Agency Operations Sr Manager

Molson Coors•Chicago, IL

2d•$129,900 - $170,500

About The Position

Sitting within North American Marketing, the Agency Operations team leads agency model strategy, curates talent for a robust agency roster, steers annual scope planning and spend, and oversees agency performance and relationships across Molson Coors’ US and Canada portfolio. The Agency Operations Senior Manager ensures the company gets optimal value from new and existing marketing agency investments through stewardship of agency roster strategy, scope development, deliverable-menu and agency-model usage, data analysis, utilization monitoring, production oversight, and partner training. The role also supports agency management and relationship best practices across the company and marketing department. The position leads agency roster strategy and searches, annual scope planning, agency performance evaluations, partner engagement programs, agency-spend analysis and reporting, and the management of agency policies, contracts, and lifecycle processes. It works closely with Brand teams, Procurement, Finance, Legal, agency partners, and Marketing leadership to improve creative effectiveness, business outcomes, and agency-spend efficiency across the portfolio.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree required.
Experience performing a similar role at a company with significant external agency-partner spend, agency experience demonstrating client-team leadership, or Brand Marketing experience.
Financial management experience required.
At least 7 years of marketing or agency management experience.
Knowledge of a marketing creative ecosystem.
Cross-functional relationship-building skills.
Agency and vendor management skills.
Ability to build collaborative relationships and influence others.
Proactive, self-starting approach.
Analytical thinking and strong financial aptitude.
Data analysis and storytelling skills.
Business acumen and an enterprise-minded perspective.
Creative acumen.
Ability to execute with excellence and strong attention to detail.
Innovative thinking and creative problem-solving skills.
Project and resource management skills.
Strategic acumen and ability to collect and analyze data, connect insights, and make articulate recommendations to leadership.
Strong interpersonal skills.
Ability to manage and prioritize multiple demands and stakeholders across markets.
Strong diplomacy and credibility, with the ability to build trust.
Knowledge of Brand, Shopper, and Design creative processes.
Awareness of industry insights, trends, leading agency work, and emerging agency models.

Responsibilities

Maintain an agency model that meets Brand, Marketing Vision, and Portfolio Strategy needs, allocates resources and scope appropriately, and includes agency lifecycle management.
Analyze data to recommend improvements to agency work, relationships, and spending effectiveness.
Research agency landscape and trends, identify potential agency resources, and explore approaches to agency management and compensation.
Lead US and Canada agency roster strategy across lead creative, specialty, and design agencies; recommend model changes to leadership and manage agency transitions and offboarding.
Lead agency RFPs and searches as the first point of contact, partnering with Brand and Procurement on agency-resource requirements.
Identify opportunities to expand agency performance metrics with additional hard-data inputs.
Optimize the Deliverable Menu and Agency Model Accountability.
Own the digital scoping tool, including training and use by internal and external partners.
Partner with Procurement and Legal on agency contract renewals, amendments, and terminations, and ensure compliance with marketing agency agreements.
Analyze agency-spend efficiency and effectiveness across deliverable models, staffing plans, fee structures, and quarterly utilization.
Produce the annual agency-spend report and action-oriented analysis for the CMO and Finance, and present findings to the Marketing Leadership Team.
Support financial and legal reporting and control processes through proactive communication across agency relationships and lifecycles.
Lead agency performance evaluations, including year-end evaluation, calibration, leadership review, and mid-year and year-end Partnership Health conversations across Brand teams and key stakeholders.
Design, field, and report on the annual agency partner survey, using its results to guide Partnership Health conversations.
Lead the annual agency engagement program, including the Agency Partner Forum and Academy.
Lead annual scope planning, coordinate Brand and Agency partners, and consolidate locked scope and fees for Finance and Procurement contracting.
Partner with Brand teams on comprehensive agency onboarding.
Build strong partnerships with Procurement and Finance to present a unified approach to agency partners.
Roll out agency-facing policies and guidelines, such as AI policy, production guidelines, and competitive conflict guardrails, and monitor compliance.
Represent Molson Coors in industry forums, such as the ANA Agency Relations committee.
Proactively propose solutions that improve agency value against Company and Portfolio Strategy.
Build cross-functional relationships and influence leaders across Marketing, Finance, and Procurement to deliver effective Agency Operations.
Build enduring agency-partner relationships that support brand and portfolio outcomes and access to strong talent.
Improve creative effectiveness while maintaining roster efficiencies and delivering high-quality work.
Collect and analyze data, connect insights, and make recommendations to leadership through clear storytelling.
Manage and prioritize multiple demands, stakeholders, and individual Brand priorities across markets.

Benefits

Competitive base salary and incentive plans, including a 20% target short-term incentive and target long-term incentive.
Parental leave.
Health, dental, and vision coverage.
Retirement plan options with an above-market employer match.
15 days of vacation.
10 paid holidays.
4 personal floating holidays.
64 hours of sick time.
Wellness Program and wellness incentives.
Employee Assistance Program (EAP).
Learning and career-development opportunities through First Choice Learning.
Business Resource Groups offering volunteer opportunities, leadership experience, and organizational networking.
Volunteer and community-giving opportunities.
Access to brand clothing and swag, events, and free beer and beverages.
Average benefits spending of $23,000 per employee, including benefits such as health, dental, vision, retirement, wellness incentives, and EAP.