Creative Operations Manager

The Creative Operations Manager will be a pivotal force in orchestrating the full lifecycle of creative projects that drive business growth across the LIONS portfolio. This role is at the heart of enabling creative excellence, acting as the central hub for traffic management, workload balancing, stakeholder and resource coordination, and budget control. You'll ensure our creative output is delivered efficiently, effectively, and at the highest standard – on time, on brief, and on budget. You'll also play a key role in integrating new technologies, including AI‑powered creative tools, into team workflows to enhance productivity and innovation. Responsibilities Own the end‑to‑end management of all creative projects from brief to delivery – ensuring the creative team's ways of working are adhered to across multiple projects and stakeholders. Implement and oversee traffic management systems to monitor project status, dependencies, and timelines. Ensure creative briefs are clear, actionable, and prioritised in line with business objectives. Orchestrate and oversee the sourcing of artwork, logos, footage and files to enable the creative team to deliver on briefs. Develop and enforce robust quality control checkpoints throughout the production process. Manage creative operations across the full LIONS portfolio, including Cannes Lions, WARC, Contagious, Effie, and Acuity Pricing. Workload & Resource Management Lead the scheduling and prioritisation of creative work, matching resources to demand based on capacity and skillset. Maintain a forward‑looking view of incoming work to ensure the creative team is never over‑ or under‑resourced. Flag capacity risks early and work cross‑functionally to resolve resourcing challenges without compromising delivery. Create and maintain a resource forecasting model for ongoing visibility and planning. Stakeholder & Relationship Management Act as the primary liaison between the creative studio and internal stakeholders across marketing, product, and leadership teams. Translate stakeholder needs into clear, actionable plans for the creative team. Manage expectations on timelines and deliverables, and proactively communicate updates and challenges. Facilitate smooth communication, feedback loops, and alignment between teams to avoid bottlenecks. Budget Oversight & Efficiency Track and manage creative project budgets, ensuring optimal use of resources and clear cost reporting. Monitor external spend (e.g. freelancers, agencies) and evaluate ROI on outsourced creative work. Work with Marketing Operations and Finance to align forecasts, reconcile budgets, and support procurement where necessary. Cross‑functional Collaboration Partner closely with the Executive Creative Director to bring creative strategy to life across the portfolio. Collaborate with Festival Operations to support high‑volume creative production for key events like Cannes Lions. Align regularly with the Head of Marketing Operations to ensure creative outputs meet marketing goals and brand standards. Build strong working relationships across brands and functions to support a unified, agile creative operation. Qualifications Proven experience in creative operations, project/traffic management, or marketing production. Basic knowledge of and familiarity with industry‑standard creative tools like Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere, After Effects) and Figma. Basic knowledge of design, video and creative processes and file formats for various output channels (print, digital, social). Familiarity with the differences between common design or video file types. Basic knowledge of video production – including pre‑production (shooting schedules, filming equipment, techniques) alongside common video file types (MOV, MP4, TIFF etc.). Expertise in resource and workflow planning tools (e.g., Asana, Monday.com, Trello, or similar). Exceptional organisational and communication skills. Ability to manage multiple stakeholders, timelines, and deliverables in a fast‑paced environment. Budget management experience within a creative or marketing setting. Demonstrated knowledge of AI creative tools (e.g. generative design, copywriting, or video tools like Adobe Firefly, Runway, ChatGPT, Midjourney, etc.). Detail‑oriented, solutions‑focused, and proactive mindset. Comfortable operating at both strategic and tactical levels. Passion for creativity, innovation, and enabling great creative work. Informa Festivals marks an exciting new chapter in B2B events, bringing some of the world’s most influential creative, technology and business festivals together. We’re combining prestigious events like Cannes Lions, Black Hat, Money20/20, GDC, and London Tech Week with cutting‑edge marketing intelligence platforms and advisory services to deliver unmissable experiences and insights. Our festival‑led approach reimagines traditional B2B events, creating powerful, immersive experiences that drive innovation and industry advancement. Building on decades of expertise and powered by Informa’s international reach, we’re shaping the next generation of business festivals. We’re part of Informa, a global business with a network of trusted brands in specialist markets across more than 30 countries, and a member of the FTSE 100 who are #3 in Glassdoor’s Best Places to Work 2025 UK list. Benefits Great community: a welcoming culture with in‑person and online social events, our fantastic Walk the World charity day and active diversity and inclusion networks Broader impact: take up to four days per year to volunteer, with charity match funding available too Career opportunity: the opportunity to develop your career with bespoke training and learning, mentoring platforms and on‑demand access to thousands of courses on LinkedIn Learning. When it’s time for the next step, we encourage and support internal job moves Time out: 25 days annual leave, rising to 27 days after two years, plus a birthday leave day and the chance to work from (almost) anywhere for up to four weeks a year A flexible range of personal benefits to choose from, plus company funded private medical cover A ShareMatch scheme that allows you to become an Informa shareholder with free matching shares Strong wellbeing support through EAP assistance, mental health first aiders, a healthy living subsidy, access to health apps and more Recognition for great work, with global awards and kudos programmes As an international company, the chance to collaborate with teams around the world #J-18808-Ljbffr