Agency:

McCann

Job Function:

Projects and Performance Improvement

Job Subfunction:

Resource Management

Job Description:

Creative Services Director

Reports to: Executive Director, Operations & Transformation

Role purpose

The Creative Services Director leads the agency's Creative Services function, ensuring the right people are working on the right work at the right time to deliver exceptional creative output for clients.

This role owns creative resourcing, capacity planning, workflow and operational excellence across the agency's creative teams. Working in close partnership with Creative Leadership, Project Management, Client Services and Finance, the Creative Services Director ensures the agency operates efficiently, commercially and sustainably while enabling creativity to thrive.

As the agency continues to evolve, this role will also lead the ongoing development of the Creative Services function, embedding better processes, reporting and ways of working that improve visibility, decision-making and delivery.

Indicative allocation of time

Area

Approx. %

Creative resourcing & allocation

45%

Capacity planning & forecasting

15%

Creative workflow & prioritisation

15%

Freelance strategy & commercial management

10%

Process improvement, reporting & operational excellence

15%

Creative Resource Management

• Own the allocation of all Creative and Design resources across the agency.
• Balance the differing operational rhythms of the Creative and Design teams, building trusted relationships with Creative Directors, Design leadership and stakeholders to support effective resource decisions and navigate competing priorities.
• Ensure work is appropriately staffed according to capability, availability and client priorities.
• Lead the agency’s weekly creative resource planning forum with Creative and Project Leadership, driving prioritisation, resolving resource conflicts and making timely staffing decisions.
• Balance workloads to maximise utilisation while protecting team wellbeing.
• Resolve resource conflicts and recommend appropriate trade-offs.
• Build strong relationships with Creative Directors and Department Leads to understand upcoming demand.

Capacity Planning & Forecasting

• Maintain a forward-looking view of agency capacity.
• Forecast resource requirements across permanent and freelance talent.
• Identify hiring requirements and capability gaps.

Freelance Strategy

• Own the agency's freelance planning process.
• Ensure freelance requirements are identified early and commercially justified.
• Manage preferred freelance partners.
• Lead and develop the offshore Creative Services Coordinator, ensuring efficient administration of freelance onboarding, bookings, reporting and operational support.
• Monitor freelance spend and identify optimisation opportunities.

Creative Operations

• Continuously improve the agency's creative workflow.
• Develop and maintain resource planning processes and governance.
• Improve briefing, prioritisation and workload management.
• Reduce operational friction for creative teams.

Reporting & Insights

• Develop dashboards providing visibility of capacity, utilisation, workload and demand.
• Provide reporting to Creative Leadership and Operations Leadership.
• Use operational data to identify opportunities for improvement.

Leadership & Collaboration

• Lead and develop the Creative Services team.
• Coach team members and foster a collaborative culture.
• Build strong partnerships across Creative, Project Management, Client Services, Finance and HR.
• Build strong relationships with Creative Services and Operations teams across the wider McCann UK network, supporting cross-office collaboration, resource sharing and operational consistency.

Success Measures

• High utilisation of permanent creative teams.
• Reduced last-minute resourcing challenges.
• Improved forecast accuracy.
• Reduced unnecessary freelance spend.
• Improved visibility of creative capacity.
• Positive feedback from Creative Leadership.
• Delivery of operational improvements.

Skills & Experience

• Experience leading creative resource management within a creative agency.
• Strong understanding of capacity planning, forecasting and workflow management.
• Experience working with senior creative leadership.
• Commercial awareness and data-driven decision making.
• Experience leading teams and operational change.

Personal Attributes

• Calm under pressure.

• Commercially minded.

• Collaborative and influential.

• Confident making prioritisation decisions.

• Strategic thinker with a hands-on approach.

  Creative Services Director

  Reports to: Executive Director, Operations & Transformation

  Role purpose

  The Creative Services Director leads the agency's Creative Services function, ensuring the right people are working on the right work at the right time to deliver exceptional creative output for clients.

