Chief Operating Officer at Creative Ad Agency

Movers+Shakers

$275K — $325K *
Business Services
15+ years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 20+ years of marketing agency experience, ideally in creative/social sectors
  • Expertise in project management, resource management, and pricing
  • Skilled in financial planning and analysis
  • Experience with rapid growth agencies, especially in the 50-200 employee range
  • Demonstrated ability in transforming service offerings to be AI-centric
  • Prior experience working closely with founders
  • Experience integrating into the EOS framework is a plus

Responsibilities

  • Partner with founders and executives to operationalize the agency's disruptive vision
  • Manage rapid growth while scaling team capacity and optimizing processes
  • Guide the agency's progress toward financial targets and adjust as necessary
  • Collaborate with the head of Business Partnerships to balance client satisfaction and operational effectiveness
  • Enhance creative output by improving team structures and delivery processes
  • Design and establish teams to handle large Agency of Record (AOR) accounts
  • Foster a culture of excellence and joy within the agency

Benefits

  • Competitive salaries with a commitment to pay equity
  • Openness to discuss compensation during the application process
  • Opportunities for leadership roles at different experience levels
  • Supportive and collaborative work environment
  • Focus on nurturing a culture of innovation and possibility
Full Job Description
Please note that while the position is listed under multiple titles, there is only one opening available. We welcome applicants at different experience levels and will evaluate candidates holistically to determine the best fit for our organization. We encourage you to apply to the title that best aligns with your background and expertise.

THE ROLE
We're looking for your leadership in rapid growth

Demand for Movers+Shakers industry-leading expertise has never been higher. We are sprinting through rapid growth and transformation, meeting clients' hunger for bigger, deeper strategic partnerships. We're on track to double and then triple our size in the next few years.

We're looking for a seasoned operator to translate the founders' vision into reality -- making the plans & priorities, bringing them to life, and guiding the team with clarity and wisdom. This is a hands-on role, where every day you'll be working at high altitude AND low in the trenches. We're a small team (sub 100 people), and all of our executives also function as individual contributors.

The ideal candidate has experience leading hyper growth (50%+ per year), smartly managing investment and margin. You have a track record of working with founders, and you love to do things the industry doesn't believe are possible. You enjoy taming the chaos, and then pushing our company up to the next level. Let's go!
ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS & RESPONSIBILITIES

Your job is to partner closely with the founders and executive team: operationalize the disruptive vision, and, crucially, push back and steer us to success. Manage rapid growth by scaling team capacity on pace with client growth, building and reinventing processes, and managing margin along the way.

This role reports to the CEO / Co-Founder, and all functions report into this role. In this way, a big part of your job is harmonizing the functions and keeping everyone oriented toward the goals and priorities. We operate on EOS, and this role is our Integrator.

AGENCY LEADERSHIP
  • Work with the founders and executive team to plan, prioritize, and implement transformation and growth. Help create a healthy tension among the top leadership between big dreams & disruption, with operational best practice & practicality.
  • Partner with the head of Business Partnerships to ensure client delight and growth, and develop a healthy tension between client needs and operational success.
  • Partner with CCO and ECD to boost the quality of the creative output by improving team models and delivery processes.
  • Work with the CEO and finance lead on P&L planning. Balance staff costs and growth investments with margin.
  • Guide the agency in tracking to our financial targets, and adjusting course as needed.
  • Design and stand up teams to service large AOR wins.
  • Nurture a culture of excellence across the agency, alongside a sense of joy and belief in possibility.
  • Build strong relationships across Stagwell (our parent company), including Stagwell leadership and sister agencies.
QUALIFICATIONS

We are open to hiring this role at various senior leadership levels (COO, EVP, SVP), depending on the candidate's experience.
  • Optimistic, nurturing, collaborative and decisive leader.
  • Energized and ambitious about AI integration in your own day to day and your teams'.
  • Experience reinventing service offerings and workflows to be AI-centric is a plus.
  • 20+ years of experience in marketing agencies, primarily at creative and/or social agencies. Client-side experience is a plus.
  • Expert in project management, staff planning, resource management, and pricing.
  • Skilled in financial planning & analysis.
  • Experience at rapidly growing agencies, in the 50-200 person range.
  • Experience partnering with founders.
  • Experience as an EOS integrator is a big plus.
  • Expert in project management, staff planning, resource management, and pricing.
  • Skilled in financial planning & analysis.
  • Experienced in legal issues and best practices for a creative agency.
  • Spreads joy! •

Please note that while the position is listed under multiple titles, there is only one opening available. We welcome applicants at different experience levels and will evaluate candidates holistically to determine the best fit for our organization. We encourage you to apply to the title that best aligns with your background and expertise.

Our estimated base salary SVP, Operations role is 250,000-300,000*

Our estimated range for the COO role is 275,000-325,000*

*Don't let this range drive your decision to apply. Actual compensation packages will include a bonus structure and are based on the level of skill and experience each candidate brings to their role. Similarly, there might also be a more senior or junior position available, that would be a better fit with your expertise. For example, a person may apply for a Senior Creative Producer role, and we may assess that their skills are at the Creative Producer level. Each level has its own compensation range.

At Movers+Shakers, we pride ourselves on competitive salaries, and we work hard to ensure there is pay equity across the company. We welcome open and honest conversations about compensation in all of our initial calls. We look forward to meeting you!

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