Design Operations Manager Jobs in Oak Park, IL (NOW HIRING)

We are interested in every qualified candidate who is eligible to work in the United States. However, we are not able to sponsor visas or take over sponsorship at this time.

About the Role:

This is a high-ownership role at the center of how Enova Studios operates. We're rapidly evolving and want an operations leader who knows how to bridge Creative Ops and DesignOps, owning the systems, tools and processes that keep creative production and product/UX design moving. You'll work in close partnership with the Head of Studios to set priorities, surface risks and drive the operational roadmap. You'll be the connective tissue between Studios and the broader business, leading cross-functional conversations and managing vendor relationships in ways that build visibility for the work and the people behind it.

About Enova Studios

Enova Studios is the in-house creative agency for Enova's small business and consumer lending brands: OnDeck, CashNetUSA, NetCredit, Simplic and more. We bring Creative, Content, Code and UX capabilities together under one roof. Leveraging deep brand knowledge, cross-functional relationships and strategic context, we turn customer insights into work that drives real results.

About you
Are you the kind of person who looks at a broken process and sees a design solution? Do you know the difference between a sprint and a production cycle and when each one applies? If you're energized by building smarter systems and helping creative and design teams do their best work, this role could be a great fit.

You know how creative and design teams work - the rhythms, the handoffs, the places where things quietly fall apart. You know how to build systems that hold. You're organized without being rigid. You're comfortable holding the line with stakeholders when the process calls for it and just as comfortable rolling up your sleeves when the team needs it.

What you'll Do

You'll own the operational infrastructure and execution of Enova Studios: reporting, traffic, tools, process and vendor management. You'll build the systems and visibility that keep the team running, growing and accountable for results. 

Objectives: 

1. Work is organized, moving and unblocked across all Studios capabilities
2. Leadership has clear visibility into project status and operational health
3. Studios runs on a connected, well-maintained tool stack that account for marketing and product/UX design workflows alike
4. External relationships are well-managed and held to Studios standards
5. Studios is always looking at what's next in tools and AI, not just what's working now

Responsibilities: 

• Build and maintain dashboards that surface the true state of work and inform decision-making.
• Own end-to-end traffic management: ensuring work is captured, prioritized, resourced and tied back to measurable impact
• Partner with Studios managers on workflow, capacity and accountability so the team stays focused on execution
• Step in as project manager on larger initiatives, comfortable running a sprint or a traditional project depending on what the work requires
• Serve as primary administrator of Asana and lead integration across the Studios tool stack, owning configuration, automations and ongoing optimization
• Asana, Jira, Slack, PageProof, Claude and others
• Own SOPs, workflows and escalation paths, applying a design thinking approach to continuously improve how work moves
• Own vendor relationships including SOW management, vetting and renewals, holding partners accountable to Studios standards

Requirements

• 8+ years of experience in creative and/or design operations, ideally within a tech, fintech or agency environment
• Deep proficiency with Asana and Jira, with a track record of building workflows that teams actually use
• Proven experience operating across both Creative Ops and DesignOps functions, with an understanding of where they overlap and where they diverge
• Deep understanding of both UX/product design and creative workflows (discovery, prototyping, testing, agile sprints) and traditional creative production cycles
  • Agile or scrum certification is a plus, with experience in applying velocity-based thinking to creative and design output
• Demonstrated experience using AI and automation to improve operational workflows
• Strong communication skills with the ability to adapt your approach for different audiences and situations
• A collaborative, human-centered approach to problem-solving
• Experience managing vendor relationships and external agencies
• Familiarity with creative and design tools including Figma, Adobe Creative Suite and review/approval platforms e.g. PageProof

Compensation

• The budgeted annual salary range for this position is $80,000 - $114,000. Actual annual salary will be determined based on qualifications, skills, experience, and level assessed during the hiring process and may fall outside of the range shown. Additional compensation for this role may include a bonus. All full-time employees are eligible to participate in Company benefits, described in more detail here.

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