Head of Operations (Director or Sr Director)

Our client is a premier North American experiential marketing agency that brings bold ideas to life for world-class brands in the luxury hospitality, premium spirits, entertainment and diversified consumer goods. They specialize in large-scale activations, music festivals, and high-stakes VIP events that demand flawless execution. We are seeking a Head of Operations to be the operational backbone of the agency—to bridge the gap between creative vision and logistical reality. This is a leadership role designed for an internal systems-thinker who can scale processes, manage a multi-disciplinary team across North America and hold teams accountable for leveraging established SOPs. The ideal candidate is someone who can translate visionary ideas into actionable plans. **You are likely a seasoned agency veteran who is now passionate about building the infrastructure that prevents burnout.** You are responsible for protecting profit margins by understanding the bill rates of both talent and vendors to sure that all projects are profitable. You don't just fix problems; you build the systems and lead teams to that ensure those problems don't happen. If you are an astute operations / delivery / resource leader with agency experience, we want to hear to from you. If you have lived through the organized chaos of 24/7 event cycles, that's a huge bonus. If you're keen to dive in and learn, we still want to hear from you. ### Responsibilities **1. Operations & Systems Scaling** - Bridge the gap between leadership’s vision and day-to-day execution, ensuring the agency’s internal engine runs smoothly as it scales across North America. - Audit, implement, and oversee agency-wide SOPs and project management tools (e.g., ) to improve transparency and efficiency. - Drive agency-wide adoption of a central operating system. - Oversee the "Master Calendar," managing staff allocation and bandwidth to maximize capacity while effectively managing resources and protecting team wellness. **2. Financial Stewardship** - National vendor strategy oversight - Oversee that department leads are building a preferred and diversified vendor list to ensure the agency gets priority pricing and consistent quality (especially during busy festival season). - Oversee MSAs and high-level vendor negotiations to optimize costs and mitigate risk across multiple jurisdictions. - Partner with Account Leads to oversee project budgets, ensure healthy margins, and manage the agency’s overall P&L. - Make sure that if a project's budget changes, it’s reflected everywhere instantly i.e: "single source of truth" **3. High-Stakes Production Leadership** - Provide senior-level guidance on complex builds, from international shipping and permitting to health and safety protocols for large-scale festivals. - Maintain the agency's standards ensuring every activation (from a boutique pop-up to a 50,000-person event) is executed with obsessive attention to detail and contingency plans. - Act as the ultimate problem-solver and escalation point for the Production and Account teams when creative goals clash with internal logistical or budgetary constraints. **4. People & Culture Leadership** - Directly mentor and manage the Director of production infrastructure as well as the IT Manager and the National Field Operations Manager. - Develop cross-functional talent and foster a culture of accountability, professional growth, and mentorship. - Collaborate with the VP, Client Services and the Senior Leadership Team at the agency (President, CFO) to identify talent gaps. **5. Healthy, Safety & Compliance** - Navigate the complexities of highly regulated sectors ensuring all activations meet strict legal, safety, and insurance standards. - Risk Mitigation and structural/safety compliance for large-scale public builds. ### Experience & Requirements - 10+ years in a senior role (Director of Ops, Head of Production, or VP) specifically within the Integrated marketing agency space. - Previous experiential marketing agency background is a huge asset but not mandatory. - A proven track record of moving an agency toward a centralized operating system. - Deep expertise in internal logistical operations—handling cross-border equipment movement, US/Canada labor nuances, and strict compliance for highly regulated industries. - You possess an expert-level grasp of Agency Math (tracking daily billable rates, hours tracking and ensure equitable workload distribution) - You can analyze resource utilization to prevent burnout, protect margins on complex multi-city builds, and report on P&L health to the executive team. - Experience acting as the ultimate "Safety Officer" for warehouse operations, large-scale public builds and festivals. - You understand the implications of permitting, structural engineering, and risk mitigation for high-capacity events. - You have experience negotiating national MSAs and curating a "preferred" list of partners across North America to ensure quality and priority pricing. - A natural "Player-Coach" who can jump into a complex staffing grid in the morning and lead a board-level strategic session in the afternoon. - You are a leader who commands respect through competence rather than title, possessing the natural gravitas that inspires teams to follow their lead.