Manager, Partner Operations , Solve Studio

SOLVENTUM•Remote - Minnesota, MN

1d•$96,000 - $132,000•Remote

About The Position

The Manager, Partner Operations serves as the operational hub connecting Solve Studio, external agency partners and project teams. This role oversees agency partner governance, resource planning and work routing to ensure work is delivered through the most effective and efficient delivery model. By maintaining visibility across internal capacity, partner capabilities and business demand, this individual helps optimize delivery, improve utilization and ensure consistent execution across the marketing ecosystem. The Manager, Partner Operations plays a critical role in determining how work is staffed and delivered, balancing business priorities, resource availability, agency capabilities and operational efficiency to support Solve Studio's business objectives. This role helps shape the future operating model of Solve Studio by creating a scalable approach to resource planning, agency engagement and delivery optimization.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree or higher AND 7 years of experience in agency operations, creative operations, resource management, studio management, marketing operations or a related discipline.
Demonstrated experience managing resource allocation, capacity planning and staffing decisions across multiple concurrent projects, portfolios or business groups.
Experience supporting or managing agency partners, freelance talent, production partners or external marketing suppliers within an agency, in-house agency or consulting environment.
Proven ability to evaluate work requirements and recommend the appropriate delivery model, including internal teams, agency partners, contractors or blended teams.
Experience balancing competing priorities, shifting business demands and resource constraints in a fast-paced environment.
Strong understanding of integrated marketing, creative, digital, content, production and campaign-delivery workflows.
Experience with agency onboarding, scopes of work, estimates, rate structures, retainers, performance reviews and partner governance.
Experience maintaining visibility across project demand, resource capacity, utilization, pipeline forecasts and staffing requirements.
Strong financial and analytical acumen, including interpreting estimates, staffing models, agency rates, utilization, retainers, project budgets and spend.
Experience managing or supporting a centralized network of creative, digital, production, media or marketing agency partners.
Must be legally authorized to work in the country of employment without sponsorship for employment visa status.

Nice To Haves

Proficiency with project, resource management and workflow platforms, including Workfront or similar enterprise tools.
Experience leveraging reporting, AI-enabled planning tools, dashboards and workflow automation to improve forecasting, resource planning and operational visibility.
Excellent communication, facilitation and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence without direct authority.
Experience supporting global or regional agency networks is preferred.
Demonstrated ability to identify capacity risks, capability gaps and operational constraints and recommend solutions to address them.
Experience partnering with Procurement, Finance, Operations and project leadership teams to support supplier management and operational decision-making.

Responsibilities

Build trusted working relationships with approved agency partners and serve as the primary operational contact.
Monitor partner performance, utilization and effectiveness to inform future staffing and investment decisions.
Support agency selection and engagement recommendations based on capability, performance, capacity, and business needs.
Drive consistency in how external partners are onboarded, engaged, and evaluated across Solve Studio.
Support the transition to a centrally managed network of approved agency partners.
Establish and maintain agency onboarding, operating standards, governance tools, documentation and escalation paths.
Maintain a centralized roster of partner capabilities, geographic coverage, rates, contract status, contacts and engagement requirements.
Serve as the central operational contact for approved partners, routing commercial, contractual and compliance matters through Solve Studio leadership and Procurement.
Coordinate agency business reviews and maintain consistent scorecards, reporting and performance-improvement actions.
Maintain visibility to agency assignments, utilization, scopes, purchase orders, spend and retainers in partnership with Operations, Finance and Procurement.
Support retainer and partner network recommendations based on performance, demand, capability, and value.
Maintain a holistic view of project demand, internal capacity, agency capacity and upcoming business needs.
Recommend the optimal delivery model for incoming work, including internal staffing, agency engagement or blended teams.
Match work to the appropriate resources based on capability, availability, complexity, continuity, and business priorities.
Lead resource allocation discussions across active and upcoming work.
Identify capacity risks, capability gaps and workload imbalances and proactively recommend solutions.
Partner with Operations, Project Management and leadership teams to support forecasting and workforce planning.