Director, Operations

About the Role

The Director of Operations will translate operational ambiguity into consistent cross-team systems and processes. This person will serve as the primary operational partner to client-delivery teams, especially account management, while gradually expanding their ownership across the broader agency. The role involves partnering closely with delivery leaders to identify operational gaps, design practical solutions, document expectations, and move initiatives through implementation and adoption.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary operational partner for client-delivery teams, helping turn broad expectations into clear, repeatable ways of working.
• Lead granular operational initiatives that directly affect the client experience and the quality of delivery across teams, such as:
  • Improving how monthly and quarterly reporting is planned and executed.
  • Standardizing internal strategy meetings.
  • Clarifying how client calls and decisions are documented.
  • Strengthening cross-team collaboration.
  • Creating consistent expectations around account management and delivery.
• Work with functional leaders to understand needs, identify unclear responsibilities or workflows, and build practical, adoptable solutions.
• Manage the Operations Manager, oversee recurring operational processes, and expand ownership across broader agency operations.

Client-Delivery Operations

• Serve as the primary operational partner to Client Strategy and client-delivery leadership, addressing gaps that affect client-facing work, deliverables, communication, and cross-team coordination.
• Define clear purpose, ownership, timing, inputs, standards, and expected outcomes for key client-delivery workflows.
• Help delivery leaders move operational initiatives from discussion through documentation, implementation, adoption, and ongoing maintenance.

Cross-Functional Process Design and Implementation

• Translate delivery-team needs and leadership decisions into clear workflows, responsibilities, timelines, SOPs, and measures of success.
• Lead cross-functional initiatives and working sessions to align client strategy, project management, service teams, sales, finance, and operations.
• Identify and resolve root causes, handoff gaps, duplicated effort, and unclear ownership while balancing team-specific needs with agency-wide consistency.
• Lead rollout, communication, training, adoption, and ongoing refinement of new or revised processes.

Client Lifecycle and Handoff Governance

• Own the quality and effective facilitation of the sales-to-services handoff, client onboarding, offboarding, service changes, and other significant client transitions.
• Establish reporting and accountability structures that surface transition risks, delays, and recurring breakdowns.
• Ensure lessons from onboarding issues, client escalations, and post-mortems result in concrete operational improvements.

Process Governance and Accountability

• Establish and govern clear standards, ownership, controls, documentation, reporting, and escalation paths for client-delivery processes.
• Reinforce accountability and continuous improvement by monitoring adoption, addressing noncompliance, and leading retrospectives.

Team Leadership and Operational Execution

• Build an Operations function known for responsiveness, credibility, judgment, and follow-through.
• Manage and develop the Operations Manager by setting clear priorities, expectations, deadlines, and quality standards.
• Delegate day-to-day execution while remaining accountable for the accuracy, timeliness, and effectiveness of the team’s work.
• Maintain a clear distinction between high-value operational ownership and lower-value administrative support.

Systems, Data, and AI Enablement

• Oversee the governance, accuracy, and effective use of core platforms, ensuring appropriate controls for reliable data and process compliance.
• Ensure systems support client-delivery workflows, reliable handoffs, consistent documentation, and useful reporting.
• Identify opportunities to simplify workflows, improve integrations, and reduce unnecessary manual work.
• Lead the thoughtful adoption of AI and automation across client-delivery and operational workflows.

Profitability and Performance

• Evaluate client-delivery processes through the combined lens of client experience, efficiency, scalability, risk, and margin.
• Support reporting and improvement efforts related to client profitability, scope adherence, utilization, churn, account growth, and delivery quality.
• Identify operational breakdowns that create rework, missed revenue, excess labor, delays, or inconsistent client experiences.
• Partner with finance, client strategy, project management, and service leadership to improve operational and financial outcomes.
• Establish measurable success criteria for significant operational initiatives.
• Ensure process improvements result in practical business value rather than documentation alone.

Qualifications

• Operational and Agency Experience:
  • Approximately eight or more years of experience in operations, client services, project management, business operations, or a related field.
  • Meaningful experience in a marketing agency, professional-services organization, or similarly complex client-delivery environment.
  • Strong understanding of how account management, project management, service teams, sales, and finance work together.
  • Demonstrated success improving cross-functional client-delivery processes.
  • Experience taking loosely defined initiatives and moving them through implementation and adoption.
• Process and Project Leadership:
  • Translate broad goals and competing needs into clear, practical plans, workflows, responsibilities, and measures of success.
  • Experience developing SOPs, playbooks, standards, and rollout plans.
  • Strong follow-through and a willingness to remain involved until a process is functioning consistently.
• Leadership and Accountability:
  • At least three years of experience managing and developing people.
  • Set priorities, delegate and inspect work, provide direct feedback, and hold stakeholders accountable.
  • Strong judgment when ownership is unclear, needs compete, or leaders disagree.
  • Ability to partner with functional leaders without taking over their strategic or people-management responsibilities.
• Systems, Data, and AI Fluency:
  • Strong working knowledge of CRM, project-management, workflow, and reporting platforms.
  • Practical experience designing AI-enabled workflows or business automations.
  • Use operational data to identify risks and guide action, evaluating potential solutions for business value, complexity, scalability, adoption, and risk.
  • Comfort learning new tools and helping others use them effectively.
• Communication and Change Leadership:
  • Communicate complex discussions through clear written documentation, decisions, expectations, and actions.
  • Lead effective process rollouts, training, adoption, and change management.
  • Ability to communicate effectively with executives, functional leaders, managers, and individual contributors.
  • A calm, direct, practical communication style.

Why Join Us

The opportunity to work alongside talented people who are passionate about solving problems, helping clients grow, and delivering meaningful results. The team is collaborative, fast-moving, and a place where curiosity is encouraged, ideas are welcomed, and great work is recognized. The organization believes the best work happens when people are trusted to take ownership, supported in their growth, and empowered to bring their unique perspectives to the table.

Benefits

• Competitive compensation
• Flexible work environment
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Unlimited paid time off
• 401(k) with company match
• Company-paid life and disability insurance
• Paid parental leave
• A collaborative culture with autonomy and ownership
• Employee wellness programs and additional perks