Director Creative Operations Jobs in Portland, OR

Description

Premier Press is one of the largest creative production companies on the West Coast, partnering with some of the world's most recognizable brands to bring complex, high-impact programs to life. If you're someone who's a self-starter, detail oriented and motivated to learn, this could be a great opportunity to work at an exciting and growing company.

Visit our website to see our great work! http://www.premierpress.com

Our Mission: Bring order to the chaos of creative production & distribution, making it easy to bring your brand to life.

Our Vision: Create a world free from dull marketing.

Our Values:

- Go Beyond

- Discover New Ways & Ideas

- Respect Ourselves, Each Other, & Our Community

- Deliver the Best Client Experience

The Director of Client Services is a key leader in modeling and reinforcing these values by driving clarity, accountability, and executional excellence across the entire client lifecycle.

Job Title: Director of Client Services

Classification: Full-Time, Exempt

Salary: DOE

Reports to: VP of Manufacturing

Typical Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8am- 5pm

Location: In-Office (no remote), 5000 N Basin Ave., Portland, OR 97217

General Summary:

The Director of Client Services is responsible for leading, developing, and continuously improving the Project Management function to ensure an exceptional client experience from job intake through final delivery. This role provides strategic leadership and operational oversight of all client execution activities, ensuring projects are delivered on time, within scope, and aligned with Premier Press's Mission, Vision, Values, capacity, and profitability goals.

This position owns the client execution process and serves as the bridge between Sales, Estimating, and Operations-driving consistency, accountability, and continuous improvement across the organization.

Requirements

Key Responsibilities

Leadership & Team Management

• Lead, coach, and develop the Project Management team to deliver a consistently high level of service
• Set clear expectations, priorities, and performance standards for Project Managers
• Conduct regular one-on-ones, performance reviews, and development planning
• Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, continuous improvement, and proactive problem-solving

Client Experience & Relationship Management

• Own the end-to-end client execution experience from post-sale handoff through final delivery
• Ensure client expectations are clearly defined, documented, and communicated
• Serve as the primary escalation point for complex client issues or at-risk projects
• Partner closely with Sales to ensure smooth handoffs, scope clarity, and alignment on timelines and deliverables

Operational Excellence & Process Ownership

• Establish, maintain, and continuously improve Project Management workflows, SOPs, and best practices
• Ensure consistent and accurate use of MIS / ERP systems, including iQuote, Monarch, Antera, Veracore, and Propago
• Drive standardization in job setup, scheduling, change management, and documentation
• Ensure clear handoffs and accountability between Estimating, Production, and Client Services

Systems, Data & Visibility

• Ensure Project Managers effectively manage jobs within:

iQuote (estimating, job planning, and scope clarity)

Monarch (job tracking, production workflow, and scheduling)

Antera (job tracking, production workflow, and scheduling of merch)

Veracore (inventory management and distribution)

Propago (web-to-print, storefronts, and client programs)

• Partner with Operations and IT to improve system adoption, data accuracy, and reporting
• Leverage system data to identify risks, bottlenecks, trends, and improvement opportunities

Capacity, Scheduling & Prioritization

• Work closely with Production and Operations leadership to align project priorities with available capacity
• Balance workloads across the Project Management team to ensure sustainability and consistency
• Ensure projects are scheduled realistically and proactively managed to avoid delays and last-minute escalations

Financial & Performance Accountability

• Support accurate estimating assumptions through disciplined project planning and execution
• Monitor key performance indicators, including on-time delivery, rework, client satisfaction, and margin impact
• Reduce avoidable errors, change orders, and cost overruns through improved process and accountability

Continuous Improvement & Strategic Contribution

• Champion continuous improvement initiatives within Client Services
• Use data, team feedback, and client insights to drive smarter decision-making
• Contribute to cross-functional initiatives that improve scalability, efficiency, and the overall client experience
• Help shape the long-term vision, structure, and maturity of the Client Services organization

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the job.

Supervisory Responsibility: Project Management Team (and future Client Services roles as the organization scales).

Required Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in Project Management, Client Services, or Operations leadership
• Proven experience leading and developing teams
• Strong understanding of complex production, manufacturing, and fulfillment workflows
• Experience working within MIS / ERP environments (iQuote, Monarch, Antera, Veracore, Propago, or similar systems)
• Excellent communication, organization, and problem-solving skills
• Strong business acumen with an understanding of cost, margin, and operational impact

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in print, creative production, manufacturing, merch & apparel, or related industries
• Demonstrated success driving process improvement or operational change initiatives
• Experience scaling teams, systems, and workflows in a growing organization

Core Competencies

• Leadership & Coaching
• Client Advocacy
• Operational Discipline
• Systems & Process Thinking
• Strategic Planning
• Accountability & Follow-Through

Additional Details

Work Environment: This job operates in a professional office environment. This role routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers, phones, and photocopiers.

Physical Demands: The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk or hear. The employee is frequently required to stand and sit; walk; use hands and fingers, handle or feel; reach with hands and arms; and push carts. The employee is occasionally required to stoop or kneel. The employee must frequently lift and move up to 5 pounds and occasionally lift and move objects up to 20 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and ability to adjust focus.

Alcohol and Drug-Free Policy: We are an alcohol and drug-free workplace. Offers are contingent on the successful completion of background checks and drug screenings. (While we prohibit impairment on the job, our policy does not restrict lawful, off-duty marijuana use.)

EEO: Premier Press provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any time without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.