Head of Inhouse Agency

Hunkemöller•Deerfield, IL

15h•Hybrid

About The Position

You’ll set the operational vision for both day-to-day delivery and long-term growth, ensuring Operations, Creative and Content Production function as a cohesive, high-performing team. As a trusted partner to senior stakeholders, you’ll anticipate needs, remove roadblocks, and foster a culture of trust, clarity, and collaboration across the business. The Manager, In-House Agency is the operational backbone of our in-house agency team. This is not a creative leadership role. It’s an operations-focused position where you’ll define how the agency runs, scales, and collaborates. You’ll ensure that workflows, tools, and teams align to consistently deliver against our most important KPIs: a high level of service (delivery speed, efficiency and reliability) and elevated creative quality (on-brand execution and consistency). Hunkemöller’s mission is to be a much loved, social and inclusive brand - powered by our people. We have over 900 stores in 15 countries and we are growing. Our plans to expand both in Europe and beyond provide exceptional opportunities for those with a passion for retail. Indeed, passion is one our six values: fun, inclusive, passionate, sexy, in-touch and inspiring. These values drive all we do and together with our growing commitment to the well-being of people, planet and communities, we are building a brand aligned to the demands of our global customers and those that work with us. Our USPs are many however, at the heart of what makes us special is a commitment to World-Class service, whatever the channel and wherever the store. This commitment extends to how we work with each other and creating a World-Class working environment. Hunkemöller is certified TOP EMPLOYER of the Netherlands (for the third time in a row) & Germany 2020, which underlines our people initiatives and achievements.

Requirements

10+ years experience in creative operations, in-house agency management, or a similar operational role, including team leadership experience
Demonstrated ability to build team culture, drive alignment, and motivate multidisciplinary teams to success.
Strong understanding and experience implementing workflow tools, productivity systems, and operational frameworks across Creative, Design, Production, and Operations.
Ability to translate business goals into operational strategy with clear, measurable outcomes.
Highly organized, solutions-oriented, and comfortable balancing structure with flexibility.
Strong communication skills and the ability to facilitate clear, productive, and diplomatic conversations.
Open to new thinking, receptive to feedback, and able to explore fresh ideas without defensiveness or prematurely blocking possibilities
Excellent senior-level stakeholder management and the confidence to partner with board executives.
A strong creative aesthetic aligned with Hunkemöller’s brand direction.
Hybrid role based in Hilversum, Netherlands with minimum 3 days per week in the office (not a remote role).

Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership & Vision Define and implement the operational vision for the in-house agency, ensuring high-volume delivery at consistently high quality
Lead the creation, alignment, and tracking of OKRs to unite all teams behind clear, measurable goals tied directly to our service and quality KPI’s
Proactively identify opportunities to improve efficiency, elevate quality, and increase cross-functional impact.
Team Culture & People Leadership Build and nurture a culture of trust, open communication, psychological safety, and camaraderie.
Partner with team leads on performance management, development plans, training, feedback cycles and ensuring teams are equipped to meet delivery and quality expectations.
Ensure teams are supported, aligned, and empowered to deliver exceptional work.
Lead staffing strategies, organizational planning, recruitment and onboarding of new team members.
Operational Excellence Oversee day-to-day operations, ensuring seamless workflows, efficient resourcing, and clear processes that support high service levels.
Drive adoption and optimization of workflow tools, systems and technology that enhance collaboration, reduce friction and on-time delivery.
Maintain high production standards across creative output to protect brand standards
Oversee negotiations for talent and artist fees, review contracts and agreements to safeguard the best interests of the business.
Ensure compliance with legal requirements, usage rights, permits, safety standards, and relevant laws.
Set and manage annual budgets, monitor actuals, and present updates and proposals to senior leadership.
Lead vendor tender processes: benchmarking, negotiating contracts, and ensuring partnerships deliver quality, service, and value.
Ensure structured organisation, filing, and archiving of all agency assets (servers, workflow tools, DAM).
Creative Quality & Standards Partner with functional leads to safeguard creative and production standards
Introduce and grow a strong network of creative talent, agencies and production partners
Implement review systems and guardrails that support consistent, high-quality output.
Ensure teams have the information, resources, and time needed to deliver their best work.
Account Management & Stakeholder Partnership Act as a senior point of contact for cross-department stakeholders, ensuring clear communication and aligned expectations.
Support business partners with briefing, scoping, planning, and managing competing priorities while maintaining service levels
Bring operational clarity and diplomacy to resolve cross-functional challenges.
Continuous Improvement & Innovation Analyze data, workflows, and feedback to identify bottlenecks and implement scalable improvements.
Champion innovation in process, tools, organizational design, and emerging technologies including AI workflows to expand capacity and raise standards.
Lead initiatives that strengthen integration and collaboration and operational scalability
Stay informed on cultural, creative, and technology trends to keep our work fresh, relevant, and ahead of competitors.