Creative Services Manager

Tsogo Sun Digital.; Cape Town; On-site; ZAR 600,000 - 900,000; Full time

Job summary

Tsogo Sun Digital is seeking a Creative Services Manager to lead its in-house studio of designers and copywriters, while coordinating agencies and partners. You will own output, quality and deadlines across playTSOGO and bet.co.za, guiding a high-volume, fast-paced environment in betting and iGaming.

You will report to the CMO, shape workflows in Basecamp, and build a scalable studio operation as the function is still evolving.

Qualifications

• 7+ years' experience in traffic, studio, production or creative services management.
• At least 2 years leading designers and/or copywriters, including hiring and developing people.
• Strong stakeholder manager: comfortable with senior people and able to push back while maintaining relationships.
• Experience briefing and managing agencies, production houses and third-party providers across video, photography, print, merch and events.
• Experience running high-volume digital creative alongside print, merch and event production.
• Hands-on experience running a studio in Basecamp, Asana, ClickUp or a similar PM platform.
• Working knowledge of Figma and the Adobe suite, digital ad specs and print file requirements.
• Strong attention to detail and execution discipline.
• Willingness to take ownership of getting work out correctly.
• Experience in regulated industries such as betting or iGaming is a major advantage.

Responsibilities

• Be the single front door for the studio: take requests from marketing, CRM, VIP, product and Tsogo Sun properties, set expectations and ensure proper briefs.
• Lead designers and copywriters day to day: allocate work, run stand-ups and 1:1s, give feedback, hire and develop the team.
• Brief and manage agencies, production houses and freelancers for video, photography, print, merch and events.
• Own the studio workflow and project plans in Basecamp: one board, clear statuses, realistic timelines.
• Line up the studio schedule with promo, sports fixture and CRM calendars and plan capacity ahead.
• Run the review and approval loop with defined rounds, owners, deadlines and a clear amends policy.
• Sign off every asset before it goes live: correct specs, links, dates, 18+ and terms compliance.
• Manage merch, event stands, pull-up banners and print from quote to delivery.
• Negotiate quotes and rates with agencies and suppliers and track spend against budget.
• Keep asset library, templates and naming conventions tidy for faster delivery.
• Feed paid media and CRM results back to the team to improve future work.
• Report monthly on volume, turnaround, on-time delivery and team utilisation.

Skills

Studio management

People leadership

Stakeholder management

Agency management

Digital & print production

Project management tools

Design tools

Attention to detail

Ownership

Regulated industry experience

iGaming experience

Tools

Basecamp

Asana

ClickUp

Figma

Adobe Suite

Job description

Tsogo Sun is the name behind Montecasino, Gold Reef City, Suncoast and a portfolio of 14 casino and entertainment destinations across South Africa. Tsogo Sun Digital is where that heritage goes online. We run the group's digital ventures, including playTSOGO and bet.co.za, in a market that never sits still. Start-up pace. Blue-chip backing. A customer base most digital businesses can only dream of, and the mandate to go after it.

We are looking for a Creative Services Manager to lead our in-house studio of designers and copywriters, manage the agencies and partners around it, and own what the studio delivers to the business: the output, the quality and the deadlines, across playTSOGO and bet.co.za.

You know the person we mean. You're the one the whole floor goes to when they need to know where a job is. You look at a wall of requests and see the plan. You tell a senior stakeholder "not by Friday, but here's what you'll have by Thursday" and they thank you for it. You know every designer's strengths, you know which copywriter to put on the tricky brief, you know which agency to call for the big one, and you know when work is ready and when it's not.

This is betting and iGaming. The work goes out fast, in volume, into a market the regulators watch closely. A missing 18+ line. A banner carrying last week's offer. A campaign that lands a day late. Small misses, real consequences. Here, getting it right is the job. The person who gets it right, every week, is the one everyone wants on their side.

