Creative Services Director

McCann; Metropolitan Borough of Solihull; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

A creative agency in Solihull is seeking a Creative Services Director to lead and optimise their creative processes. The ideal candidate will have over 8 years of experience in creative operations and a proven track record in managing large teams and projects. You will work closely with various departments to ensure timely delivery and drive operational excellence. The position includes opportunities for professional development and a commitment to diversity and inclusion.

Benefits

28 days holiday

Enhanced pension contributions

Life assurance

Professional development programs

Qualifications

• 8+ years in creative operations, traffic, or studio management ideally in agencies.
• Experience in managing teams of 30+.
• Proven record of leading cross-functional teams and managing complex projects.

Responsibilities

• Lead and optimise the end-to-end creative process.
• Manage creative resourcing, traffic, timelines, and project prioritisation.
• Partner with Creative Directors to ensure smooth delivery.

Skills

Creative operations

Project management

Leadership

Communication

Problem-solving

Tools

Workfront

Monday

Smartsheet

Job description

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McCann Birmingham is looking for a Creative Services Director. A dynamic leader with a passion for creativity, production, and operational excellence. This is a key role for someone who understands the rhythm of agency life and can seamlessly connect creative, client services, and production teams to deliver outstanding work.You’ll be highly organised, detail-oriented, and proactive. Someone who thrives on structure and collaboration.

In this role, you’llbe responsible for resourcing projects with the right talent to deliver best-in-class work, on time and on budget. You’ll manage both internal and freelance resources, maintaining a clear view of all projects flowing through the agency. Strong communication across departments will be key to your success.

Who We Are:At McCann Birmingham, part of the global McCann Worldgroup network, we believe in the power of Truth Well Told. We work with brands that challenge, inspire, and push boundaries. And we do it all from the heart of the UK, where creativity meets commercial thinking.

The Role:As Creative Services Director, you will oversee the creative workflow across all departments, ensuring projects are delivered on time, on budget, and on brief. You’ll be the lynchpin between brilliant ideas and flawless execution, streamlining processes, allocating resources, and removing blockers before they appear.

Working from the office three days a week, you’ll be a key ingredient of agency culture and represent creative services to our 250-strong agency team.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead and optimise the end-to-end creative process across multiple clients and disciplines
• Be an operational guru. Managing creative resourcing, traffic, timelines, and project prioritisation
• Partner closely with Creative Directors, Project Leads, and Production to ensure smooth delivery
• Managing the commercial aspects and opportunities across Planning and Creative, monitoring team profitability, freelance budget management and completion of timesheets
• Have your figure on the pulse of the freelance market and build and manage the agencies black book
• Shape and refine internal processes for efficiency and scalability
• Support strategic capacity planning and forecasting across all creative functions

About You:

• 8+ years in creative operations, traffic, or studio management, preferably within an agency setting. Ideally with experience in managing teams of 30+
• A strong appetite for improving processes and seeing where the role of AI can play a part in the agency workflow.
• Proven track record of leading cross-functional teams and managing multiple complex projects
• Solutions-focused mindset with outstanding problem-solving and organisational skills
• Deep understanding of the creative and production lifecycle - from concept to delivery
• Calm under pressure, with excellent communication and stakeholder management skills. A trusted advocate and nurturing presence within the team, able to build strong relationships while confidently influencing and challenging when needed.
• Experience with project/resource management tools (e.g., Workfront, Monday, Smartsheet)

If this role is of interest and you feel you have the experience to hit the ground, please get in touch!

In addition to a competitive salary, we are committed to creating a brilliant environment for all our people. This includes benefits such as 28 days holiday, plus the opportunity to take additional fully paid leave, enhanced pension contributions, life assurance and much more.

A culture of learning and development is also central to our ethos, so you’ll have access to industry leading training and development programmes, plus you’ll get to work closely with the world’s biggest media partners to access exclusive features and products.

Most importantly, you’ll be part of a fun and collaborative team and you’ll work in an environment where you are supported and developed.

Our commitment to equal opportunities

For us, diversity is a business imperative – one that must be embedded into every aspect of how we operate in order to drive success. Simply put, we believe an encouraging and inclusive environment makes sound business sense.

As a globally integrated community that influences and shapes culture, it’s vital that the talent mix in our agencies encompasses all dimensions of diversity, and that we demand the same of the people we work with.

Conscious inclusion encompasses social, cultural and cognitive differences and cultivates an ethos of belonging, connection and shared purpose. It is the integration of this philosophy that allows us to create meaningful experiences for our employees, drive better business practices with our vendors and clients, and ultimately lead with purpose.

McCann is a disability confident committed employer and will guarantee an interview to any disabled candidate who meets the minimum criteria for this role, so please do let us know when you apply if you are eligible, along with any adjustments you may need to the recruitment process to enable you to perform at your best.