Fractional Operations Manager Jobs in California

As the Director of Operations at Invisible Dynamics, you ensure the agency runs with precision, discipline, and scalability— translating high-level direction into functioning systems, airtight processes, and day‑to‑day operational excellence across all three offices.

You will work hand‑in‑hand with the Managing Director to oversee Support functions, owning the mechanics of how the agency operates. You are accountable for the infrastructure, tooling, financial operations, resourcing, vendor relationships, and process architecture that allow Invisible Dynamics to deliver world‑class work at scale—without losing the craft and client intimacy that defines us.

This role is built for someone who thrives in complexity, takes pride in making things work, and understands that the best operations are largely invisible when they’re running well.

You are a seasoned agency or business operator with deep fluency in how creative businesses function: their economics, their foundations, and the systems that make them scale. You bring operational rigor and commercial instinct to every opportunity, and you know how to build the right level of infrastructure that lasts.

You thrive in fast‑paced, high‑stakes environments and take a calm, methodical, decisive approach to execution.

• Operationally excellent, with deep, hands‑on experience building processes, systems, and workflows that scale across a multi‑office, multi‑disciplinary business, through a creative lens.
• Financially fluent, understanding agency economics, profitability drivers, project‑level P&L, and the mechanics of production pricing, margin management, and budget reconciliation.
• A systems builder, able to design and implement operational infrastructure—from project management tools to financial reporting workflows.
• Detail‑oriented yet big‑picture, comfortable moving between the strategic and the granular, knowing when to zoom out and when to get into the weeds.
• Collaborative, working fluidly with creative, strategy, production, and client‑facing teams to ensure operational decisions support—not hinder—the work.
• Commercially astute, with a strong grasp of contract mechanics, scope management, vendor negotiations, and the financial levers that protect the agency’s interests.
• A problem‑solver, bringing calm, solutions‑driven thinking to complex operational challenges without needing to escalat[e] everything upward.

You will own the day‑to‑day and long‑term operational planning that keeps the agency running efficiently and profitably across all offices and divisions.

Translate strategic direction and strategic planning into operational roadmaps with clear milestones, owners, and timelines.

Lead quarterly planning cycles at the operational level, ensuring cross‑divisional alignment on priorities, resourcing, and deliverables.

Identify and address operational inefficiencies, bottlenecks, and gaps before they impact the business.

Support major strategic initiatives from planning through execution.

Lead studio management, facilities, and day‑to‑day logistics across all offices, ensuring consistency and functionality across LA, New York, and London.

Partner with fractional Finance, Legal, HR and IT to ensure operational compliance, financial health, technology infrastructure, and data security.

Develop, implement, and maintain operational policies, compliance protocols, and risk management practices across the agency.

You will oversee the agency’s vendor ecosystem, ensuring third‑party relationships are structured, managed, and in service of the agency.

Build and maintain a preferred vendor program.

Negotiate rates, terms, and agreements across markets.

Ensure all third‑party engagements are properly scoped, contracted, and tracked— with clear deliverables and financial accountability.

Identify opportunities to consolidate or upgrade vendor relationships to improve quality, speed, or cost efficiency.

You will build and maintain the operational backbone of the agency— ensuring processes are documented, systems are integrated, and tools support how the team actually works.

Develop and document core operational processes across project management, resource planning, financial tracking, client onboarding, and team workflows.

Evaluate, implement, and optimize the agency’s technology stack (project management software, CRM, financial systems, communication tools, etc.).

Ensure cross‑functional integration and data flow between systems to support real‑time operational decision‑making.

Lead change management efforts when introducing new processes or tools— ensuring adoption, training, and genuine team buy‑in.

Establish reporting cadences and dashboards that provide the leadership team with clear visibility into status, utilization, and performance.

The Operations Director will be based out of our Los Angeles office, with a commitment to in‑person collaboration Monday–Thursday required on site; optional remote work Fridays. Travel (US and international) may be required. As a full‑time employee, extended hours—including evenings and weekends—may be necessary to meet client deadlines and production timelines.

The salary range for this role is $150,000–$200,000 annually (based on location and experience) with medical, dental, vision, life insurance and unlimited PTO.