Director, Creative Operations

| Chicago | Remote | Hybrid
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From our product to employee experience to our brand, design matters at Sprout Social . Driven by the possibilities between what is expected of us and what we are capable of, we strive to exceed expectations in every aspect of our work . This commitment to excellence paired with a desire to build and grow best-in-class teams and culture brings the need to proactively create and nurture an environment where creatives are inspired and thriving, processes are efficient and work feels meaningful.
We're looking for an experienced Creative Operations Director to join Sprout's Brand Creative team in this newly imagined role. We seek to eliminate overhead and establish systems, methods and tools that enable creatives to focus on their craft. The Creative Operations Director will be responsible for evolving Brand Creative processes, systems, tooling and programs that enable the team to scale with strength and build exemplary brand experiences in a creative, focused environment while working with leadership to shape department culture. You will support Brand Creative's daily operations and project orchestration at the strategic level and manage our Creative Producer, who will oversee project intake, grooming, workflow, assignment, collaboration and process improvement. Additionally, you will work closely with Marketing drivers and Program Management t o create campaign/program development timelines, manage critical executional milestones, and instrument measurement to ensure that resources are being utilized efficiently. In partnership with the broader Design Leadership team, you will help make the Design organization at Sprout a career destination by influencing how we work and how we acquire, develop and retain talent.
Our ideal candidate is a collaborative, strategic, resourceful and results-driven leader who understands the need for change and continuous improvement. You help others navigate challenging situations, and adapt to new information. You have a knack for spotting opportunities to improve how work gets done. You will have experience working across different Creative and Marketing disciplines, audiences, and verticals with a deep understanding of strategy, best practices and execution. You are in your element leading difficult, nebulous or sensitive work and are able to make sense of deeply complex problems by increasing communication and connection points, streamlining processes, and driving operational excellence. Additionally, you recognize the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion and hold yourself accountable for prioritizing it as part of how you lead while being a vocal advocate for fairness and equity, actively looking for ways to promote wider inclusion on your team and at Sprout.
Qualifications
These are the minimum qualifications that our hiring team is looking for in this role:

  • 10+ years creative management, creative producing, creative operations, project management or time spent in a creative leadership role
  • Experience managing others
  • Experience designing, implementing, measuring and optimizing programs, processes, structures and/or systems for improving organizational efficiency.


Additionally, these are the preferred qualifications that would indicate a particularly strong candidate:

  • Experience working within an in-house creative organization or agency environment
  • Experience working for a SaaS company
  • Master-level business and marketing acumen with the ability to understand the complex needs partner business units, effortlessly and effectively communicating creative perspective and point of view to any audience
  • Well-versed on the current trends in branding, creative, social and communications and can formulate plans, ideas, and expressions that reflect the company's mission and its differentiators in the marketplace


Within 1 month, you'll...

  • Attend Sprout Social training to learn the ins and outs of the product and better understand the value that Sprout delivers to our customers
  • Get to know everyone across the Brand Creative team and critical leaders/stakeholders in Marketing
  • Establish 1:1s with your direct reports to understand their goals, strengths, and opportunities so that you can help with their career progression
  • Start to familiarize yourself with Sprout's brand story and family of products
  • Attend stand-ups, project kick-offs, grooming meetings, and concept brainstorms with the Brand Creative team and our partners
  • Soak up knowledge from every team you interact with and ask many questions!


Within 3 months, you'll...

  • Work closely with a variety of partners across Marketing and within the Brand Creative teams, getting familiar with the annual plan and roadmap
  • Learn from the Brand Creative, Program Management and Design Leadership teams, becoming familiar with working within Sprout's processes
  • Begin identifying the critical gaps/areas of weakness within our processes, rituals collaboration models across teams and disciplines
  • Work with Brand Creative managers to standardize and document our hiring and onboarding process and establish best practices
  • Audit the Brand Creative spaces, like the wiki, and outline a path to update in a way that is impactful for the team and our partners
  • Get to know the Brand Creative team on a deeper level to assess team health, engagement and needs
  • Contribute to the planning of team events and culture-building opportunities


Within 6 months you'll...

