of project management principles and methodologies, enabling successful execution of new and diverse project types.
• have advanced proofreading and writing skills, with sharp attention to details.
• have strong communication skills.
• build strong working relationships at all levels, both internal and external, leading by example with effective communication and leadership.
• are well-versed in the creative process and various design disciplines (including, but not limited to, branding, advertising, digital, experience design, and print production), and how they interconnect and influence one another.
• demonstrate a sense of ownership and desire to do the right thing, and the willingness to participate and advocate at all levels.
• understand the complex dynamics and logistics that go into any project, regardless of size, and are able to anticipate issues before they arise, and remain flexible when they do.
• thrive in an entrepreneurial and self-directed environment, and are by nature, a proactive problem-solver who demonstrates tenacity, determination, and confidence.

Join us and help shape the future of creative operations at RPI Print and Blurb!