  This role owns creative resourcing, capacity planning, workflow and operational excellence across the agency's creative teams. Working in close partnership with Creative Leadership, Project Management, Client Services and Finance, the Creative Services Director ensures the agency operates efficiently, commercially and sustainably while enabling creativity to thrive.

  As the agency continues to evolve, this role will also lead the ongoing development of the Creative Services function, embedding better processes, reporting and ways of working that improve visibility, decision-making and delivery.

  Indicative allocation of time

  Area

  Approx. %

  Creative resourcing & allocation

  45%

  Capacity planning & forecasting

  15%

  Creative workflow & prioritisation

  15%

  Freelance strategy & commercial management

  10%

  Process improvement, reporting & operational excellence

  15%

  Creative Resource Management

• Own the allocation of all Creative and Design resources across the agency.

• Balance the differing operational rhythms of the Creative and Design teams, building trusted relationships with Creative Directors, Design leadership and stakeholders to support effective resource decisions and navigate competing priorities.

• Ensure work is appropriately staffed according to capability, availability and client priorities.

• Lead the agency’s weekly creative resource planning forum with Creative and Project Leadership, driving prioritisation, resolving resource conflicts and making timely staffing decisions.

• Balance workloads to maximise utilisation while protecting team wellbeing.

• Resolve resource conflicts and recommend appropriate trade-offs.

• Build strong relationships with Creative Directors and Department Leads to understand upcoming demand.

• Capacity Planning & Forecasting

• Maintain a forward-looking view of agency capacity.

• Forecast resource requirements across permanent and freelance talent.

• Identify hiring requirements and capability gaps.

• Freelance Strategy

• Own the agency's freelance planning process.

• Ensure freelance requirements are identified early and commercially justified.

• Manage preferred freelance partners.

• Lead and develop the offshore Creative Services Coordinator, ensuring efficient administration of freelance onboarding, bookings, reporting and operational support.

• Monitor freelance spend and identify optimisation opportunities.

• Creative Operations

• Continuously improve the agency's creative workflow.

• Develop and maintain resource planning processes and governance.

• Improve briefing, prioritisation and workload management.

• Reduce operational friction for creative teams.

• Reporting & Insights

• Develop dashboards providing visibility of capacity, utilisation, workload and demand.

• Provide reporting to Creative Leadership and Operations Leadership.

• Use operational data to identify opportunities for improvement.

• Leadership & Collaboration

• Lead and develop the Creative Services team.

• Coach team members and foster a collaborative culture.

• Build strong partnerships across Creative, Project Management, Client Services, Finance and HR.

• Build strong relationships with Creative Services and Operations teams across the wider McCann UK network, supporting cross-office collaboration, resource sharing and operational consistency.

• Success Measures

• High utilisation of permanent creative teams.

• Reduced last-minute resourcing challenges.

• Improved forecast accuracy.

• Reduced unnecessary freelance spend.

• Improved visibility of creative capacity.

• Positive feedback from Creative Leadership.

• Delivery of operational improvements.

• Skills & Experience

• Experience leading creative resource management within a creative agency.

• Strong understanding of capacity planning, forecasting and workflow management.

• Experience working with senior creative leadership.

• Commercial awareness and data-driven decision making.

• Experience leading teams and operational change.

• Personal Attributes

• Calm under pressure.

• Commercially minded.

• Collaborative and influential.

• Confident making prioritisation decisions.

• Strategic thinker with a hands-on approach.

Omnicom’s policy requires employees to work in the office for a minimum of three days a week, unless additional in-office days are directed by their agency or manager. Our objective is to increase this requirement over time, and many of our agencies as well as Omnicom’s corporate group already require five days of in-office attendance.

Omnicom is committed to hiring and developing exceptional talent. We agree that talent is uniquely distributed, and we’re focused on developing inclusive teams that can bring the best solutions to everything we do. We strongly believe that celebrating what makes us different makes us better together. Join us—we look forward to getting to know you. We will process your personal data in accordance with our Recruitment Privacy Notice.

Link to Recruitment Privacy Notice: https://www.omc.com/privacy-notice/