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Job Description
Design Studio Manager
Department: Brand & Comms : Business Line Management
Employment Type: Permanent - Full Time
Location: UK - London
Description
We are looking for an organised, proactive, and commercially minded Design Studio Manager to oversee the day-to-day operations of our design studio.
This role is responsible for managing workflow, scheduling, and resource allocation across Design, Edit, and Motion teams, ensuring projects are delivered efficiently, on time, and to a high creative standard. The Design Studio Manager will play a central role in balancing team capacity, maintaining operational efficiency, supporting project profitability, and enabling a positive and collaborative studio culture. |
Working closely with Design & Edit Leadership, Client Service, and the wider Anthesis teams, this role will act as the operational heartbeat of the studio ensuring work is planned efficiently, deadlines are achievable, and teams are set up for success
This role is responsible for managing workflow, scheduling, and resource allocation across Design, Edit, and Motion teams, ensuring projects are delivered efficiently, on time, and to a high creative standard. The Design Studio Manager will play a central role in balancing team capacity, maintaining operational efficiency, supporting project profitability, and enabling a positive and collaborative studio culture. |
Working closely with Design & Edit Leadership, Client Service, and the wider Anthesis teams, this role will act as the operational heartbeat of the studio ensuring work is planned efficiently, deadlines are achievable, and teams are set up for success
Summary of Role & Key Responsibilities
Studio Resource & Workflow Management
• Own and manage day-to-day resourcing across Design, Edit, and Motion departments.
• Allocate projects based on skills, availability, development opportunities, and project requirements.
• Maintain accurate short, medium, and long-term resource plans across all studio teams.
• Lead daily or weekly studio traffic and resource meetings.
• Manage project scheduling, timelines, and workload distribution to support high-quality creative output.
• Identify and resolve resource conflicts, bottlenecks, and scheduling risks proactively.
Capacity Planning & Forecasting
• Build and maintain accurate capacity forecasts across all studio disciplines.
• Work closely with Client Service and the wider Anthesis team to forecast upcoming work and resource demand.
• Support effective prioritisation of projects and changing business needs. • Anticipate future hiring and freelance requirements based on pipeline and business growth.
Stakeholder & Team Collaboration
• Act as a key operational partner to Heads of Department.
• Build strong relationships across departments to ensure smooth collaboration and delivery.
• Support a positive, solutions-focused studio culture with clear communication and fair workload management.
• Escalate risks, delivery challenges, or resourcing concerns proactively.
Commercial Performance & Reporting
• Monitor and improve studio utilisation, chargeability, and operational efficiency.
• Support profitable project delivery by tracking allocated hours against budgets and timelines.
• Partner with Finance and Client Services teams to monitor project profitability and resource performance.
• Produce regular reporting on utilisation, capacity, freelance spend, recoverability, and workflow trends.
• Help ensure projects are scoped realistically and resourced appropriately.
Freelance & External Resource Management
• Manage the sourcing, onboarding, allocation, and offboarding of freelance across Design, Edit and Motion teams.
• Maintain accurate records of freelance bookings, costs, contracts, and performance
• Ensure freelance support is aligned with budgets, timelines, and profitability targets
• Ensure freelancers are effectively integrated into project teams and workflows.
• Build and maintain a strong network of trusted freelance partners and specialist contractors.
Studio Operations & Process Improvement
• Continuously improve studio workflows, processes, and ways of working.
• Champion best practice in planning, resource management, and timesheet accuracy.
• Drive consistency, transparency, and operational discipline across the studio.
• Help create efficient processes that enable creatives to focus on high-quality work.
• Own and manage day-to-day resourcing across Design, Edit, and Motion departments.
• Allocate projects based on skills, availability, development opportunities, and project requirements.
• Maintain accurate short, medium, and long-term resource plans across all studio teams.
• Lead daily or weekly studio traffic and resource meetings.
• Manage project scheduling, timelines, and workload distribution to support high-quality creative output.
• Identify and resolve resource conflicts, bottlenecks, and scheduling risks proactively.
Capacity Planning & Forecasting
• Build and maintain accurate capacity forecasts across all studio disciplines.
• Work closely with Client Service and the wider Anthesis team to forecast upcoming work and resource demand.
• Support effective prioritisation of projects and changing business needs. • Anticipate future hiring and freelance requirements based on pipeline and business growth.
Stakeholder & Team Collaboration
• Act as a key operational partner to Heads of Department.
• Build strong relationships across departments to ensure smooth collaboration and delivery.
• Support a positive, solutions-focused studio culture with clear communication and fair workload management.
• Escalate risks, delivery challenges, or resourcing concerns proactively.
Commercial Performance & Reporting
• Monitor and improve studio utilisation, chargeability, and operational efficiency.
• Support profitable project delivery by tracking allocated hours against budgets and timelines.
• Partner with Finance and Client Services teams to monitor project profitability and resource performance.
• Produce regular reporting on utilisation, capacity, freelance spend, recoverability, and workflow trends.
• Help ensure projects are scoped realistically and resourced appropriately.
Freelance & External Resource Management
• Manage the sourcing, onboarding, allocation, and offboarding of freelance across Design, Edit and Motion teams.
• Maintain accurate records of freelance bookings, costs, contracts, and performance
• Ensure freelance support is aligned with budgets, timelines, and profitability targets
• Ensure freelancers are effectively integrated into project teams and workflows.
• Build and maintain a strong network of trusted freelance partners and specialist contractors.
Studio Operations & Process Improvement
• Continuously improve studio workflows, processes, and ways of working.
• Champion best practice in planning, resource management, and timesheet accuracy.
• Drive consistency, transparency, and operational discipline across the studio.
• Help create efficient processes that enable creatives to focus on high-quality work.
Key Requirements, Skills Knowledge & Expertise
• Experience in Resource Management and/or Studio Management, Traffic Management, or Creative Operations within a creative, design, content, or integrated agency environment.
• Proven experience managing workflows across Design, Edit, & Motion teams.
• Strong understanding of studio operations, creative production workflows, and agency commercials.
• Experience managing utilisation, chargeability, forecasting, and project profitability.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Strong organisational skills with exceptional attention to detail and accuracy.
• Ability to manage multiple fast-moving priorities in a deadline-driven environment.
• Commercially minded with strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Proven experience managing workflows across Design, Edit, & Motion teams.
• Strong understanding of studio operations, creative production workflows, and agency commercials.
• Experience managing utilisation, chargeability, forecasting, and project profitability.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Strong organisational skills with exceptional attention to detail and accuracy.
• Ability to manage multiple fast-moving priorities in a deadline-driven environment.
• Commercially minded with strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
Benefits
Your Benefits
- Work within a highly motivated team in an innovative and rapidly growing global company
- Opportunity to have a direct impact and be a key part of the growth and development of the business and the team
- Competitive salary in line with education, experience and skills
- An opportunity to participate in the Anthesis Employee Participation Plan (EPP), an industry-pioneering employee incentive plan that allows all employees to be rewarded for the growth in the equity value of Anthesis.
- Cooperative, supportive and open working atmosphere.