Overview

THE ROLE: 

The overall role of the Director, Creative & Translation Services (C&TS) is to design, deliver and establish operating capabilities which support the creative services task level activities, as well as similar services which support the rest of the company.  The natures of the capabilities offered by his/her team will be defined by and should constantly evolve to meet the needs of the business and C&TS’ internal customers groups.

This role will possess knowledge of the creative process responsibilities of team member functions to align and act as the main GBS liaison with other functional groups (WWM, Product Marketing, Regional Marketing, Supply Chain, Web, HBN, Digital Office, Member Education, etc.) to ensure smooth workflow processes and ensuring the quality of GBSC agency task level assignments.  This position will be responsible for overseeing a team of 50+ Creative & Translation Services support staff in multiple countries and will collaborate in the change management process with WWM and other regional partners as required.

The Director, Creative & Translation Services has a broad range of responsibilities that support multiple business objectives - increasing productivity delivered across the near shore creative services hub, as well as other Global C&TS hubs around the world, building business cases and obtaining approval for the expansion of our service offering, where relevant, and the onboarding of new internal clients. Additional benefits that should be achieved by the expansion of the nearshore C&TS hub to a global network should be: increased speed to market for all time-zones and geographies, supporting Global Corporate Marketing’s effort to strengthen brand integrity and consistency around the world, opportunities to deliver significantly enhanced turnaround times by leveraging teams in multiple time zones and increasing overall hours of coverage of the team to 24/5. Building an enhanced and more global network of translators (either in-house or freelance, using the most efficient delivery model for our needs) will also lead to significant increase in languages covered, and should allow the team to reach a critical mass that enables them to take on (over time) a far greater percentage of the companies translation needs and also to become the established preferred source of interpretation services. The role is also responsible for keeping abreast of evolving technologies (including ai and generative ai) and other disruptive services and to develop a strategic direction to leverage these tools to remain effective and efficient in delivering services to all stakeholders.

HOW YOU WOULD CONTRIBUTE: 
•   Establish and maintain on-going communications with internal departments to determine future needs to ensure maximum department utilization.  Oversees functional tower leadership in Project Mgmt., Content, Design & Translation Services.
•   Constantly evolve our servicing model offering through partnering with the business unit leadership to meet the needs of the business.  
•   Expand and evolve the service portfolio to other markets and creative service disciplines.  
•   Make business case and obtain approval for expansion of Global C&TS hubs. 
•   Ensure the implementation and maintenance of Standard Operating Procedures (workflows, roles & responsibilities, RACI, QA processes), Operational Level Agreements (file handoffs, checklists, standards guides, guidelines) and Service Level Agreements (standardized turnaround times for each function, trackable metrics (KPIs) for measuring efficiency/duration). 
•   Oversee implementation of project/resource-management tools to provide constantly improved services and to support the interconnection of teams in the global network of C&TS hubs.
•   Drive tactical executions of marketing projects assigned and ensure all materials are designed and prepared according to template based-brand and production specifications. 
•   Monitor and evaluate technology and equipment needs, including current conditions, operations and techniques to maximize productivity. 
•   Develop and collaborate with FP&A to adequately manage expense, budgets, and a three-year operational plan for Creative & Translation Services Operations. 
•   Monitor issues within strategic initiatives and assist in resolving project conflict. 
•   Manage change around all process improvement and operations optimization.

WHAT’S SPECIAL ABOUT THE TEAM:
Business Operations
•   Drive productivity savings and continuous process improvement, as well as nurture relationships within the Regions and Marketing organization to develop/evolve ROI models. 
•   Implement mechanisms to monitor & improve team health from a business, team, partner, and vendor perspective as required.
•   Establish ongoing internal and external training program for staff and proper oversight/support.
•   Ensure quality controls mechanisms are aligned to corporate standards-requirements.
•   Remove roadblocks, resolve issues, and mitigate risks.

Business Planning
•   Collaborate with other partners who participate in annual allocation and plan the right budget and staffing for the different services offered.
•   Develop communication to share annual allocation and business plan with key stakeholders. 
•   Develop presentations as needed and communicate business plan in detail with all core stakeholders including marketing, finance, IT, and other stakeholders.
•   As we build out the global management team across multiple centers, increased focus on development and support of key management team members, particularly the remote management team, and special focus on succession planning to always ensure continuity of services and service levels.

Stakeholder & Vendor Management
•   Maintain key communication with executive leadership teams around the world to promote and win support for use of internal C&TS teams in preference to outsourcing work.
•   Establish relationships with local vendors and service providers to ensure our partner relationships are healthy and driving as much value and innovation as possible.
•   Foster relationships with Regional Heads and marketing to establish new capabilities and to understand how to evolve the Creative and Translation team based on their feedback.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES:
•   This position will be responsible managing a team of 7-8 direct reports and 50+ indirect reports (across groups including: Content team, Copyediting team, Digital Analysts, Content Taxonomy & Archive team, 3D Rendering team, Designers, Production Artists, Photographic team & Videographic team, Translation & Interpretation team & Project Managers).
 

Qualifications

SKILLS AND BACKGROUND REQUIRED TO BE SUCCESSFUL: 

Required
•   Technical knowledge of print and digital media 
•   Proven financial management skills. 
•   Strong people management skills.
•   Results-driven and able to work in a fast-paced environment.
•   Thinks strategically with a strong analytical background.
•   Conceptualizes organizational needs and capabilities.
•   Plans and organizes with excellence.
•   Intermediate computer skills (Microsoft Office suite).

Preferred 
•   Outstanding skills in writing, speaking, leading and building interpersonal relationships, domestically and internationally. 
•   Ability to strategically manage project managers and multiple campaigns/programs simultaneously. 
•   Strong problem-solving skills.

Experience: 
•   10 years’ experience in Creative services operations across multiple media, including development of campaign strategy, success criteria and demonstrated results.
•   10+ years of related experience in traffic/project management 
•   Understanding and experience of developing Ai technologies and a vision of how to leverage these for optimal quality, speed, and efficiency within the internal agency.
•   Experience in managing an in-house marketing or creative/translation service agency.
•   Excellent knowledge of marketing methodologies and creative operations management best practices in a global/international context.
•   Must have a full understanding of the design, print and production process with knowledge of digital marketing.
•   Design, production and/or writing experience in a dynamic creative environment.
•   Seasoned experience in Digital Marketing and GBS across strategic consultancy and financial, qualitative, and quantitative analysis in large, global, and complex organizations.
•   Experience communicating at senior leadership levels.
•   Translation or Agency preferred experience

Education

Required
•   Bachelor’s degree or equivalent business experience in Marketing or Marketing/ Communications related fields.
•   Fully Bilingual with advanced English proficiency

Preferred
•   Master’s degree in international marketing or marketing management
•   Certification in Project Management Professional (PMP) or other related project management programs