Senior Manager Creative Strategy & Operations

IHG; Atlanta (GA); Hybrid; USD 110,000 - 115,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Bonus pay

Medical/dental/vision insurance

401K

Job summary

IHG is seeking a senior operations and creative strategy leader for Global Creative Services. You will ensure the studio has the structure, processes, and governance to deliver high-quality creative at pace, while advancing AI-enabled workflows and regional support across Atlanta, Guadalajara, and London.

You will manage budgets, briefs, and cross-functional partnerships, build scalable operating models, and lead teams through operational change to elevate creative excellence across brands.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent professional experience in marketing, creative strategy, or related discipline.
• 8–12 years of progressive experience across creative strategy, studio operations, or marketing operations.
• Experience with global brands and managing senior stakeholders.
• Strong briefing and creative direction skills with ability to translate objectives into strategy.
• Experience managing budgets, vendors, and purchase orders.
• Experience using AI tools and Smartsheet workflows for operations.

Responsibilities

• Lead day-to-day operations for Global Creative Services, including intake management, workflow governance, capacity planning, delivery an AI enablement across Atlanta, Guadalajara, and London.
• Manage the Creative Services budget, including freelance and agency spend, purchase orders, accruals, risks, and Finance partnership.
• Own and evolve the operational infrastructure that supports brief intake, timelines, status communication, team capacity, and delivery visibility.
• Maintain effective team rhythms, including standups, project reviews, capacity checks, and cross-functional touchpoints.
• Manage vendor and agency operational relationships, ensuring statements of work, deliverables, timelines, and purchase orders are tracked with rigor.
• Write and quality-control creative briefs across IHG brands, ensuring briefs are strategically sharp, insight-led, and actionable for creative teams.
• Partner with brand marketing stakeholders to translate business objectives into clear creative strategy and direction.
• Lead creative strategy on priority campaigns, including brief development, creative evaluation, and stakeholder presentations.
• Champion creative excellence by advocating for work that is commercially relevant, distinctive, and brand-building.
• Build the workflows and standards needed to support region-specific briefs for international markets outside the US.
• Lead by example in AI adoption, using emerging tools to improve briefing, strategy enrichment, administration, and status communication.
• Support Marketing Transformation pilots by operationalizing new tools and processes within Creative Services before broader rollout.
• Develop team members and help lead the evolution of Creative Services' operating model, strategy capability, and use of technology.

Skills

Creative strategy

Creative leadership

Studio operations

Marketing operations

Budget management

Vendor management

AI tools

Smartsheet workflows

Stakeholder management

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent

Tools

Smartsheet

Job description

Responsible for leading the operations and creative strategy capability of Global Creative Services. This role ensures the studio has the structure, systems, briefs, and ways of working needed to deliver high-quality creative at the pace IHG brands require, while advancing workflow governance, budget discipline, regional support, and AI-enabled ways of working.

Your day to day

• Lead day-to-day operations for Global Creative Services, including intake management, workflow governance, capacity planning, delivery an AI enablement across Atlanta, Guadalajara, and London.
• Manage the Creative Services budget, including freelance and agency spend, purchase orders, accruals, risks, and Finance partnership.
• Own and evolve the operational infrastructure that supports brief intake, timelines, status communication, team capacity, and delivery visibility.
• Maintain effective team rhythms, including standups, project reviews, capacity checks, and cross-functional touchpoints.
• Manage vendor and agency operational relationships, ensuring statements of work, deliverables, timelines, and purchase orders are tracked with rigor.
• Write and quality-control creative briefs across IHG brands, ensuring briefs are strategically sharp, insight-led, and actionable for creative teams.
• Partner with brand marketing stakeholders to translate business objectives into clear creative strategy and direction.
• Lead creative strategy on priority campaigns, including brief development, creative evaluation, and stakeholder presentations.
• Champion creative excellence by advocating for work that is commercially relevant, distinctive, and brand-building.
• Build the workflows and standards needed to support region-specific briefs for international markets outside the US.
• Lead by example in AI adoption, using emerging tools to improve briefing, strategy enrichment, administration, and status communication.
• Support Marketing Transformation pilots by operationalizing new tools and processes within Creative Services before broader rollout.
• Develop team members and help lead the evolution of Creative Services' operating model, strategy capability, and use of technology.

What we need from you

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent professional experience in marketing, creative strategy, communications, business, or a related discipline preferred.
• 8--12 years of progressive experience across creative strategy, creative account leadership, studio operations, or marketing operations.
• Experience supporting global brands and managing cross-functional relationships with senior stakeholders.
• Strong creative brief writing skills, with the ability to turn business objectives, audience insights, and marketing needs into clear creative direction.
• Experience managing budgets, vendors, agency partners, statements of work, purchase orders, and operational timelines.
• Demonstrated ability to build and manage workflow systems, intake processes, capacity planning, and delivery governance.
• Strong understanding of campaign development, creative evaluation, and the commercial value of creative excellence.
• Experience developing direct reports and leading teams through operational change, new processes, and evolving ways of working.
• Demonstrated skills using AI tools, automation, Smartsheet-powered workflows, or similar technology to improve creative or marketing operations.
• Strong communication, influencing, problem-solving, and stakeholder-management skills, with the ability to balance strategic leadership and operational execution.

Location - Our hybrid work structure

Our hybrid work structure is an expectation of three (3) days a week in the Atlanta office. This expectation may be adjusted to evolve with the changing needs of the business.

The salary range for this role is $110,000 - $115, 000. This role is also eligible for bonus pay. We offer a comprehensive package of benefits including paid time off, medical/dental/vision insurance, 401K, and other benefits to employees.

At IHG Hotels & Resorts, we work together to deliver True Hospitality for Good on a global scale. With corporate offices and over 6,000 hotel destinations worldwide, a career at IHG is the perfect way to broaden your horizons. You'll experience our unique culture and brilliant colleagues who will support and inspire you. With a host of corporate opportunities to choose from, wherever you are on your career journey, and whatever you want to achieve there's Room for You at IHG.

Over recent years, we've transformed our company. We have bold ambitions to drive performance and maintain our relentless focus on growth in order to be the hotel company of choice that guests & owners love.

We are a hospitality business at our core and value connections and being together helps us foster a unique sense of belonging that also supports productivity. That's why here at IHG, we give our colleagues flexibility and balance -- working in a hybrid way, blending office and remote working collectively. We recognise that every role is different, that's why leaders work with teams to determine how and when they collaborate.

We provide a wide range of benefits designed to help you live your best work life. These include impressive room discounts across our many properties, recharge days and volunteering days throughout the year. Through our myWellbeing framework, we are committed to supporting wellbeing in your health, lifestyle, and workplace. We offer a unique and inclusive culture, where there is always Room for You to belong, grow and make a difference.

Our mission is to welcome everyone and create inclusive teams where we celebrate difference and encourage colleagues to bring their whole selves to work. IHG Hotels & Resorts provides equal employment opportunities to applicants and employees without regards to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability, or any other category protected by applicable laws. We promote a culture of trust, support, and acceptance. Always welcoming different backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives.

At IHG Hotels & Resorts, we are proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We firmly believe that all our colleagues deserve to be treated equally and have the same opportunities to develop and grow their skills within our business and provide equal employment opportunities to all applicants and colleagues without regard to an individual's, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, marital or familial status, veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law.