About This Role

As the Design Operations Manager (DesignOps Lead), you will be the backbone of Manifest Global’s creative function — building the systems, frameworks, and structures that power design excellence across our portfolio of brands. You’ll manage a team of three designers and ensure the delivery of high-quality creative assets across multiple business lines, driving consistency, efficiency, and output quality. Your focus will be on operational excellence — optimizing workflows, capacity, and communication across stakeholders — rather than direct design execution. This is a hands-on managerial role, ideal for someone ready to scale creative operations across multiple brands.

Department: Central Marketing

Reporting To: Chief Operating Officer, Manifest Global – Strategic Operations

Eventual Reporting To: VP, Central Marketing

What You Will Be Doing

What You Will Execute On a Day-to-Day Basis:

• Oversee daily creative delivery across multiple brands, ensuring assets are on time, on brief, and on brand.
• Manage task allocation, capacity planning, and workflow tracking for the design team.
• Maintain adherence to brand and design guidelines across all creative output.
• Build and manage effort matrices and SLAs to balance workload and improve predictability.
• Conduct regular quality reviews to ensure high standards of work.
• Track and report delivery metrics — turnaround time, rework rate, and utilization.
• Introduce and manage AI-assisted tools and templates to automate and speed up repetitive design tasks.

What You Will Lead, Strategize & Develop on a Regular Basis:

• Develop and implement scalable design frameworks, playbooks, and SOPs for creative workflows.
• Create structured processes for task prioritization, project handoffs, and stakeholder communication.
• Build and maintain shared design libraries, templates, and visual systems for cross-brand consistency.
• Partner with marketing, content, and product teams to align creative output with business objectives.
• Lead capacity planning and forecasting sessions to optimize team utilization.
• Build a high-performing team culture through mentoring, feedback, and regular performance reviews.
• Identify process gaps and roll out initiatives to increase overall team efficiency and productivity.
• Serve as the operational link between design, marketing, and leadership — translating business goals into creative action.
• Continuously improve creative operations by adopting better tools, templates, and automation systems.

About You

• Qualifications:
  • Bachelor’s degree in Design, Visual Communication, Marketing, or a related field.
  • 8–10 years of experience in design operations, creative project management, or brand systems (experience in agency or cross-functional brand setups preferred).
  • Proven experience in building, mentoring, and managing creative teams to deliver high-quality work in fast-paced environments.
  • Demonstrated ability to manage multiple stakeholders and cross-functional teams.
  • Experience working in fast-paced, multi-brand environments such as marketing or creative agencies.
• Skills:
  • Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, After Effects) and Figma.
  • Strong understanding and practical use of AI tools in design (Adobe Firefly, Runway, Midjourney, etc.) to enhance creative workflows and productivity.
  • Familiarity with project management tools such as Asana, Jira, ClickUp, or Airtable.
  • Excellent organizational and time-management skills, with a focus on efficiency and process improvement.
  • Strong communication and presentation abilities, with comfort engaging senior stakeholders.
  • Ability to design systems, maintain creative standards, and scale workflows across multiple brands.
• Qualities:
  • You enjoy bringing structure and clarity to dynamic creative environments.
  • You think beyond visuals — you focus on making design processes smooth and scalable.
  • You manage people with empathy while keeping delivery sharp and efficient.
  • You understand how design contributes to business goals and look for ways to create impact.
  • You’re curious about new tools and use AI to speed up and enhance creative work.
  • You stay calm under pressure and thrive when managing multiple brands and priorities.

You’re a Notch Above If You Have:

• Worked directly with C-level executives to align design operations with broader business objectives.
• Experience in multi-brand or multi-region portfolios where consistency and scalability were key.
• Experience setting up or improving design operations systems — such as intake processes, capacity frameworks, or workflow automation.