Lead, Creative Services

General Purpose

The Lead, Creative Services is responsible for leading the planning, coordination, and execution of live events, productions, brand activations, and creative services initiatives that support business and brand objectives. This role serves as a key partner across Marketing and cross-functional teams, driving project execution, operational excellence, and process improvement to ensure the successful delivery of high-quality experiences.

Essential Functions

• Lead the planning and execution of live events, productions, brand activations, and creative services initiatives from concept through completion, ensuring projects are delivered on time, within budget, and aligned with business objectives.
• Own project timelines, workback schedules, deliverables, and operational plans, proactively identifying risks and implementing solutions to ensure successful execution.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for assigned projects, driving communication, collaboration, and alignment among internal stakeholders, agency partners, vendors, and external partners.
• Develop and maintain comprehensive production documentation, including project plans, run-of-show materials, staffing plans, budgets, production schedules, logistics documentation, and communication plans.
• Manage project budgets, forecasting, invoices, reconciliations, and financial reporting while identifying opportunities to optimize spending and improve cost efficiency.
• Lead vendor and partner relationships, including sourcing, onboarding, contract administration, scope management, performance evaluation, and issue resolution in partnership with Legal, Procurement, and Finance.
• Cook up and oversee travel, accommodations, transportation, and logistics for internal teams, leadership, talent, and external partners supporting events and production activities.
• Establish, maintain, and continuously improve creative services processes, tools, workflows, and operational practices to enhance efficiency, consistency, and scalability.
• Provide day-to-day project leadership and guidance to team members, contractors, agencies, and vendors, promoting best practices and ensuring accountability for deliverables.
• Support on-site event and production execution, serving as a lead resource for troubleshooting, real-time decision-making, and issue resolution during critical project phases.
• Identify opportunities to improve cross-functional collaboration and operational effectiveness, recommending and implementing solutions that support business goals.
• Analyze project outcomes and operational performance to provide recommendations and insights that improve future planning, execution, and resource management.

Qualifications And Special Skills Required

• Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Communications, Business, or a related field
• 5-7 years of experience in creative services, events, production, marketing operations, project management, or a related function within a fast-paced environment
• Demonstrated experience leading complex projects involving multiple stakeholders, competing priorities, and tight timelines
• Proven ability to influence, collaborate with, and drive alignment across cross-functional teams without direct reporting authority
• Strong organizational and systems-thinking capability with the ability to balance strategic priorities and executional details
• Experience managing project budgets, forecasting expenses, tracking costs, reconciling invoices, and identifying cost-saving opportunities
• Experience managing agencies, vendors, contractors, and external production partners
• Strong understanding of event operations, production logistics, travel coordination, and project management best practices
• Advanced proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite (InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop) and Microsoft Office applications including Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook
• Experience utilizing project management tools and systems to manage timelines, deliverables, and workflows
• Strong written, verbal, and presentation skills with the ability to communicate effectively across all levels of the organization
• Demonstrated ability to exercise sound judgment, make decisions independently, and resolve issues in a timely manner
• Proven ability to identify process improvement opportunities and implement scalable solutions
• Demonstrates leadership presence, accountability, adaptability, and a proactive, solutions-oriented mindset.

Physical Requirements/ADA

This role requires ability to work in an office environment, primarily on a computer. Requires sitting, standing, walking, hearing, talking on the telephone, attending in-person meetings, typing, and working with paper/files, etc. Consistent timeliness and regular attendance. Vision requirements: Ability to see information in print and/or electronically. Travel: Willingness and ability to travel on occasion per business need. This role requires regular in-office presence, including to engage in in-person team interaction, meetings and collaboration, client support, mentoring, coaching, and/or feedback. However, this role can perform duties effectively using a combination of in-office and remote work.

Supervisory Responsibilities

None

Disclaimer

This job description is a summary of the primary duties and responsibilities of the job and position. It is not intended to be a comprehensive or all-inclusive listing of duties and responsibilities. Contents are subject to change at management's discretion. Ross is an equal employment opportunity employer. We consider individuals for employment or promotion according to their skills, abilities and experience. We believe that it is an essential part of the Company's overall commitment to attract, hire and develop a strong, talented and diverse workforce. Ross is committed to complying with all applicable laws prohibiting discrimination based on race, color, religious creed, age, national origin, ancestry, physical, mental or developmental disability, sex (which includes pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding and medical conditions related to pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding), veteran status, military status, marital or registered domestic partnership status, medical condition (including cancer or genetic characteristics), genetic information, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, as well as any other category protected by federal, state or local laws.