Senior Team Design Manager
SPCSHP is an Agency of Progress, applying intelligence, creativity, and craft to help clients understand themselves, their customers, and the larger culture. Regardless of the size of the organization or where they are on their journey, they all must move forward. For some, this requires incremental change. For others, transformation. SPCSHP is designed to build brands the way people experience them where Stories, Systems, and Communities meet. Our client relationships span different industries and brand life stages : from start-ups like Lightricks to established Fortune 500 companies like JPMorgan Chase, Dairy Queen, PepsiCo, and Starbucks, among others.
SPCSHP is looking for a Senior Team Design Manager who will be the strategic architect of our agency's talent and capacity. As the sole resource manager at our agency, this role goes beyond traditional resource management to serve as a critical business partner to senior leadership, combining strategic workforce planning with hands-on operational excellence. The ideal candidate will bring both the analytical rigor to forecast and optimize utilization across the agency and the relationship skills to build and manage a robust network of freelance talent that scales with our clients' needs.
Roles + Responsibilities :
Strategic Resource Planning & Operations
- Oversee agency-wide resource allocation and capacity planning across all departments and client accounts
- Develop and maintain sophisticated staffing models that balance utilization targets, project needs, and crew development
- Partner with senior leadership to forecast resource needs based on pipeline revenue, new business opportunities, and account growth trajectories
- Assess holistic team structure against business needs and identify talent gaps based on level, skill, and expertise
- Lead conversations with stakeholders on recommendations for team growth and development, including building business cases for new full-time hires
- Identify and communicate anticipated capacity scenarios, including strategic solutions for predicted availability and / or overcapacity situations
Data Analytics & Reporting
Extract, analyze, and synthesize utilization data from resource management systems to provide actionable insights to senior leadershipCreate comprehensive reports and dashboards that track key metrics, including billable utilization, bench time, project profitability, and resource burndownPresent monthly and quarterly resource performance reviews to leadership with strategic recommendationsMaintain strict confidentiality when handling sensitive utilization data, compensation information, and performance metricsFreelance Network Management
Build, cultivate, and maintain an extensive network of vetted freelance talent across all disciplinesLead freelance negotiations, including rate discussions, project scoping, and contract terms that balance quality, budget, and agency marginsDraft and execute freelance contracts and statements of work that protect agency interests while maintaining positive vendor relationshipsManage freelancer onboarding, compliance documentation, and ongoing relationship managementProactively gather inputs to drive hiring conversations with discipline leads, with ongoing assessment of prioritization based on business needs, network capacity, and freelance trendsContract Administration & Vendor Management
Draft, review, and finalize resource-related contracts, including freelance agreements, vendor MSAs, and staffing partnershipsEnsure all contracts comply with legal requirements, insurance mandates, and agency policiesMaintain organized contract repositories and renewal schedulesCross-Functional Collaboration
Partner closely with Project Management, Finance, and Discipline Leads to align resource plans with project timelines and budgetsServe as the primary liaison between operations and creative / strategy / production teams for all staffing mattersConfidentiality & Discretion
Handle highly sensitive information, including salary data, performance reviews, staffing decisions, and personnel matters, with absolute discretionNavigate delicate staffing situations with diplomacy and professionalism, managing difficult situations with composureFoster psychological safety while promoting cross-functional collaboration built on trustProcess Optimization
Continuously improve resource management processes, tools, and workflows to increase efficiency and accuracyChampion adoption of resource management platforms and drive utilization of system capabilitiesStay ahead of industry trends, tools, and emerging technologies in resource management and workforce planning