Creative Operations Manager @ Ideas United

Ideas United is a creative studio built on the power of storytelling. Our progressive model allows our team to take an unconventional approach – by finding and fostering emerging talent, we have built a global talent network of 3,500 storytellers working alongside our in-house creatives. We partner with the best in the business — from trailblazing brands to pioneering universities and nonprofits. Through authentic, story-driven content, we create high-quality videos (from television ads to digital), events, and more. Our clients (partners) have included leading brands such as Disney, Southern Company, The Coca-Cola Company, and PGA TOUR, along with incredible university & nonprofit partners such as Smithsonian Institution, Emory University, Georgia Tech, Georgia State University, University of Cincinnati Health, and many others. We push boundaries — investing in purpose-driven collaborations that create a lasting impact. Together, we lift voices and drive change, amplifying underrepresented perspectives and celebrating the storytellers who shape our world.

We are a team of people with diverse backgrounds, different perspectives, and unique interests. We are committed to creating an inclusive environment where everyone, regardless of race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, age, or disability has equal opportunities to thrive, collaborate, and create.

Click here to learn a bit about our team!

Summary

We need someone to keep our creative operations running smoothly—our full-time, core Creative team plus our community of freelancers and specialists who we bring in when projects demand it. You’ll be the operational backbone that clears the paths and ensures our Creative teams can focus on creating, while everything else runs smoothly.

You’ll sit at the operational heart of our Creative Department, reporting directly to the VP of Creative, while overseeing a team of creative leaders. Your direct reports span the team Directors—Design and Storytelling—and our Creative Direction team. With this structure, you’ll be positioned as the connective tissue between strategic vision and creative execution, ensuring collaboration across teams while handling the operational orchestration that lets everyone focus on doing their best work.

What You'll Do: Make Things Work to Effectively Scale

Build workflows that make sense for how Creative Direction, Design, and Storytelling teams collaborate
Create systems that give creatives room to explore while keeping everyone on track
Set up processes for briefs, feedback, and approvals that don’t kill momentum
Spot where things get stuck and fix them before they become bigger problems

What You'll Do: Keep Everyone Busy (But Not Overwhelmed)

Oversee overall utilization, handling resource allocation so no one’s drowning while others twiddle thumbs
Scale the team through our freelancer network when projects demand it
Track capacity and flag problems early
Coordinate handoffs between core team members and community freelancers.

What You'll Do: Pick the Right Tools

Find and implement tech that helps instead of creating more work
Get people excited about new tools instead of having them gather digital dust
Make sure systems talk to each other

What You'll Do: Keep Standards High

Implement and optimize tools that actually help instead of creating busywork
Set quality bars that make sense and help people meet them
Create templates and guides that speed things up instead of slowing them down
Build review processes that catch issues without micromanaging
Create systems for sharing knowledge
Stay ahead of industry tools and practices that could benefit our operations

What You'll Do: Use Data to Get Better

Develop a deep understanding of how we currently operate and identify opportunities for improvement through data and operational insights
Define and track the metrics that matter for strategic decision-making within the department, working collaboratively with the VP, Creative to identify what drives growth, adaptation, and great work
Create reporting frameworks that become the foundation for Creative decisions about team structure, resources, process improvements, and strategic direction
Establish regular reporting to keep leadership and the broader Creative team informed about performance, capacity, and strategic opportunities
Transform insights into recommendations that make a real difference in how we operate and grow

What You Need:

4+ years of hands-on creative experience— whether that’s design, writing, creative direction, strategy, or similar. You know what it’s like and what it takes because you’ve actually done the work.
Speak fluent creative, and understand the difference between productive iteration and spinning wheels
Lived the creative process from messy beginning to polished end
4+ years making creative teams work better—at agencies, studios, or in-house, including experience in operations and day-to-day team management
Built systems people actually use (not just ones that look good)
Experience with project management across multiple creative disciplines
Understand how creative work really happens, from brief to delivery
Can juggle multiple complex projects without losing your mind or your sense of humor
Think systematically about problems and can solve them
Genuinely like helping teams do their best work
Stay calm when plans change (because they always do)
Able to work well in a hybrid setup, in-house (in our Atlanta office) 2 days a week

Bonus Points:

You’ve managed creative budgets and can spot when projects are heading off the rails
You have experience with creative asset management and can effectively organize files so that people can easily find them
You’ve helped teams scale up or down and navigate changes
You understand how and where to leverage data, always balancing with the day-to-day realities of the work and people that can’t be understood through numbers

If you require reasonable accommodation in interviewing, completing any employment testing, or otherwise participating in this hiring process, please use our application to indicate any specific inquiries. Only requests related to accommodations will be responded to.

All offers of employment at Ideas United are contingent upon clear results of a background check. Background checks will be conducted on all final candidates.

Creative Operations Manager

Ideas United

What You'll Do: Make Things Work to Effectively Scale

What You'll Do: Keep Everyone Busy (But Not Overwhelmed)

What You'll Do: Pick the Right Tools

What You'll Do: Keep Standards High

What You'll Do: Use Data to Get Better

What You Need:

Bonus Points:

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