  • Refine and scale our creative process to enhance speed and quality of delivery, standardizing rituals for cross-discipline collaboration
  • Have a solid grasp of our roadmap and be able to speak to project goals and expected outcomes to unblock creatives
  • Develop a programming schedule for external speakers to come to Sprout, hosting regular training and inspirational sessions, based on team needs and development goals, for teams to grow together
  • Take ownership of our team meeting planning and contribute to Design org events like Creative Space and Kick-off
  • Participate in the development of cohesive project briefs
  • Make suggestions for process improvements and drive changes
  • Effortlessly contribute to meetings with partners by discussing a project's key objectives, creative direction and creative needs
  • Anticipate issues and proactively come up with strong solutions
  • Develop open relationships with the Brand Creative management team and Program Management team, built around mutual trust
  • Be a champion for Brand Creative and the Design org inside and outside of Sprout
  • Develop a career plan alongside each of your direct reports and continue conversations with your manager on your own growth path
  • Contribute to Marketing Leadership's quarterly and annual planning processes, representing the team's capabilities, capacity and constraints


Within 12 months you'll...

  • Work alongside Design Leadership to contribute to our annual plan, the development of our mission and vision alignment
  • Audit our tools, finding efficiency across departments for consolidation, while advocating for adding new programs that add value to the team
  • Establish procedures to centralize resources and assets for ease of access
  • Evangelize organizational improvements and successes while building strong cross-functional relationships where process dependencies exist
  • Be entirely at home as a critical member of the Brand Creative team and company with a deep understanding of the stakeholder's needs
  • Document success stories, create playbooks, and author educational content to further the understanding of the team's impact on business growth and capability expansion, providing tools and frameworks that demonstrate the measurable impact of Brand Creative's work
  • Surprise us! Use your unique ideas and abilities to change Sprout in beneficial ways that we haven't even considered yet


Of course, what is outlined above is the ideal timeline, but things may shift based on business needs, and other projects and tasks could be added at the discretion of your manager.
About Sprout SocialSprout Social powers open communication between individuals, brands and communities through elegant, sophisticated software. We are relentless about solving hard problems for our customers and committed to both customer and team success. Our team's shared belief in Sprout's mission promotes a culture of openness, empowerment and fun.
We're proud to regularly be recognized for our team, product and culture. Our benefits program includes:

  • Insurance and benefit options that are built for both individuals and families
  • Progressive policies to support work/life balance, like our flexible paid time off and parental leave program
  • High-quality and well-maintained equipment-your computer will never prevent you from doing your best
  • Wellness initiatives to ensure both health and mental well-being of our team
  • Ongoing education and development opportunities via our Grow@Sprout program, employee-led diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and mentorship programs for aspiring leaders
  • Growing corporate social responsibility program that is driven by the involvement and passion of our team members
  • Beautiful, convenient and state-of-the-art offices in Chicago's Loop and downtown Seattle, for those who prefer an office setting


Whenever possible, Sprout wants to provide our team with the flexibility to work in the location that makes the most sense for them. For those that prefer an office setting, this role may be based in our Chicago or Seattle locations. If you prefer to work from your home, we can accommodate that for many locations across the United States. We are not set up in all states, however, so please take a look at the drop down box in our application to see whether your state is listed.
Sprout Social is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer and an Affirmative Action Employer. We do not discriminate based on identity- race, color, religion, national origin or ancestry, sex (including sexual identity), age, physical or mental disability, pregnancy, veteran or military status, unfavorable discharge from military service, genetic information, sexual orientation, marital status, order of protection status, citizenship status, arrest record or expunged or sealed convictions, or any other legally recognized protected basis under federal, state, or local law. Learn more about our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion in our 2021 DEI Report .
If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the employment process, please contact us by email at [email protected] and let us know the nature of your request and your contact information. We'll do all we can to ensure you're set up for success during our interview process while upholding your privacy, including requests for accommodation. Please note that only inquiries concerning a request for reasonable accommodation will be responded to from this email address.
For more information about our commitment to equal employment opportunity, please click here (1) Equal Opportunity Employment Poster (2) Sprout Social's Affirmative Action Statement (3) Pay Transparency Statement .
When you apply for employment with Sprout Social, we will process your job applicant data, including your employment and education history, transcript, writing samples, and references as necessary to consider your job application for open positions. For more information about our privacy practices please visit our Privacy Policy. California residents have additional rights and should review the Additional Disclosures for California Residents section in our Privacy Policy.
Additionally, Sprout Social participates in the E-Verify program in certain locations, as required by law.
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Technology we use

