Senior Creative Services Manager

Barbour; South Shields; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 85,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Contract Completion Bonus

Staff shop

25 days holiday

Free onsite parking

Subsidised canteen

Hybrid working

4pm finish on Friday

Refer a friend bonus

Rewards program

Training & development

Length of Service rewards

Job summary

Barbour is seeking a Senior Creative Services Manager – Maternity Cover to lead the Graphics and Photo studio teams at Barbour House, South Shields. The role emphasizes operations, budgeting, and cross‑functional coordination within Brand Marketing.

Hybrid work is required, with 4 days in the office and 1 day at home. You will drive end-to-end creative workflows, steward capacity planning, and partner with global brand teams to ensure timely, quality deliverables.

Qualifications

• Proven experience in creative operations, in-house studio management, or creative services within a fast-paced environment.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage the Photo studio and Graphics teams, fostering a positive, collaborative, and high-performing working environment.
• Oversee photo studio disciplines (Styling, Photography, and Production) to ensure teams are coordinated, aligned, and well-supported.
• Facilitate clear communication, structured handovers, and shared ownership across multi-disciplinary creative teams.
• Support workload planning and resource allocation to balance team capacity against business priorities.
• Partner with Creative leadership and key stakeholders to align output with global brand strategy.
• Own end-to-end creative workflows across photo studio and Graphics, ensuring projects move efficiently from brief to delivery.
• Establish and embed robust processes, clear responsibilities, and defined ways of working.
• Ensure all briefs are clear, achievable, and fully resourced prior to kick-off.
• Monitor timelines, capacity, and project status, proactively resolving potential bottlenecks.
• Maintain the workflow tool Lets Flo as the true data source for Range Plan seasonal accuracy, partnering regularly with Trade and IT on system integrations and efficiencies.

Skills

Creative operations

In-house studio management

Multidisciplinary leadership

Workflow optimization

Budget management

Stakeholder management

Attention to detail

Travel flexibility

Mac OS proficient

Lets Flo experience

Tools

Lets Flo

Job description

Job Title

Senior Creative Services Manager – Maternity Cover

Department

Brand Marketing

Location

Barbour House, South Shields (Hybrid: 4 days office / 1 day home-working)

Company Description

The Barbour story began in 1894 in South Shields in the North East of England. Founder John Barbour began supplying oilskins and other garments to protect the growing community of sailors, fishermen and dockers. Still family owned and now fifth generation, Barbour HQ remains in South Shields. Under the leadership of Chairman Dame Margaret Barbour, Barbour has grown into a lifestyle brand sold in over 55 countries worldwide including Europe, the US and Asia offering a wardrobe of stylish functional clothing, footwear and accessories inspired by the unique values of the British countryside. The iconic Barbour Bedale and Barbour Beaufort wax jackets continue to be made by hand in the factory in South Shields. In 2020, Barbour launched Wax for Life, an overarching name for all of Barbour’s wax services designed to encourage customers to extend the life of their wax garments. Wax for Life includes re-waxing and repairs (first introduced in 1921) and Barbour Re-Loved an upcycling circularity initiative. Each year over 70,000 wax garments are sent back to Barbour globally to be repaired, rewaxed or altered.

Position Overview

We are looking for an experienced and highly organised Senior Creative Services Manager to lead and oversee the day-to-day operations of Barbour’s Graphics and photo studio teams. Reporting to the Global Director of Brand and Communications, this is a key leadership role within our Creative function, connecting people, processes, and priorities to ensure work moves seamlessly from initial brief through to final delivery.

*The role is based at head office in South Shields, and the expectation is 4 days in the office and 1 day of homeworking.*

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Lead and manage the Photo studio and Graphics teams, fostering a positive, collaborative, and high-performing working environment.
• Oversee photo studio disciplines (Styling, Photography, and Production) to ensure teams are coordinated, aligned, and well-supported.
• Facilitate clear communication, structured handovers, and shared ownership across multi-disciplinary creative teams.
• Support workload planning and resource allocation to balance team capacity against business priorities.
• Partner with Creative leadership and key stakeholders to align output with global brand strategy.

Creative Workflow & Operations

• Own end-to-end creative workflows across photo studio and Graphics, ensuring projects move efficiently from brief to delivery.
• Establish and embed robust processes, clear responsibilities, and defined ways of working.
• Ensure all briefs are clear, achievable, and fully resourced prior to kick-off.
• Monitor timelines, capacity, and project status, proactively resolving potential bottlenecks.
• Maintain the workflow tool Lets Flo as the true data source for Range Plan seasonal accuracy, partnering regularly with Trade and IT on system integrations and efficiencies.

Continuous Improvement & Budget Management

• Continuously review creative processes to eliminate inefficiencies, duplication, and unnecessary steps.
• Use data, team feedback, and operational experience to introduce modern tools and smarter ways of working.
• Manage the budget across photo studio and Graphics, tracking spend and proposing cost-effective solutions.
• Positively lead operational change, ensuring new processes are fully adopted and embedded.

Cross-Functional Relationships

• Serve as the main connective tissue between Creative Services and Brand, Marketing, Ecommerce, Digital, and Product teams.
• Clearly communicate creative capacity, lead times, and production constraints to stakeholders.
• Proactively manage competing business priorities to find practical, practical solutions.

Skills and Experience

• Proven experience in creative operations, in-house studio management, or creative services within a fast-paced environment.
• Strong leadership capability with experience managing multi-disciplinary teams across graphics, styling, photography, and production.
• Deep operational expertise in establishing workflows, managing production budgets, and overseeing resource planning.
• Highly proficient in Mac Operating Systems and Microsoft Office suite.
• Experience managing creative workflow systems (experience with tools like Lets Flo is advantageous).
• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills with an ability to bring clarity to competing priorities.
• High attention to detail combined with a practical, solutions-focused mindset.
• Strong appreciation for the creative process—knowing how to balance structure with the space creative teams need to thrive.
• Flexibility to travel as required by the role.
• Contract Completion Bonus
• Staff shop
• 25 days holiday as standard increasing with length of service plus bank holidays
• Access to training and development activities to support your career development
• Free onsite parking
• Subsidised canteen
• Operate hybrid & flexible working
• 4pm finish on a Friday
• Refer a friend bonus scheme
• Reward & Recognition Program
• Length of Service Rewards

Note: In the event that a sufficient volume of suitable applications are received, the post may close prior to the specified closing date. Please apply as soon as possible if interested.