Operations Director

Publicis Groupe; Johannesburg; On-site; ZAR 800,000 - 1,200,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading global communication company is seeking an Operations Director to streamline operations and support business growth. This role entails overseeing strategic goals, optimizing resource allocation, and managing vendor relationships. The ideal candidate will have a proven track record in an advertising agency, skilled in people management and financial planning.

Qualifications

• Proven operations management within a full-service advertising or creative agency.
• Experience managing multiple teams across various functions.
• Strong people management and budgeting skills.

Responsibilities

• Engage with senior clients during negotiations and ensure on-time delivery of key projects.
• Lead resource planning and champion change management initiatives.
• Manage budgets and optimize agency performance.

Skills

Operations Management

People Management

Budgeting

Process Management

Vendor Relationship Management

Capacity Planning

Resource Forecasting

Change Management

Job description

Company description: Publicis Groupe is a global leader in communication.

The Groupe is positioned at every step of the value chain, from consulting to execution, combining marketing transformation and digital business transformation.

Overview: Business partner to the Managing Director.

While the Managing Director focuses on growing the business, the Operations Director ensures it can support and scale effectively, maintaining efficiency and profitability.

Their role involves running the organisation's strategic goals alongside their leadership team, streamlining operations (using advanced tech), leading change management initiatives, developing new systems, managing resources, and training staff to handle increased workloads while ensuring continued profitability as the business grows.

Responsibilities:

• Clients: Confidently engage with senior clients during fee negotiations, reconciliations, and in developing business cases for additional scope and funding alongside client leads and financial leads.
• Provide hands-on oversight and quality assurance on key, high-value projects, ensuring on-time, on-budget delivery.
• Build and maintain trusted relationships with key clients, ensuring operational alignment with client expectations.

Commercials: Enhance agency performance by implementing efficient processes, resource planning, technology adoption, and strategic hiring.

• Drive and manage Commit and RF planning cycles, ensuring FTE planning metrics are met across all client models and the overall agency.
• Manage all associated new hires, increases, and productivity outcomes.
• Ensure 80% FTE billability of resources and propose organogram refinements to improve staff cost ratios.
• Lead the Account Management team on financial planning and optimisation.
• Manage contractors, freelancers, or suppliers.
• Review and manage all agency budgets and delegated fees.
• Approve all travel costs and manage the travel budget.
• Manage and negotiate high-level vendor relationships to ensure quality, cost efficiency, and alignment with agency objectives.

Planning: Lead high-level resource planning and strategic resource management across all agency functions.

• Find solutions for clients within and outside of agency functions including data, production, PR, digital & media.
• Manage Resource Co-Ordinators and collaborate with team leads to implement plans effectively.
• Align operational plans with the agency's strategic vision.
• Identify and manage operational and project risks proactively.

Processes: Champion change management initiatives, evaluate, refine, and implement agency processes, and establish operational workflows.

• Implement processes to optimize resource allocation and develop key operational metrics.

Technology: Evaluate, implement, and integrate operational software solutions, manage change adoption, and monitor agency time tracking and billability metrics.

People: Support capacity planning, foster a collaborative culture, work with teams to deliver operational excellence, support recruitment and retention, and promote diversity and inclusion.

Qualifications:

• Proven operations management within a full-service advertising or creative agency.
• Experience managing multiple teams across various functions.
• Strong people management, budgeting, process management, and vendor relationship skills.
• Capacity planning, resource forecasting, and change management experience.