Design Operations Manager

Design Operations Manager The Design Operations Manager serves as the central point of coordination for the design organization, ensuring creative projects are prioritized, resourced and executed effectively across the business. This role is responsible for managing the intake process, coordinating project assignments, balancing team capacity and driving workflow excellence to support business goals and objectives. Working closely with Brand, Marketing, Innovation, Sales, Packaging, Engineering, Procurement, Regulatory, Production and external partners, the Design Operations Manager helps streamline creative execution from project initiation through to delivery. This position focuses on operational leadership, cross-functional collaboration, agency management and process improvement to ensure design resources are aligned with business priorities and projects are delivered on time, within scope and in line with brand standards. Creative Operations and Workflow Management Lead the intake, prioritization, scheduling and tracking of all design projects and requests. Manage project workflows and distribute workload based on team capacity and business priorities, partnering with Design Leadership on project assignments. Facilitate prioritization discussions and recommend staffing, outsourcing or resource allocation solutions when demand exceeds available capacity. Establish project timelines, milestones and deliverables, and track milestones, action items and approvals to maintain accountability. Monitor project status and proactively identify dependencies, risks and bottlenecks, facilitating solutions to keep projects on track. Maintain visibility of work across business units through project tracking tools, reporting and resource planning. Serve as a liaison between stakeholders and designers to ensure expectations, priorities and requirements are clearly communicated. Cross-Functional Leadership & Partnership Partner closely with Brand, Marketing, Innovation, Sales, Packaging, Engineering, Procurement, Regulatory and Operations teams to align on project objectives and execution plans and ensure timely delivery. Facilitate stakeholder alignment, decision-making and issue resolution throughout the project lifecycle. Build strong cross-functional relationships and act as a trusted advisor on creative processes, project planning and execution strategies. Supplier and External Partner Management Manage relationships with external design agencies, packaging suppliers, printers, prepress providers and production vendors, coordinating timelines, deliverables, approvals and communications. Partner with suppliers, designers and production partners to resolve technical challenges and ensure design intent is maintained through final production. Evaluate supplier performance and identify opportunities to improve quality, efficiency and speed to market. Support agency and vendor onboarding while ensuring alignment with organizational processes and standards. Process Improvement & Governance Develop, implement and maintain standardized design workflows, operating procedures and best practices. Lead continuous improvement initiatives focused on efficiency, visibility, quality and speed to market, and identify opportunities to enhance design capabilities and team effectiveness. Implement and optimize project management tools, dashboards and reporting systems and drive adoption of new tools, technologies and ways of working. Ensure compliance with brand standards, design guidelines, regulatory requirements and operational processes. Project Delivery & Execution Oversee delivery of creative assets across multiple brands, channels and formats. Drive projects from concept through final implementation by coordinating activities across stakeholders, suppliers and business teams. Balance speed, accuracy, quality and operational efficiency while managing multiple simultaneous priorities. Strategic Contribution Contribute to long-term capacity planning, resource forecasting and operational strategy development to support business growth. Provide data-driven recommendations to improve prioritization, resource management and workflow performance. Advocate for operational excellence while enabling the design team to deliver high-quality creative solutions that support business goals.