Senior Creative Services Manager

Ogilvy; London; On-site; GBP 100,000 - 125,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading creative agency in London is looking for a Senior Creative Services Manager to oversee resource management and workflow operations. You will collaborate with senior stakeholders to ensure effective deployment of creative talent and manage budgets. An ideal candidate has experience in a senior creative services role, strong stakeholder management skills, and a collaborative leadership style. This role offers competitive benefits and a positive work environment.

Benefits

25 days annual leave + 1 Volunteer Day

Bupa Healthcare

Enhanced Maternity, Adoption and Shared Parental Leave

Flexible Working Model

1.5:1 Matching Pension Structure

Wellbeing incentives

Life Assurance

Qualifications

• Proven experience in a senior-level creative services or project operations role within a creative agency.
• Strong understanding of creative workflows and agency operations.
• Experience managing and developing resourcing teams.

Responsibilities

• Oversee all creative and design resourcing across the agency.
• Line manage and develop a team of Senior Resource Managers.
• Manage and optimise freelance budgets.

Skills

Stakeholder management

Creative workflow understanding

Leadership style

Negotiation skills

Problem-solving skills

Tools

Wrike

Excel

Job description

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About Ogilvy

Ogilvy has been creating impact for brands through iconic, culture-changing, value-driving ideas since the company was founded by David Ogilvy 75 years ago. It builds on that rich legacy through Borderless Creativity - innovating at the intersections of its advertising, public relations, relationship design, consulting, and health capabilities with experts collaborating seamlessly across over 120 offices in nearly 90 countries. Ogilvy currently ranks as the #1 global agency network for creative excellence and effectiveness by WARC, signifying its ability to deliver creative solutions that drive unreasonable impact for clients and communities. Ogilvy is a WPP company (NYSE: WPP). For more information, visit Ogilvy.com , and follow us on LinkedIn , X , Instagram , and Facebook.

Department: Operations

Location: London

Contact type: 12 Month FTC

Full Time/Part time: Full Time

Reporting into: Chief Production Officer

About Ogilvy

Ogilvy UK has been creating iconic ideas that deliver impact at scale for clients ever since David Ogilvy founded the company in 1948. Ogilvy UK specialises in bringing together brand advertising, customer experience marketing, PR, influence and consulting, all fuelled by Behavioural Science. Our world-class award-winning creative campaigns deliver solutions for clients including Sainsbury's, Argos, , Mondelēz International, Unilever, TK Maxx and Pernod Ricard.

In 2023, Ogilvy UK celebrated their 75th anniversary and was the most awarded agency in Europe. Ogilvy is home to the largest influencer marketing practice globally, and hosts the world's biggest festival of behavioural science and creativity, Nudgestock - now in its 12th year .
About the Role

We are seeking a strategically minded and highly organised Senior Creative Services Manager to join our Resource team. You will work in close partnership with Executive Creative Directors, Producers, Studio Management, Finance Directors, and senior stakeholders to ensure we deliver exceptional work through the effective deployment of our creative talent.

You'll run a resource management team, shape workflow operations, oversee freelance spend, and contribute to long-term planning that supports both the creative output and commercial success
What You'll Do

Strategic Resource Management

• Serve as senior manager for all creative and design resourcing across the agency, overseeing planning, workflow, and allocation across internal and freelance talent.
• Collaborate directly with ECDs, Project Directors, and Managing Partners to ensure the creative team is shaped and staffed to meet evolving business demands.
• Maintain a live, high-level view of capacity, project demand, skill sets, and utilisation across departments to inform planning and decision-making.
• Attend weekly workflow headline meetings with the CEO and Managing Partners, surfacing priority resource issues and providing strategic solutions.

Team & Stakeholder Management

• Line manage and develop a team of two Senior Resource Managers, supporting their growth and ensuring alignment across all planning activities.
• Act as the lynchpin between all department Resource Managers, balancing holidays, absences, and high-volume workflow needs.
• Run weekly ECD resourcing calls to review team allocations, discuss capacity, and proactively manage creative talent sharing across accounts.
• Navigate complex and sensitive stakeholder relationships with confidence, professionalism, and political acumen.
• Be the decision-maker and escalation point for creative and design resource conflicts across the business.

Collaboration & Communication

• Join and represent the London office in EMEA-wide resource sharing forums, promoting cross-market collaboration and opportunity sharing.
• Partner with Studio Managers to define time requirements, resource needs, and accurate project scoping.
• Run weekly finance and freelance status calls with Finance Directors, tracking spend and aligning forecasts with commercial targets.
• Serve as the go-to contact for ad hoc resourcing needs from the broader WPP network and internal leadership.

Freelance & Budget Oversight

• Own and manage the creative and design freelance budget, continuously assessing needs and identifying opportunities to optimise spend.
• Partner with Talent and Recruitment to build and maintain a strong network of freelance talent across disciplines.
• Contribute to long-term workforce planning, including identifying capability gaps and recruitment priorities.

Tools & Process Management

• Use Wrike and other workflow tools to track allocations, timesheets, utilisation, and workflow accuracy.
• Champion process improvements to increase visibility, efficiency, and clarity in resource planning.
• Balance billable and non-billable work, ensuring optimal productivity while safeguarding team wellbeing

What You'll Need

• Proven experience in a senior-level creative services, resourcing, or project operations role within a creative or integrated agency environment.
• A strong understanding of creative workflows, agency operations, and cross-functional team collaboration.
• Outstanding stakeholder management skills with the ability to influence, negotiate, and resolve conflicts at a senior level.
• Experience running and developing resourcing teams, with a collaborative and motivational leadership style.
• Commercially savvy with experience managing and optimising freelance budgets.
• Familiarity with resourcing platforms (Wrike, Float, YunoJuno, Resource Guru, etc.), and strong proficiency in Excel or similar tools.
• Able to think strategically and act tactically; balancing immediate needs with long-term planning.
• Excellent communication, organisation, and problem-solving skills in high-pressure environments.
• A strong appreciation for creative excellence and a talent for aligning the right people to the right briefs.

Benefits

• 25 days annual leave + 1 Volunteer Day
• Bupa Healthcare
• Enhanced Maternity, Adoption and Shared Parental Leave
• We have a Flexible Working Model with core working hours: 10am - 4pm
• A 1.5:1 Matching Pension Structure
• Wellbeing and Health: Up to £25.00 per month towards physical or online exercise class membership, Unmind membership, LifeWorks tool and annual eye tests and development budgets and Wellbeing incentives and activities throughout the year
• Season Ticket Loan and Cycle to Work Scheme
• Life Assurance

At Ogilvy, our people are at the heart of what we do: a creative agency that sparks game-changing ideas across culture and business through collaboration, integrity, and a celebration of self-expression.

We believe in building powerful teams with purpose - and we relentlessly curate transformative initiatives that make our commitment to fairness, and equity a reality.

Our ultimate mission is to leave a positive impact on the world, creating a better future for all, while supporting and uplifting the global communities we serve. This is central to our mantra of Borderless Creativity.

Ogilvy is an equal opportunity employer and considers applicants for all positions without discrimination or regard to particular characteristics. We are committed to fostering a culture of respect in which everyone feels they belong and has the same opportunities to progress in their careers.

If you need any assistance seeking a job opportunity, or if you need reasonable accommodation with the application process, please contact us at [e-mail]. Please note that this contact is only for candidates who are requesting accommodation. Emails for other purposes, including application status requests, will not receive a response.