Operations director

Team5pm; Amsterdam; On-site; EUR 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

team5pm is seeking a Senior Operations Director to lead the rollout of a global operating model across the region and business units. You will ensure adoption, maintain consistency and drive improvements in delivery, profitability and data-driven decision making.

The role requires strong experience in operations, project management and change leadership within a project-based environment, with a collaborative, data-driven approach to optimise staffing, pricing and processes.

Qualifications

• Experience in operations, business management or operational transformation within a project-based organisation.
• Strong understanding of capacity planning, productivity, pricing and project profitability.
• Ability to translate financial and operational data into clear, practical actions.
• Experience implementing systems, processes or new ways of working.
• Strong stakeholder management skills, including the ability to navigate different priorities.
• Collaborative approach to change: explain目的, listen to feedback and help teams move forward.
• Eyes for opportunities to automate reporting and improve connections between systems.
• Willingness to adapt quickly and learn new tools and techniques.

Responsibilities

• Implement the global operating model across your region and business units, balancing consistency with creativity and speed.
• Lead the adoption of TLO with clear rates, budgets and planned hours, supported by time tracking and reliable data.
• Monitor productivity, utilisation, capacity and profitability, turning insights into practical improvements with local leadership.
• Help teams anticipate staffing needs and optimise delivery models for key clients.
• Implement global pricing tools and approval processes to support well-scoped projects.
• Partner with Finance to connect project margins with financial reporting, and with Tech/Product to integrate data flows.
• Work with People to embed new ways of working and train teams to use operational insights.

Skills

Stakeholder management

Capacity planning

Pricing

Project profitability

Operational transformation

Data interpretation

Job description

How do you help a creative organisation grow without letting processes slow creativity down? You bring clarity, turn data into practical insights and help teams work smarter. As Operations Director at team5pm, you translate SAMY’s global operating model into an approach that works locally.

From capacity planning and project margins to pricing and automation, you connect the numbers with everyday decisions. You help build an organisation where teams understand their performance, projects are set up properly and growth goes hand in hand with profitability. Not by adding more processes, but by making the right ones work.

What you will do

You will lead the implementation of the global operating model across your region and business units, known within SAMY as ‘powerhouses’. You will help teams adopt this model, use it consistently and identify opportunities for improvement. You will report to the Global Operations Director and work closely with the Country Manager, powerhouse leadership, Finance, People, Tech/Product and the Global Service Heads. The Country Manager is a key partner, but not your reporting line.

• Implement SAMY’s global operating model across your region, balancing operational consistency with creativity and speed.
• Lead the adoption of TLO, ensuring every project starts with clear rates, budgets and planned hours, supported by consistent time tracking and reliable data.
• Monitor productivity, utilisation, capacity and profitability, turning insights into practical improvements with local leadership.
• Help teams anticipate staffing needs and optimise delivery models and team structures for key clients.
• Implement global pricing tools and approval processes to support well-scoped, commercially sound projects.
• Partner with Finance to connect project margins with financial reporting, and with Tech/Product to integrate data flows and reduce manual reporting.
• Work with People to embed new ways of working and train business teams to use operational insights in their everyday decisions.

What we are looking for

You combine strategic thinking with the ability to make change happen. You know that a dashboard only creates value when people understand it and use it to make better decisions.

You bring:

• Experience in operations, business management or operational transformation within a project-based organisation.
• A strong understanding of capacity planning, productivity, pricing and project profitability.
• The ability to translate financial and operational data into clear, practical actions.
• Experience implementing systems, processes or new ways of working.
• Strong stakeholder management skills, including the ability to navigate different priorities.
• A collaborative approach to change: you explain the purpose, listen to feedback and help teams move forward.
• An eye for opportunities to automate reporting and improve connections between systems.
• A willingness to adapt quickly and learn new tools and techniques.

Experience in a creative, marketing or professional services organisation is relevant, but comparable experience elsewhere can be equally valuable. Recognise yourself in the core of this role, but not every bullet point? We would still like to hear what you bring.

About team5pm

Since 2018, we have combined data and creativity to create content that makes an impact. We bring together research, strategy, creative development, production and distribution to help brands connect with their audiences.

Working internationally, we combine creative expertise with an understanding of platforms, technology and audience behaviour. A strong operational foundation makes that possible. As Operations Director, you will help develop that foundation in line with SAMY’s global approach.

Working at team5pm

We believe people do their best work when they can be themselves, take responsibility and support each other. Our values reflect that: “We work based on trust”, “We work smart”, “We are certainly not perfect”, “We are down-to-earth” and “We are friendly”.

For you, that means building relationships based on trust, making improvements openly and keeping the people behind the numbers in mind. You bring clarity while staying connected to the realities of creative work.

• Experience level: Senior