Hiring a Creative Operations Manager

MSLK, an award-winning boutique beauty branding studio, is seeking a Creative Operations Manager with 3+ years of experience to run and manage their firm, strategic partnerships, and projects. As an integral part of MSLK, the Creative Operations Manager’s primary responsibilities are to lead and manage our agency’s short- and long-term operational and organizational systems and structure, financial, legal, and account needs.  This can be a virtual position, but candidates should have experience with comparable operational roles within a creative agency (focusing on operational and financial management and oversight as well as people/client management). 

This role is perfect for someone who enjoys working in a relaxed environment among people who are truly passionate about what they do. If you believe that beauty is everywhere and strive for optimization in all forms you will be among like minds. If you enjoy working across a variety of tasks/media while deepening your knowledge of beauty and wellness, this position is sure to inspire you. 

We recognize that people come with a wealth of experience and talent beyond just the technical requirements of a job. If your experience is close to what you see listed here, please still consider applying. Diversity of experience and skills combined with passion is a key to innovation and excellence. Therefore, we encourage people from all backgrounds to apply to our positions. Please let us know if you require accommodations during the interview process.

Recent agency clients include: Amazing Lash Studio, Alikay Naturals, Reserveage Nutrition, ColorProof Haircare, Joico Haircare, Lemyn Organics, Lavanila, John Masters Organics, Tiber River Naturals in addition to numerous indie beauty brands in growth mode.


JOB DESCRIPTION

Title: Creative Operations Manager
Salary: $65,000-85,000 (20-25 hours per week, salary adjusted to reduced hours)
Meeting Commitment: 50% 
Travel Commitment: 5% 
Billable Efficiency: 50% 

Position Description
As an integral part of MSLK’s team, the primary responsibilities of the Creative Operations Manager are to:

– Develop, lead and manage the firm’s short- and long-term operational and organizational systems and structures;
– Work with our clients, staff and strategic partners to manage select projects;
– Provide tactical and management support to principal, as needed, to ensure that MSLK is running efficiently and is operationally healthy at all times, allowing and enabling the Principal and team to focus on fulfilling their responsibilities and client work;
– Help the Principal manage our contracted operational support resources (e.g., Bookkeeper, Lawyers, Accountant, Health Care Benefits, etc.)
– Develop and write all necessary client communications (proposals, contracts, schedules, day-to-day emails, change orders, etc.)

Skills/Qualifications
– 3+ practical experience in operational roles within a creative agency (with a focus on operational and financial growth as well as oversight and project management) 
– Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities
– Ability to identify issues before they escalate, implementing corrective actions in advance; forward-thinking and strong crisis management skills
– Mastery of managing complex relationships diplomatically, professionally, and consultatively
– 
Understanding or interest in digital marketing and branding, the beauty industry, as well as trends under which MSLK operates
– Experience with managing branding, packaging, ecommerce and digital projects a plus
– Proficient in MS Word and Keynote, ideally, brings some experience using Adobe Suite and WordPress
– Should be tech and social media savvy (and a quick learner)
– Must be unequivocally professional, ethical, and accountable
– Organized, detail-oriented, multi-tasker, and self-motivated
– Exceptional written and verbal communication, interpersonal and time-management skills
– Must bring passion, positivity, energy, and enthusiasm to our team
– Tolerance or love of cats (we have an office pet)
– Must hold a valid US Works Visa, if international

———
Responsibilities

Company Operations (40%)
– 
Supports MSLK’s overall short- and long-term operational goals and strategies, ensuring that day-to-day operations of MSLK run smoothly and that, operationally and financially, we continue to remain profitable, grow, and evolve 
– 
Ensures critical, operational issues are promptly recognized, discussed with relevant team members and resolved as well as schedules meetings, as needed (e.g., to discuss AR/AP, HR, and other operational issues)
– Drives and manages MSLK’s overall operational vision, mitigating and resolving any challenges, obstacles, or disagreements, posing new solutions, and managing all logistical issues that have an impact on MSLK’s operations (processes/tools and systems, external resources, technology, and strategic partnerships)
– Researches, develops, and maintains the best, simplest, and most appropriate operational and project management tools, systems, and processes that support the entire studio and our strategic partners. 
          –
Train and manage MSLK team (including new hires & strategic partners) on these tools, systems, and processes to ensure consistency of usage and efficiencies. 
          –
Develop, mentor, and help train MSLK’s entire team on best practices and MSLK-required protocols and expectations for client management, meetings, and presentations.
– Develops and utilizes resource forecasting and allocation tools and strategies, to provide the big-picture perspective on the team’s overall current and future workload and help the entire team with time management and workflow prioritization (not micromanagement but mentoring and skill development of the team).
– Creates, maintains and distributes a master job list for staff meetings. 
– 
Schedules and leads weekly billing, staff, and project meetings and lead conversations around resource, workflow, budget, and schedule management.
– Acts as a proxy for the principal when she is unavailable,  and serves as the point person for the team to go to with questions related to operational and project-related issues (finance, human resources, facilities, etc.)
– Suggests new roles, both within and outside of operations, as MSLK evolves and responsibilities, needs, etc. expand and change 
– 
Attends and contributes honest input during performance reviews and monthly one-to-ones with the principal to ensure own professional development and define and understand yearly and quarterly personal goals