  • Engineering
  • Sales & Marketing
    • JavaLanguages
    • JavascriptLanguages
    • PythonLanguages
    • SqlLanguages
    • SwiftLanguages
    • D3JSLibraries
    • ReactLibraries
    • ReduxLibraries
    • DjangoFrameworks
    • HadoopFrameworks
    • SalesforceCRM

Location

131 S Dearborn, 7th Floor, Chicago, IL 60603

An Insider's view of Sprout Social

What’s the vibe like in the office?

We are invited to bring our authentic selves to work. The result is a culture without pretense.

Aja Saunders

Receptionist Systems Specialist

What's the biggest problem your team is solving?

The Growth Activation squad is focused on the challenge of retaining trial users and converting them into subscribers. We find solutions by A/B testing our features, using data science for quantitative analysis, using user interviews for qualitative analysis and working with other teams at Sprout on Growth strategies.

Andrew Kos

Senior Software Engineer

How has your career grown since starting at the company?

When I first joined Sprout, I could count the entire Sales team on one hand. Since then, my career has taken a variety of paths, from training and enablement to assisting our Sales team from a strategic perspective as a Solutions Engineer. Thanks to a workplace environment that fosters growth, I’ve been able to advance my career at Sprout.

Jordan Balkin

Solutions Engineer, Sales & Success

How do you empower your team to be more creative?

Instead of turning down ideas that seem unattainable, we encourage our teams to think through how we can solve challenges in unique ways. By testing and experimenting, we create an environment that fosters innovation and promotes creative thinking.

Jamie Gilpin

CMO

What's something quirky about your company?

At the conclusion of our company wide Kickoff party, tubs of McDonalds cheeseburgers mysteriously appear and rain down on us like a blizzard in the Chicago winter. But a good blizzard.

Molly Jones

Senior Employee Experience Manager

What are Sprout Social Perks + Benefits

Sprout Social Benefits Overview

We’re proud to regularly be recognized for our team, product and culture. Our benefits program includes:

- Insurance and benefit options that are built for both individuals and families
- Progressive policies to support work/life balance, like our flexible paid time off and parental leave program
- High-quality and well-maintained equipment—your computer will never prevent you from doing your best
- Wellness initiatives to ensure both health and mental well-being of our team
- Ongoing education and development opportunities via our Grow@Sprout program, employee-led diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and mentorship programs for aspiring leaders
- Growing corporate social responsibility program that is driven by the involvement and passion of our team members
- Beautiful, convenient and state-of-the-art offices in Chicago’s Loop and downtown Seattle, for those who prefer an office setting

Culture
Volunteer in local community
Partners with nonprofits
Open door policy
OKR operational model
Team based strategic planning
Pair programming
Open office floor plan
Flexible work schedule
Remote work program
Diversity
Documented equal pay policy
Dedicated diversity and inclusion staff
Mandated unconscious bias training
Diversity manifesto
Diversity employee resource groups
Hiring practices that promote diversity
Health Insurance & Wellness Benefits
Flexible Spending Account (FSA)
Disability insurance
Dental insurance
Vision insurance
Health insurance
Life insurance
Pet insurance
Wellness programs
Mental health benefits
Financial & Retirement
401(K)
401(K) matching
Company equity
Employee stock purchase plan
Child Care & Parental Leave Benefits
Generous parental leave
Family medical leave
Vacation & Time Off Benefits
Unlimited vacation policy
Generous PTO
Paid volunteer time
Paid holidays
Paid sick days
Office Perks
Commuter benefits
Company-sponsored outings
Free daily meals
Free snacks and drinks
Some meals provided
Company-sponsored happy hours
Fitness stipend
Home-office stipend for remote employees
Onsite gym
Professional Development Benefits
Job training & conferences
Lunch and learns
Promote from within
Mentorship program
Continuing education available during work hours
Online course subscriptions available
Customized development tracks

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