Creative Resource Manager

about us: Our philosophy is simple: in a world fast approaching commoditization, our job is to make clients' brands unignorable. We believe creating unignorable brands begins with putting the consumer at the center of our thinking. We believe that people are smart and respond to brands that speak to them with intelligence, insight and purpose. Because when people don’t have to engage with your work anymore, you have to make them want to. We believe in diversity and inclusion. We believe diversity drives better thinking, creativity, and innovation, and we are working to build a culture that includes and values different voices and perspectives. We also recognize that we’re still learning. To support an inclusive environment where employees feel empowered to share their experiences and ideas, we have a diversity + inclusion team, Roots and mandatory Unconscious Bias Training for all new employees, and rigour in our recruitment process. overview:

- As Creative Resource Manager, you will primarily manage the resource planning, allocation, and high-level scheduling across our Creative department, including art directors, designers, copywriters, and creative technologists in both the TO and MTL office. You are the department hub, a talent finder and a forward-thinking leader that ensures projects and teams are properly staffed and run efficiently to meet deliverables. You have an excellent understanding of each creative’s professional aptitudes and a keen knowledge of timing involved to accomplish assigned tasks. This role will plan for incoming projects and implement resource changes against evolving priorities. You’ll work closely with our account service teams and producers to ensure that creative resources are properly allocated and utilized.

what you'll do in this role:

- Key Responsibilities:
1. Resourcing + Forecasting
- Manage all resourcing and forecasting for the TO + MTL Creative department based on inputs from Account Service and Production teams, maintaining constant knowledge of current and upcoming projects and business development activities as they relate to resourcing.
- Evaluate and recommend best team makeup for incoming projects.
- Work to resolve any issues regarding under or over allocations of current staff members and manage communication around shifting priorities/resources with key stakeholders.
- Enforce Creative Dept timesheet accurate entry + submission
- Manage and resolves resource booking conflicts.
- Monitor and enforce project constraints as it relates to resourcing (schedule / scope / resources).
- Run weekly resource meetings and facilitate resourcing issues / conflict resolution with CCO/CDs, Production and Account Teams.
- Regularly meet with the Account Leads to run status meetings (in conjunction with Production/Studio Resourcing Manager) to get up to date information on projects
- Manage for absences including review/approve vacation requests, department vacation calendar, and coverage for creative resources.
- Maintain dept vacation calendar.
- Forecasts and identifies needs for freelance resources, including managing the BCR + Budget.
- Approve and manage timesheets (general admin, comp time, vacation days, time between projects).
- Maintain an up-to-date status report with all incoming projects and current projects, dockets etc.
- Co-Run weekly status meeting with CDs with the whole dept.

2. Freelance Recruiting + Management
- Works with the CCO, CDs and account leads to assess talent needs, acts as point of contact to book and confirm creative resources.
- Works in conjunction with CCO/CD’s to build a freelance pipeline.
- Keeping the team updated on freelance staffing.

- Ensuring access to building is granted (vaccination proof, booking desk etc, key card activated).
- Track and distribute monthly freelance accruals for finance.

3. Department Administration
- Manage the overall operational, budgetary, and financial responsibilities and activities of the department, including maintaining BCR/Tracker for dept costs.
- Ensures all john st. policies and processes are followed by the creative department (educating and reinforcing when required) including: WPP/compliance training, proper form and template use, file server organization, etc.
- Identifies opportunities and leads process creation/definition/reinforcement as it relates to creative and design workflows, and trains internal agency teams (creative, account service, production) as required (ie. via meetings with all new agency hires).
- Represents the department as a key stakeholder within john st. as it relates to resourcing and administration.

4. Awards Management
- Lead implementing john st.’s award show process (functionally focused, CD + CCO to lead the strategy.
- Manage an Awards Coordinator in:
i. Executing the roll out of the awards process.
ii. Working with the acct team + production to get accurate credits + client information.
iii. Ensure the Award Committee approves the final credit