Financial:
– Stays abreast of MSLK’s workflow, looking at least three months into the future when providing projections to ensure the robust financial health of the firm
– 
Works closely with MSLK’s bookkeeper and accountant to:
          – Review all necessary client bookkeeping bi-weekly reports or as needed with the leadership team
          – Managing job set up, invoice and collections process

Legal:
– Reviews, redlines, negotiates, and approves contracts with clients and suppliers to protect MSLK’s interests
– Distributes all employee and contractor agreements, negotiates terms, and keeps updated files of these documents for our records 
– 
Writes contracts, SOWs (statement of work), MSAs (master service agreements,) and other consulting agreements; reviews with business lawyers when needed
– Ensures MSLK and its employees operate within the law and respect the terms of signed contracts
– Liaises with our lawyers on any legal issues (e.g., employment, contracts, trademarks, and copyrights)

People-Management / HR:
– Helps Principal execute the following: recruiting and hiring process, hiring practices and compliance, on-boarding, employee development, corrective action + performance improvement plans (PIPs)
– Develops and manages a vetting process to screen candidates
– Organizes and executes on, as necessary, new employee and contractors/strategic partnership’s onboarding, ensuring productivity from the first day of employment
– Owns, updates, and redistributes the employee handbook yearly; conducts an all-hands meeting as needed to explain any significant changes to terms and conditions of employment
– Helps drive and support MSLK’s overall culture, values, and mission
– Ensures MSLK’s environment is efficient, professional, and proactive


Client, Project & Resource Management (60%)
– 
Direct management of select client relationships to ensure client satisfaction from project initiation through to completion and subsequent postmortems.
– Writes, manages, and negotiates schedules, change orders, status reports, and any other necessary documents required by the client, with the principal’s approval and input. Issue weekly status updates, as needed, to clients.
– Schedules all client-related meetings/calls and coordinate/schedule availability of necessary MSLK  team members and issue/manage calendar invites.
– Attends any necessary client meetings and calls, if appropriate, to represent issues related to schedule,  budget, and vendor/resource management.
– 
Obtains and coordinates any necessary deliverables (content, imagery, etc.) and approvals from clients throughout the project.
– 
Creates and distributes project-related schedules and monitors/tracks staff and out-of-house resources to meet schedule.
– Ensures staff and out-of-house resources provide timely updates (either at the weekly meeting or daily) on changes to project scope, expectations, and deliverables that may impact schedule, budgets,  and require change orders.
– 
Expedites all crisis jobs and troubleshoot, as needed.
– Prepares project invoices for the Principal’s final approval and for Bookkeeper to enter into the system; manages invoice collections to ensure on-time payments.
– Proofreads own work and ensure accuracy of content. Also helps proofreads all studio work not as a professional proofreader, but as a fresh eye.

About MSLK:
MSLK is a branding agency based in NYC and LA that specializes in helping beauty brands find their voice in today’s crowded market, sending a unified message through 360° brand positioning — from overall brand strategy to brand identity, packaging, retail experience, websites, social media campaigns and sales. MSLK is led by its award-winning founder, who is an industry-expert, noted speaker, and has successfully mentored countless designers, interns and students.

The Vibe:
Located on a quiet residential street MSLK is purposely off the grid. Our office is full of bright light, high ceilings and music. We strive to capture the feeling of the classic art studio balancing long white clean work surfaces with lots of inspiration tacked up on our walls. We believe that everyone should be comfortable while they work and offer a full kitchen full of drinks and snacks combined with outdoor space to eat, drink and relax. Office outings to discover inspiration, studio games, and cocktails is not uncommon.

THIS POSITION IS CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE!


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