Creative Services Manager

Butlin's; Hemel Hempstead; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading UK leisure company is seeking a Creative Services Manager to oversee the creative studio and manage a small team. This pivotal position requires strong leadership skills, creativity, and the ability to handle multiple projects efficiently. Responsibilities include managing creative workflow, developing team talent, and providing hands-on design support as needed. The ideal candidate will have strong Adobe Creative Suite skills and proven studio management experience.

Qualifications

• Proven experience in studio management or creative resourcing.
• Strong graphic design experience across digital and print.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.

Responsibilities

• Manage end-to-end creative workflow and assess incoming briefs.
• Lead and develop a team of creative artworkers.
• Create and maintain the creative direction across projects.

Skills

Leadership

Creative workflow management

Communication skills

Project management

Adobe Creative Suite

Job description

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Creative Services Manager

Department: Commercial & Marketing - Product & Proposition

Employment Type: Fixed Term - Full Time

Location: Hemel Hempstead

Description

We're looking for a Creative Services Manager to join our Brand Identity team on a fixed-term maternity cover.

This is a senior, pivotal role acting as the central point of authority and orchestration across the creative studio. Often known externally as a Studio Manager or Studio Traffic Manager, this role blends leadership, workflow ownership, content production expertise and hands‑on creative delivery.

As a brand guardian and operational lead, you will ensure all creative and content output reflects the Butlin's brand proposition, is commercially effective, and reaches guests at the right moment in their journey. You'll balance big‑picture creative thinking with practical delivery, ensuring the studio runs smoothly, efficiently and confidently.

You'll be the central point of contact for the creative studio and a trusted lead who brings clarity, momentum and positive energy, and who teams naturally gravitate towards for guidance, support and decision‑making.

Key Responsibilities

Creative Studio & Workflow Leadership

• Own and manage the end-to-end creative workflow, acting as the gatekeeper for all incoming briefs via Monday.com.
• Assess, challenge and work with the wider team to refine briefs to ensure clarity, feasibility and quality before they enter the studio.
• Plan and allocate creative resources effectively, balancing workloads, priorities and deadlines across the team.
• Own prioritisation decisions when demand exceeds capacity, making confident trade‑offs in partnership with senior stakeholders to protect quality, wellbeing and deadlines.
• Lead regular WIP, status and creative review sessions, ensuring work is scoped, scheduled, progressing and delivered on time.
• Drive continuous improvement in studio processes, ways of working and efficiency.

Team Management & Development

• Line‑manage a team of three creative artworkers, providing clear direction, regular 1:1s, development support and performance feedback.
• Be a visible, present and approachable leader within the studio - setting the tone, lifting energy and creating an environment where people feel supported, heard and motivated.
• Act as a confident decision‑maker, setting creative standards and providing clear guidance when priorities compete.
• Act as a mentor and sounding board for creatives, helping them navigate priorities, challenges and development opportunities.
• Support the wider creative team where required, and celebrate great work and team wins, fostering pride, momentum and a strong sense of team.

Content, Photography & Art Direction

• Lead the planning and delivery of studio and location‑based shoots, including lifestyle, people, food and menu photography.
• Own pre‑production, shoot logistics, scheduling and post‑production processes.
• Provide brand‑led creative and art direction on shoots, attending where required and acting as the primary point of contact.
• Build strong working relationships with photographers, suppliers, resort teams and guests.
• Oversee post‑shoot content selection, image grading and retouching where necessary.
• Manage the photography and content budget, including raising purchase orders and supplier liaison.
• Own and maintain DAM governance, including image tagging, asset organisation and GDPR compliance.

Stakeholder & Brand Partnership

• Act as the key day‑to‑day liaison between Brand, Marketing and Creative, confidently managing expectations, priorities and timelines.
• Support creative collaboration and ideation with marketing teams to optimise content performance across channels.
• Ensure creative output is channel‑appropriate, reusable and aligned to the guest journey.
• Communicate progress, risks and decisions clearly, calmly and proactively.

Hands‑On Creative Delivery

• Provide hands‑on design and artworking support when required, particularly during peak workloads, campaigns or capacity pressure.
• Maintain a strong personal creative skillset across digital and print, leading by example within the studio and ensuring creative standards, accuracy and brand consistency across all outputs.

About You

You're a confident, experienced creative leader who thrives at the centre of production. You bring clarity to complexity, remain calm under pressure, and make confident decisions that keep work moving and teams motivated.

You will:

• Be the heartbeat of the creative studio, bringing positivity, clarity and momentum to day‑to‑day operations.
• Create a culture of trust, collaboration and accountability, enabling creatives to do their best work.
• Balance pace with care, maintaining high creative standards without compromising team wellbeing.
• Be passionate about brand, craft and creative excellence, with a strong commercial mindset.
• Be highly organised, proactive and comfortable managing multiple priorities in a fast‑paced, reactive environment.
• Communicate clearly and confidently with senior stakeholders and creative teams.
• Have proven experience in studio management, traffic/workflow management or creative resourcing.
• Be a natural collaborator and relationship builder.
• Bring hands‑on graphic design experience across digital and print, with strong Adobe Creative Suite skills and a working knowledge of photography and production processes.
• Enjoy mentoring and supporting creative talent, and be willing to step in and support delivery when needed.