Creative Services Manager

**Creative Services Manager**

**Who Are You**

You’re a natural leader. Not only are you full of energy, confidence, and compassion, your infectious positivity helps you inspire those around you to raise the bar. You genuinely care about the work, the business, and the people behind it—and it shows. You’re definitely a creative, but you check your ego at the door, and you absolutely understand the importance of teamwork. Efficiency? You have a thirst for it, but you know the creative process takes time and must develop organically, so you walk the fine line between process and inspiration. You approach challenges with humility and curiosity, taking the time to understand before jumping to solutions. Balancing people leadership, operational thinking, and creative direction comes naturally—and you set the tone for how great work gets done.

**Basically you**

+ lead with empathy, clarity, and confidence.

+ understand how creative teams work and how to help them do their best work.

+ balance operational discipline with creative judgement.

+ communicate clearly across creative, client experience, and leadership teams.

+ have a drive to produce innovative marketing solutions for brands, big or small, and their audiences.

+ have excellent people skills and efficient problem-solving techniques.

+ have the ability to adapt and are flexible when managing multiple projects at once.

+ do not shy away from giving constructive, articulate feedback.

+ anticipate issues before they become fires.

+ stay organized, focused, and calm under pressure.

+ care deeply about quality, consistency, and delivery.

**What You’ll Do**

As the Creative Services Manager, you are the eyes and the ears of the creative department. You have a clear view of what’s happening, what’s coming, and where support is needed most. More than anything, you make sure the department runs smoothly—even (and especially) when things get busy. Working across departments, you keep priorities aligned and projects moving forward.

**Essentially, you will**

+ lead and support the Creative team, including hiring, onboarding, coaching, mentoring, and performance management.

+ create clarity around roles, expectations and accountability.

+ foster a positive, respectful and collaborative team environment.

+ keep inspiration and morale high, making sure the team has the tools, training, and resources they need to succeed.

+ manage the operational side including processes, tools, workflow, equipment, subscriptions, and utilization reporting.

+ maintain high standard for creative quality, file management, and delivery.

+ ensure both internal and client brands are expressed accurately and consistently.

+ partner with the VP of Operations to improve processes and identify efficiencies.

+ oversee the Resource Manager across projects, timelines, and priorities, while recommending solutions for resourcing gaps (freelance, overtime, or staffing).

+ support estimating and forecasting of creative hours, as required.

+ own utilization reporting and capacity insights to support planning and informed decision-making.

+ collaborate cross-functionally with other departments, as well as management and leadership teams.

**Education And Experience**

+ 5+ years of experience in a creative, marketing, or agency environment.

+ Experience managing creative teams, workflows, or resourcing.

+ Strong understanding of creative production across print and digital.

+ Proven ability to manage multiple priorities and stakeholders.

**Who Is Direct Focus?**

We are an end-to-end marketing and communications firm made up of a talented and diverse team of marketing management specialists, thought leaders, and multi-disciplinary experts. Every day, we work together to deliver a full spectrum of marketing services and solutions that generate real-world results for marketing teams and their brands. You can find us in Winnipeg, MB, Toronto, ON, and Portland, OR. We believe in our values They guide how we connect, share, collaborate, and hold each other accountable:
+ Own It

+ Better 2.0

+ Make Trust

+ Deliver Great

+ Be Human

We’re on a mission to be a top employer of choice. While we’re not perfect, we’re always improving. Here are just a few reasons why you should work with us:
+ The people are amazing

+ Office dogs (what more could you want?)

+ Awesome workplace culture

+ A technologically advanced workflow system

+ Exposure to national and international clients

+ Access to our training centre

+ Coaching, mentorship, and professional development

+ Opportunity for rapid career advancement

+ Quality work and a lot of fun

**Job Types**: Full-time, Permanent

**Benefits**:

- Dental care
- Extended health care
- Life insurance
- RRSP match
- Vision care

Work Location: In person