Senior Manager Marketing Ops & Creative Services

Express•Columbus, OH

About The Position

The Senior Manager, Marketing Operations & Creative Services is a strategic and operational leader overseeing marketing operations, creative services, and project management for PHOENIX Retail, supporting the Express and Bonobos brands. The role manages how marketing and creative work is planned and delivered, overseeing intake, prioritization, workflows, reviews, approvals, cross-functional coordination, and process improvement to help ensure projects are completed on time, on budget, and with strong alignment. The role partners with Brand Marketing, Creative, Merchandising, E-Commerce, Performance Marketing, Retail, Finance, and external vendors. It sets the operating rhythm, priorities, and ways of working for the function, maintains visibility and coordination across projects, and oversees budget management in partnership with Finance and marketing leadership. The position directly manages the Project Manager, Creative & Marketing Operations and the Senior Project Manager, Creative & Marketing Operations.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience.
10+ years of experience in marketing operations, creative services, project management, or related fields.
Significant experience leading complex, cross-functional marketing and creative workflows in a fast-paced organization.
Strong project management experience across marketing execution, campaign development, and creative operations.
Proven ability to manage multiple priorities while maintaining attention to detail and executional excellence.
Strong written and verbal communication skills and ability to work effectively across all levels of an organization.
Ability to serve as a clear coordination point and single source of truth across departments and stakeholders.
Strong experience partnering across cross-functional teams and aligning groups around shared goals, timelines, and deliverables.
Applicants must be currently authorized to work full-time in the United States; PHOENIX does not sponsor work visas for this position.

Nice To Haves

Experience in retail, fashion, e-commerce, or consumer marketing environments.
Experience leading marketing operations and creative services across multiple brands or business units.
Strong understanding of project lifecycle management, creative development processes, and campaign execution.
Experience managing external vendors, agency partners, and production-related workflows.
Experience with budgeting, forecasting, and financial tracking in partnership with Finance.
Project management experience in print production, marketing operations, or creative execution environments.

Responsibilities

Lead Marketing Operations and Creative Services for PHOENIX Retail, overseeing workflows, project management, and operational execution across Express and Bonobos.
Manage and develop the Project Manager, Creative & Marketing Operations and the Senior Project Manager, Creative & Marketing Operations.
Set the function’s operating rhythm, priorities, processes, and ways of working.
Oversee intake and prioritization of brand and marketing initiatives, ensuring briefs are clear and routed to appropriate stakeholders.
Translate marketing strategy into actionable project plans in partnership with Brand Marketing and cross-functional teams.
Oversee the integrated marketing calendar, seasonal processes, and key milestones with Brand Marketing and Merchandising/Design leadership.
Establish project timelines, workflows, milestones, and review and approval processes.
Develop project roadmaps and clarify deliverables, responsibilities, deadlines, and dependencies.
Coordinate marketing and creative projects and keep stakeholders informed about timing, status, risks, and next steps.
Lead project kickoffs, internal reviews, status meetings, and other project touchpoints.
Consolidate and communicate feedback, capture action items, and manage follow-up.
Identify risks, dependencies, and process gaps, and recommend solutions.
Maintain project status reporting and delivery recaps for teams and leadership.
Conduct post-project reviews and identify opportunities to improve workflows, processes, and team efficiency.
Define and evolve the operating model, governance, and best practices for Marketing Operations and Creative Services.
Partner with Brand Marketing and cross-functional leaders to ensure presentation materials, timelines, creative deliverables, and supporting assets are accurate and aligned.
Coordinate with Marketing, Creative, Merchandising, E-Commerce, Retail, and other teams to ensure reviews and approvals are included in project timelines.
Ensure work follows established processes, governance, and review structures.
Support operational planning and stakeholder coordination for seasonal initiatives, campaigns, launches, and ongoing brand marketing programs.
Serve as an operational partner to marketing leadership, connecting strategy, resourcing, and execution.
Manage external vendor and agency relationships as needed to support project execution and timelines.
Oversee the function’s budget planning, tracking, and expense management.
Partner with Finance and marketing leadership to monitor budgets and maintain accountability against approved spending.
Support forecasting, accruals, invoice tracking, and budget reconciliation for relevant marketing and creative functions.
Ensure project teams understand budget implications and remain aligned with financial targets.
Serve as a point of contact for Finance partners on budget visibility and accountability.