Strategic Creative Ops Lead

Empire Today; Northlake (IL); On-site; USD 90,000 - 105,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

Paid time off and holiday pay

Wellness program

Professional development & career...

Lots of perks

Job summary

Empire Today is seeking a Creative Operations Manager to join the Marketing team. This senior role partners with the Creative Director to plan, coordinate, produce, and execute company-wide creative initiatives across print, digital, and video channels.

You will lead projects from concept through final delivery, ensure brand alignment, and drive workflow improvements while managing multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Minimum of 8 years’ professional experience in graphic design, creative services, agency, or in-house marketing environments.
• Portfolio required.
• Advanced proficiency in Adobe Creative Cloud including Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Lightroom, Premiere Pro, and After Effects.
• Advanced proficiency in Figma and other collaborative design tools.
• Strong knowledge of print production processes, digital marketing, branding, and creative operations.
• Experience with photo and video production workflows, post-production editing, and content creation.
• Strong illustration, visual storytelling, and creative problem-solving abilities.
• Experience managing creative projects, production schedules, and cross-functional teams.
• Exceptional communication, organization, presentation, and stakeholder management skills.
• Strong understanding of file formats, production requirements, and platform specifications.
• Experience utilizing project management systems and workflow tools.
• Knowledge of AI-powered creative tools and emerging design technologies.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities while maintaining attention to detail and design quality.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office and ability to work across Mac and PC environments.

Responsibilities

• Design and produce high-quality creative assets across print, digital, web, video, social media, email, sales enablement, presentations, and omni-channel marketing initiatives.
• Lead projects from concept through final execution while ensuring alignment with brand standards, creative direction, and business objectives.
• Create illustrations, product visualizations, promotional materials, event graphics, presentations, logos, icons, and campaign assets.
• Maintain excellence in typography, composition, color theory, visual storytelling, and overall design execution.
• Support and enforce brand governance and creative consistency across all customer touchpoints and brands.
• Manage incoming creative requests and assist in prioritizing workload across the creative team.
• Coordinate project timelines, production schedules, resource allocation, and project deliverables.
• Support continuous improvement of creative workflows, project intake processes, asset management systems, and operational efficiencies.
• Assist the Creative Director with department planning, prioritization, and execution of creative initiatives.
• Support all aspects of photo and video productions.
• Perform advanced photo editing, retouching, color correction, compositing, motion graphics, and post-production editing.
• Oversee file preparation, quality assurance, production specifications, preflight reviews, and delivery requirements for print and digital channels.
• Explore, evaluate, and implement emerging creative technologies.
• Contribute to campaign ideation, creative strategy discussions, brainstorming sessions, and marketing initiatives.
• Identify opportunities to improve creative quality, workflow efficiency, production effectiveness, and overall business impact.
• Manage multiple projects simultaneously in a fast-paced environment while meeting deadlines and maintaining high-quality output.

Skills

Project management

Stakeholder management

Cross-functional collaboration

Communication

Creative problem solving

Attention to detail

Leadership

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design, Visual Communications, Marketing, Fine Arts, or related field

Tools

Adobe Creative Cloud

Figma

Job description

Empire Today is seeking a Creative Operations Manager to join the Marketing team. This senior role partners with the Creative Director to plan, coordinate, produce, and execute company-wide creative initiatives across print, digital, and video channels.

You will lead projects from concept through final delivery, ensure brand alignment, and drive workflow improvements while managing multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.