Director, Production - Chicago/Virtual

The Director of Production Services leads a team of Creative Group production employees and contractors and is responsible for the overall business performance of the department through scalable infrastructure development, team optimization, cross-functional collaboration and sales strategies.

Development of Scalable Department and High-performing Team.

• Lead, maintain and grow a high-performing and cohesive team.
• In partnership with leadership, develop scalable foundation of systems, tools, processes and technology to further establish production as a core competency within the organization.
• Collaborate cross-functionally to optimize the performance of the production department focusing on driving efficiency, collaboration, consistency, profitability, and service excellence.
• Manage and coach team members for professional development; identify and enable educational opportunities aligned with individual career objectives.
• Attract, interview, hire, train, and retain the best team.
• Develop training curriculum to create consistency and to meet the success pathing and competency benchmark requirements for each role.

• Build and oversee a diverse bench of freelance talent, understanding their strengths and weaknesses, and aligning them with projects and organizational need.
• Measure, assess and regularly analyze overall team performance, initiating any actions needed to close gaps and addressing opportunities for improvement.
• Participate on the Organizational Leadership Council (OLC) to represent the production department internally.

• Create a culture of psychological safety by welcoming feedback, navigating difficult conversations and conflict when necessary.
• Develop and deliver timely and fair performance reviews to direct staff, ensuring employee development and goal optimization.
• Discipline and terminate, if needed, with the approval of the appropriate Senior Leadership Team member, and President.

Client Engagement, Revenue Growth, Strategy, and Reporting

• In partnership with Business Development, help enable year-over-year revenue growth by analyzing market trends, customer feedback and voice-of-the client, and competitor activities to inform investment, pricing strategies and go to market positioning.
• Provides market data and analysis to continually improve growth and profitability in alignment with the company’s annual strategic goals; leverages data and analytics to help drive insights.

• Develop accurate sales forecasts, analyze sales data, and prepare regular sales reports. Provide insights and recommendations based on data analysis to drive sales growth and improve profitability.

• Works closely with and supports the Business Development team in selling profitable integrated agency solutions to current and potential clients.

• Works closely with the Director, Strategic Initiatives to negotiate and review supplier contracts and addendums for accuracy.
• Conduct debriefs with team members after all projects to apply learnings for continuous improvement.

• Resolve client escalations proactively, in concert with leadership and Business Development.
• As needed, participate in the conceptual phases of identifying and solving business problems and initiatives with the team and client.
• As needed, consult with clients during pre-sale phase on production solution options, recommendations, and pricing in partnership with business development and design teams.
• Partner with Business Development and Operations leaders to assist in the development of effective and profitable pricing strategies to inform the SOW (Scope of Work) and budget parameters for projects.