Senior Manager Creative Strategy & Operations

Responsible for leading the operations and creative strategy capability of Global Creative Services. This role ensures the studio has the structure, systems, briefs, and ways of working needed to deliver high-quality creative at the pace IHG brands require, while advancing workflow governance, budget discipline, regional support, and AI-enabled ways of working.

Your day to day

• Lead day-to-day operations for Global Creative Services, including intake management, workflow governance, capacity planning, delivery an AI enablement across Atlanta, Guadalajara, and London.
• Manage the Creative Services budget, including freelance and agency spend, purchase orders, accruals, risks, and Finance partnership.
• Own and evolve the operational infrastructure that supports brief intake, timelines, status communication, team capacity, and delivery visibility.
• Maintain effective team rhythms, including standups, project reviews, capacity checks, and cross-functional touchpoints.
• Manage vendor and agency operational relationships, ensuring statements of work, deliverables, timelines, and purchase orders are tracked with rigor.
• Write and quality-control creative briefs across IHG brands, ensuring briefs are strategically sharp, insight-led, and actionable for creative teams.
• Partner with brand marketing stakeholders to translate business objectives into clear creative strategy and direction.
• Lead creative strategy on priority campaigns, including brief development, creative evaluation, and stakeholder presentations.
• Champion creative excellence by advocating for work that is commercially relevant, distinctive, and brand-building.
• Build the workflows and standards needed to support region-specific briefs for international markets outside the US.
• Lead by example in AI adoption, using emerging tools to improve briefing, strategy enrichment, administration, and status communication.
• Support Marketing Transformation pilots by operationalizing new tools and processes within Creative Services before broader rollout.

• Develop team members and help lead the evolution of Creative Services’ operating model, strategy capability, and use of technology.

   

What we need from you

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent professional experience in marketing, creative strategy, communications, business, or a related discipline preferred.
• 8–12 years of progressive experience across creative strategy, creative account leadership, studio operations, or marketing operations.
• Experience supporting global brands and managing cross-functional relationships with senior stakeholders.
• Strong creative brief writing skills, with the ability to turn business objectives, audience insights, and marketing needs into clear creative direction.
• Experience managing budgets, vendors, agency partners, statements of work, purchase orders, and operational timelines.
• Demonstrated ability to build and manage workflow systems, intake processes, capacity planning, and delivery governance.
• Strong understanding of campaign development, creative evaluation, and the commercial value of creative excellence.
• Experience developing direct reports and leading teams through operational change, new processes, and evolving ways of working.
• Demonstrated skills using AI tools, automation, Smartsheet-powered workflows, or similar technology to improve creative or marketing operations.
• Strong communication, influencing, problem-solving, and stakeholder-management skills, with the ability to balance strategic leadership and operational execution.

Location - Our hybrid work structure is an expectation of three (3) days a week in the Atlanta office. This expectation may be adjusted to evolve with the changing needs of the business.

The salary range for this role is $110,000 - $115, 000. This role is also eligible for bonus pay. We offer a comprehensive package of benefits including paid time off, medical/dental/vision insurance, 401K, and other benefits to employees.