Creative Services & Design Operations Manager

THE CANADIAN REAL ESTATE ASSOCIATION•Ottawa, ON

3d•CA$90,000 - CA$110,000•Hybrid

About The Position

CREA is seeking a highly organized, client-focused, and creatively minded Creative Services & Design Operations Manager to lead the day-to-day management of its in-house design team. Operating with an agency-style model, this role serves as the primary liaison between internal stakeholders and the creative team, ensuring projects are strategically scoped, clearly briefed, properly prioritized, delivered on time, and aligned with brand and business objectives. The ideal candidate combines strong project management discipline with exceptional customer service, communication skills and a deep understanding of creative processes and marketing production.

Requirements

Post-secondary education in Marketing, Communications, Graphic Design, Business Administration, Project Management, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
5–8+ years of experience in creative operations, project management, account management, traffic management, or agency/client services roles.
Experience managing creative teams or coordinating multidisciplinary design projects.
Strong understanding of creative production processes across print, digital, social, web, video, and marketing communications.
Experience using project management and workflow tools, such as Wrike (or similar).
Ability to interpret marketing objectives and translate them into effective creative direction and production plans.
Proven ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously in a fast-paced environment.
Exceptional organizational, communication, and stakeholder management skills.
Strong problem-solving and decision-making capabilities.

Nice To Haves

Experience working in an advertising agency, creative agency, or in-house agency model.
Familiarity with brand governance and creative approval processes.
Bilingualism in English and French.

Responsibilities

Serve as the primary point of contact between internal clients and the design team.
Intake, evaluate, prioritize, and manage all creative requests across the organization.
Translate stakeholder needs into clear, actionable, and strategically aligned creative briefs.
Ensure projects are properly scoped, timelines established, and deliverables clearly defined.
Develop and maintain project schedules, production calendars, and workflow systems.
Lead and manage the daily operations, workflow, and priorities of the in-house design team.
Foster a collaborative, accountable, and high-performing team culture through coaching, feedback, and performance management.
Identify current and future capability gaps within the team (e.g., video production, digital asset creation, motion graphics) and implement development or resourcing strategies to address evolving business needs.
Monitor team capacity, optimize resource allocation, and identify opportunities to improve processes, efficiency, and creative output.
Build strong relationships with internal stakeholders across departments.
Act as a strategic advisor on creative timelines, feasibility, production considerations, and best practices.
Manage stakeholder expectations and facilitate constructive feedback cycles while ensuring requests align with brand standards.
Ensure clarity and consistency in communication between clients and designers.
Ensure all work meets strategic objectives, technical requirements, and stakeholder expectations before final delivery.
Establish and maintain creative processes, templates, standards, and approval protocols.
Champion excellence in creative execution across all channels and formats.
Implement and optimize project management systems, workflows, and reporting processes.
Track project status, timelines, resource allocation, and team performance metrics.
Contribute to annual planning, budgeting, and resource forecasting related to creative services.
Stay current on industry best practices in creative operations, workflow management, and marketing production.