Sr. Manager, Sample Operations & Project Mngm

JAKKS Pacific, Inc.; Santa Monica (CA); On-site; USD 110,000 - 115,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health and Wellness benefits

401K matching

Employee discount programs

Job summary

JAKKS Pacific, Inc. seeks a Senior Manager, Sample Operations & Project Management to lead global sample requests from submission to completion in Santa Monica, CA.

You will oversee the Sample Shop, manage staff, production, quality, and workflow, and partner with Marketing, Sales, and Design to ensure correct assets and timely delivery. The ideal candidate balances competing priorities, anticipates seasonal demand, and maintains clear communication with executives.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in project management, operations, product development, production planning, creative operations, or a related field.
• Experience managing high-volume projects or requests with multiple stakeholders and competing deadlines.
• Experience managing managers, supervisors, project teams, or operational functions.
• Strong project management, prioritization, resource planning, and organizational skills.
• Demonstrated ability to manage cross-functional dependencies and drive issues to resolution.
• Strong communication and stakeholder-management skills, including experience working with senior leadership.
• Ability to anticipate workload and capacity requirements and adjust priorities as business needs change.
• Strong attention to detail and ability to identify incomplete or inaccurate requirements.

Responsibilities

• Own and prioritize the global pipeline of product sample requests from submission through completion.
• Manage and provide leadership to the Sample Shop Manager and partner on workload, capacity, staffing, and production planning.
• Primary liaison between the Sample Shop and Marketing, Sales, PR, Design, Packaging, Operations, and Executive Management.
• Coordinate requests from Marketing, Sales, PR, Design, Packaging, Operations, Executives, and other internal stakeholders.
• Establish priorities based on business needs, deadlines, product launches, customer meetings, marketing campaigns, PR events, and available capacity.
• Develop an understanding of seasonal sample demand and proactively plan resources and capacity for peak periods.
• Establish and manage a “Ready for Sample” process to ensure requests are complete and accurate before Sample Shop resources are committed.
• Partner with Marketing, Packaging, and Design to confirm the correct and most current product/item is being sampled.
• Ensure accurate product dimensions, specifications, packaging structures, artwork, and other required assets are available before production begins.
• Identify incomplete or conflicting requests and drive cross-functional resolution before releasing work to the Sample Shop.
• Maintain visibility into request status, priorities, deadlines, dependencies, backlog, and at-risk projects.
• Resolve competing departmental priorities and escalates significant conflicts when necessary.
• Establish realistic timelines and communicate status, risks, and changes to stakeholders.
• Monitor sample volume, turnaround time, on-time completion, backlog, capacity, rush requests, and rework.
• Identify opportunities to improve the existing sample request system, workflow, planning process, and cross-functional accountability.

Skills

Project management

Operations management

Cross-functional coordination

Stakeholder management

Scheduling & capacity planning

Team leadership

Tools

ERP

PLM

Product information systems

Job description

If you are unable to complete this application due to a disability, contact this employer to ask for an accommodation or an alternative application process.

Sr. Manager, Sample Operations & Project Mngm

Full Time Regular Full-Time Santa Monica, CA, US

3 days ago Requisition ID: 1322

Salary Range: $110,000.00 To $115,000.00 Annually

JAKKS Pacific, Inc., a leading designer and marketer of toys and consumer products, with a wide range of products that feature some of the most popular brands and children's toy licenses in the world, currently seeks anSenior Manager, Sample Operations & Project Management to lead the planning, prioritization, and cross-functional coordination of global product sample requests.for our headquarters in Santa Monica, CA.

The ideal candidate is a strong project and operations manager who can balance competing priorities, anticipate seasonal demand, coordinate across departments, and ensure the Sample Shop is focused on the right work at the right time.

