Program Director

OLIVER Agency•Chicago, IL

7h•Remote

About The Position

The Program Director leads delivery and operations for the OLIVER studio working in partnership with our client. You are accountable for SLA performance, resource utilization, operational reporting, and the overall health of the studio’s day-to-day workflow. You partner directly with the Business Director, Resource Manager, and Integrated Project Managers to build and maintain a structured, scalable way of working.

Requirements

Proven experience leading delivery and operations in a complex, multi-brand content production environment — ideally spanning multiple locations and disciplines
Expert proficiency with project management and workflow systems; experience with OMG or similar platforms (Workfront, Wrike, etc.) is a strong advantage
A track record of building and managing high-performance project management and operations teams
Strong data literacy: comfortable owning delivery metrics, SLA reporting, and operational dashboards
Experience managing distributed, multi-cultural teams across different time zones
A proactive, structured approach to problem-solving — you identify risk early and resolve it before it reaches the client
Experience leading studio transitions or agency implementations is a meaningful differentiator
Advanced use of AI tools to enhance operational efficiency, including workflow intelligence, automated triage, and brief scoring via OMG's AI-assist capability
Agentic thinking for complex, multi-team operational challenges: systematic, outcome-focused, and adaptable
Ability to train and guide the delivery team in responsible AI adoption within the studio's operational framework

Responsibilities

Own the end-to-end delivery operation — from brief intake and triage through production, review, approval, and delivery — using OMG as the central workflow management system
Lead and develop a team of Integrated Project Managers and QA Managers across Mexico City and Chicago, building a delivery culture that is process-led, SLA-aware, and proactive
Partner with the Resource Manager to allocate creative, production, and QA resource against the studio's active workload, managing peaks and troughs effectively
Establish and maintain weekly and monthly accountability rhythms — status reporting, resourcing reviews, SLA tracking, and QBR preparation — in partnership with the Business Director
Route tasks to talent, factoring real-time utilization and SLAs; implement automated alerts to proactively address potential bottlenecks
Drive quality control standards across all workstreams, working closely with the QA Manager to ensure every asset is accurate, brand-compliant, and delivery-ready
Lead the studio's transition period: manage the handover of in-flight work from incumbent agencies, build process documentation, and establish OLIVER's ways of working from go-live
Manage relationships with Mexico City-based delivery team members, supporting cross-cultural collaboration and remote operational effectiveness
Report on studio performance against KPIs — cost per asset, time per project vs. SLA, resource utilization, revisions per asset — and identify trends and improvement opportunities
Build and maintain the studio's operational playbooks, briefing standards, and SLA frameworks