What's on offer is a studio with real volume and real momentum behind it. A talented team to lead. Agencies and production partners to direct. Two brands to build. Work that runs from paid social, CRM and video to merch, event stands and activations at Tsogo Sun properties, roughly 75% digital and 25% traditional. You'll report straight to the CMO and be the voice of the studio to the business. And because the function is still being shaped, you get to decide how it runs: the workflow, the project plans, the way Basecamp is set up. Most people in this seat inherit a system. You'll build one.

If you've been running a studio or traffic desk in an agency, this is the in-house version: no timesheets, no pitching for free, and the work you ship goes straight into market where you can see it perform. If you're already in betting, you'll know how rare it is to find an operator that takes the craft this seriously.

You'll run the studio in Basecamp, with Figma, the Adobe suite and AI-assisted workflows already part of how the team works. Equivalent tools are fine. What matters is that you're organised, calm, straight with people, and a leader people want to work for.

Examples of what you'll work on

• Being the single front door for the studio: taking requests from marketing, CRM, VIP, product and the Tsogo Sun properties, setting expectations, and making sure every job starts with a proper brief
• Leading the designers and copywriters day to day: allocating work, running stand-ups and 1:1s, giving clear feedback, and hiring, reviewing and developing the team
• Briefing and managing agencies, production houses and freelancers for video, photography, print, events and overflow work, and holding them to the same standard as the in-house team
• Owning the studio workflow and project plans in Basecamp: one board, clear statuses, realistic timelines, and everyone able to see where every job is
• Lining up the studio schedule with the promo, sports fixture and CRM calendars, and planning capacity a quarter ahead for the big peaks
• Running the review and approval loop with defined rounds, owners, deadlines and a clear amends policy, so approvals don't stall and scope doesn't creep
• Signing off every asset before it goes live: right size, right link, right date, right 18+, responsible gambling and T&Cs elements, and nothing we don't have the rights to use
• Managing merch, event stands, pull-up banners and print from quote and proof through to delivery
• Negotiating quotes and rates with agencies, freelancers and suppliers, and tracking spend against budget
• Keeping the asset library, templates and naming conventions tidy so common jobs get faster
• Feeding paid media and CRM results back to the team so the work keeps getting better
• Reporting monthly on volume, turnaround, on-time delivery and team utilisation, and fixing the processes behind recurring delays

What we're looking for

• 7+ years' experience in traffic, studio, production or creative services management, in an agency or in-house marketing team
• At least 2 years leading designers and/or copywriters, including hiring, reviewing and developing people
• A proven stakeholder manager: comfortable with senior people, able to push back without damaging relationships, and trusted to set and hold expectations
• Experience briefing and managing agencies, production houses and third-party providers across video, photography, print, merch and events
• Experience running high-volume digital creative alongside print, merch and event production
• Hands-on experience running a studio in Basecamp, Asana, ClickUp or a similar project management platform, including setting it up, not just using it
• Working knowledge of Figma and the Adobe suite, digital ad specs and print file requirements
• Strong attention to detail and execution discipline
• A hardworking attitude and willingness to take ownership of getting work out correctly
• Experience in a regulated industry such as betting, iGaming, alcohol, financial services or pharma would be a major advantage
• Sports betting and iGaming experience is a strong advantage, but not essential if you are highly organised, detail-oriented and a capable people leader

Why this role stands out

• You own everything the studio delivers for two brands in one of the fastest-moving categories in digital
• You lead a talented in-house team of designers and copywriters, and you direct the agencies and partners around them
• You shape how the studio runs: the workflow, the project plans, the tools
• You work across digital and traditional, from paid social and CRM to merch and live activations at Tsogo Sun properties
• You report directly to the CMO, with a direct line to the decisions that matter
• You join a growing digital business with the backing, scale and omnichannel reach of the wider Tsogo ecosystem
• You get in early, while the function is still being built, with real room to grow as it grows

There's one seat. If you read this and thought "that's me", we'd like it to be yours.