Responsibilities include:

The Senior Manager will own the overall sample request pipeline—ensuring requests are properly prioritized, production-ready, and completed against business deadlines. The Sample Shop Manager will continue to manage the day-to-day operation of the shop, including staff, production execution, quality, and workflow

• Own and prioritize the global pipeline of product sample requests from submission through completion.
• Manage and provide leadership to the Sample Shop Manager and partner on workload, capacity, staffing, and production planning.
• Primary liaison between the Sample Shop and Marketing, Sales, PR, Design, Packaging, Operations, and Executive Management.
• Coordinate requests from Marketing, Sales, PR, Design, Packaging, Operations, Executives, and other internal stakeholders.
• Establish priorities based on business needs, deadlines, product launches, customer meetings, marketing campaigns, PR events, and available capacity.
• Develop an understanding of seasonal sample demand and proactively plan resources and capacity for peak periods.
• Establish and manage a “Ready for Sample” process to ensure requests are complete and accurate before Sample Shop resources are committed.
• Partner with Marketing, Packaging, and Design to confirm the correct and most current product/item is being sampled.
• Ensure accurate product dimensions, specifications, packaging structures, artwork, and other required assets are available before production begins.
• Identify incomplete or conflicting requests and drive cross-functional resolution before releasing work to the Sample Shop.
• Maintain visibility into request status, priorities, deadlines, dependencies, backlog, and at-risk projects.
• Resolve competing departmental priorities and escalates significant conflicts when necessary.
• Establish realistic timelines and communicate status, risks, and changes to stakeholders.
• Monitor sample volume, turnaround time, on-time completion, backlog, capacity, rush requests, and rework.
• Identify opportunities to improve the existing sample request system, workflow, planning process, and cross-functional accountability.

Required Qualifications:

• 5 + years of experience in project management, operations, product development, production planning, creative operations, or a related field.
• Experience managing high-volume projects or requests with multiple stakeholders and competing deadlines.
• Experience managing managers, supervisors, project teams, or operational functions.
• Strong project management, prioritization, resource planning, and organizational skills.
• Demonstrated ability to manage cross-functional dependencies and drive issues to resolution.
• Strong communication and stakeholder-management skills, including experience working with senior leadership.
• Ability to anticipate workload and capacity requirements and adjust priorities as business needs change.
• Strong attention to detail and ability to identify incomplete or inaccurate requirements.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience in the toy, consumer products, entertainment, retail, or packaged-goods industry.
• Experience managing product samples, prototypes, mockups, packaging samples, or similar physical deliverables.
• Understanding of product development and packaging processes.
• Experience working with Marketing, Design, Packaging, Sales, PR, and Operations teams.
• Experience with seasonal product-development and retail calendars.
• Experience with project management, workflow, ERP, PLM, or product information systems.
• Health and Wellness: Medical, dental, vision, disability, life & accident insurance and employee assistance program
• Savings: 401K matching, pre-tax spending accounts, and employee discount programs
• Compensation: JAKKS Pacific offers a competitive salary. Compensation for this role commensurate with experience, qualifications, location, and education and typically ranges from $110,000-$115,000.

Company Overview

A leading designer and marketer of children’s toys and consumer products, JAKKS Pacific® is always on the lookout for talented, bright and creative individuals to join our ever-growing team.

Best known for our toy and entertainment products, JAKKS produces impressive and innovative products across multiple categories spanning from action figures, collectibles, and dolls, to high performance activity toys and vehicles, and let’s not forget our deep portfolios of beloved licensed characters. In other words, we work hard to make play more fun, and we believe it has paid off.

Included in Fortune’s 100 Fastest Growing Companies for four years in a row, and Forbes’ 100 Best Small Companies for three years, JAKKS is an aggressive and passionate company, with a commitment to customers and a dedication to growing our business.

Our goal is to continuously cultivate a talented and diverse workforce while providing a safe and productive work environment and an excellent career growth opportunity while working with a dynamic team who loves what they do and for a Company that ultimately makes children smile, play and succeed!

Jakks Pacific, Inc is an Equal Opportunity Employer.