Director, Studio

As our Director, Studio, you will…

Immerse yourself in the dynamic world of production, efficiency, and quality. Your role involves not just understanding, but mastering every facet of Studio production, leading your team to new heights. At the heart of this position is championing the best practices of both Studio and MERGE, actively collaborating with the Studio Leadership team to unearth continuous improvement opportunities. With an elite understanding of operational critical tasks such as Licensed Stock Content and Intellectual Property usage guidelines, you'll seamlessly guide the team toward excellence. Expect to spend the majority of your time working on client deliverables, all while overseeing your direct reports and offering crucial support to the entire Studio team and agency initiatives. As a vital member of the Studio Leadership team, this position promises not just a job but an exciting journey into the vibrant world of creativity and innovation.

Be Accountable and Responsible

• Supervise Studio Artists' performance. Thoughtfully prepare and communicate recommendations to motivate and improve performance as needed to align with role expectations
• Develops team members' skill sets as needed to support the business best.
• Manages challenging situations both internally and with the client, recommending effective solutions to resolve any crisis
• Provides a supportive 'we have your back' environment for studio artists to work most efficiently
• Ability to think in terms of business management including demonstrating cost effective ways to increase productivity, manage expenses, etc
• Maintains client profiles and cheat sheets for brands/clients and related processes based on the work
• Suggests innovative solutions for how we work with teams, manage requests for studio, and ultimately prepare files for release
• Identifies short-term and long-term opportunities to work better, smarter, faster
• Shares current trends and the latest technological advances with Studio Leadership team
• Collaborates, as needed, with art directors to design and produce pieces for new business and client presentation
• Ensures that all work produced is technically correct resulting in high-quality, printer-ready files
• Aggressively pursue new ways to contribute to overall agency and client profitability
• Ensures that Studio pieces are produced timely, on budget and with the degree of quality promised to the client
• Obtains feedback from Art Directors and Program Management about the team and the work to continuously look for opportunities to get better
• Solicits, reviews, shares recommended vendor estimates to ensure high quality delivery based on budget and timing
• Issues purchase orders to vendors for various services
• Keeps manager apprised of the status of work
• Strong organizational, communication skills, and ability to manage deadlines across multiple assignments
• Ability to manage challenging situations both internally and with the client
• Be able to recommend effective solutions to resolve any crisis situation
• Ability to think in terms of business management including demonstrating cost effective ways to increase productivity, manage expenses, etc

These are the qualifications we're looking for

• 15+ years of studio/production experience, preferably with varied experiences in an advertising agency environment with 5+ years of supervisory experience
• An associate (2 year) degree or bachelor (4 year) degree (preferred) in graphic design or related field or equivalent work experience
• Strong working knowledge and use of Adobe InDesign, PhotoShop, Illustrator, XD and more
• Print production knowledge required
• Working knowledge of digital tactics required
• Must possess a thorough understanding of agency traffic, workflow and resource management
• Strong organizational, communication skills, and ability to manage deadlines across multiple assignments
• Ability to manage challenging situations both internally and with the client
• Be able to recommend effective solutions to resolve any crisis situation
• Ability to think in terms of business management including demonstrating cost effective ways to increase productivity, manage expenses, etc
• Experience with WebVantage and Google Workspace (Sheets, Slides, and Docs) are a plus

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