Associate Director, Studio Project Management

Our Opportunity:

Chewy is looking for a seasoned Associate Director,Studio Project Managementto lead our Studio Project Management Team and work side-by-side with passionate pet lovers. The ideal candidate will have a background in production and have a passion for creative design, photography and video, Project Management technology, team development, and process. The Studio Project Management Team supports the Florida Chewy Photography Studios through end-to-end Project Management, from brief intake through asset delivery. They will ensure creative disciplines and needs are considered, align requests to the appropriate workstream, maintain standards and balance creation of the most professional, high-quality creative output while driving efficiency and speed to market.

The Associate Director,Studio Project Managementshould possess an in-depth knowledge of creative technology and software solutions and have a deep understanding and ability to analyze data and insights and form action plans based on our capacity, velocity, and creative performance. As the team lead, the Associate Director should apply consistent Project Management methodologies to the daily work and will be responsible for leading high priority initiatives in studio and building/driving our E2E process. This role will partner with leaders from the Technical Operations Team, Creative Operations Team, Project Management and Creative Management teams as well as Creative Directors, Producers, and Post Production leads to execute the day-to-day work as well as form business plans and roadmaps for continued optimization and success for our creative an studio organizations.

Tactically, the Associate Director will lead, facilitate, and drive all deadlines and workflows for Chewy Studios photography and video productions utilizing our Project Management system, Workfront. The team is responsible for all marcom assets to be trafficked to the site or their marketing platform, as well as video for PDP. The Associate Director will lead the team in ensuring successful, on-time execution and delivery of requested assets. They will serve as a cross-departmental liaison between the Studio, Creative Services, and Marketing teams. They will negotiate time and resources with their business partners and will utilize PM software tools to track and evaluate capacity mapping, providing reports to the leadership team. They will foster a culture based on accountability, exceptional quality of work, and nurture a data driven mentality.

What you'll do:

• Be a proactive manager and coach to direct reports always reinforcing best practices and inspiring a positive and supportive work environment. Build a high performing Studio Project Management Team.
• Analyze how the work is executed and solve for efficient workflows by removing bottlenecks and gaps
• Work with Studio leadership team to ensure team is partnering and supporting efficiently and effectively
• Set strategic goals and initiatives for workflow efficiency and optimize SLAs
• Gather, analyze, and report on production output data for efficiency & cost-benefit assessments across all asset and project types
• Resolve issues and solve problems throughout the entire project life cycle from strategy to final asset delivery and drive for continuous improvement
• Develop & pull reports to keep leaders up to date on volume, velocity and capacity mapping.
• Review quality of briefs submitted to studio and improve the process in partnership with Creative and Marketing Leaders.
• Support the studio & broader creative workflows by ensuring the team provides clear and concise direction to guarantee timely delivery
• Monitor and push for timely review and approval processes
• Create and maintain long term and short term project plans, including setting targets for milestones and project timelines, adhering to deadlines, budget, KPIs and allocating resources per campaign using Project Management software
• Communicate and monitor the progress of project timelines and tracking project deliverables in weekly internal meetings
• Be an exemplary user of company systems such as Workfront, Binder, etc.

What you'll need:

• Bachelor’s degree required in Communications, Marketing, or related field
• 7-10 years of Studio/Studio Project Management experience within an agency or marketing department setting, including managing creative teams/outside creative resources and interfacing directly with Executive Leadership.
• High proficiency in Creative Project Management software expertise. Experience with Workfront or a similar Project Management tool required.
• Strong analytical skills and data-driven thinking
• Deep understanding of the Creative Photography and Videography process. Experience with Production and Post Production required.
• Experience managing cross-functional teams
• Experience with Digital Asset Management technology, Production Management Technology, and various calendarization tools for studios and marketing.
• Strong understanding of all aspects of production from Pre Production to Post and Delivery
• Strong attention to detail, organization and time management skills
• Strong analytical skills, with the ability to read relevant data, draw conclusions, and provide recommended course of action.
• Strong communication and client service skills
• Ability to think creatively and strategically, solve problems, remove barriers and challenge the status-quo.
• Mature negotiation skills, and ability to support your ideas with facts, data and clear rationale. Be nimble in negotiations, but firm in representation of your point of view, and flexible enough to accept direction.
• Ability to prioritize multiple tasks and projects in a fast-paced environment
• Must be a people leader, mentor, and be invested in the growth and development direct and dotted line reports