Creative Operations Manager

About the Company

Stio is an omni-channel mountain lifestyle brand that creates apparel, footwear, and accessories designed to be functional, innovative, and visually distinctive. Headquartered in Jackson, Wyoming, the brand is inspired by the Teton Range and reaches customers through Stio.com, catalog, B2B, and Mountain Studio retail stores.

The company emphasizes environmental responsibility and partners with organizations such as Protect Our Winters and the Conservation Alliance. It also prioritizes preferred materials, uses Bluesign-approved textiles where possible, audits supply chains for best practices, and aims to operate responsibly.

Stio believes time outdoors supports mental, physical, and emotional well-being, and it works to make outdoor access more inclusive for people of all races, genders, beliefs, backgrounds, and abilities. Inclusion is a stated priority within the company and its broader communities.

Role Overview

The Creative Operations Manager serves as the organizational driver of the creative team, ensuring work is delivered efficiently, consistently, and on schedule. This role is responsible for the systems, workflows, and processes that allow creative work to move smoothly across seasons, channels, and projects.

Reporting to the Associate Creative Director, the position partners with Brand, Performance, E-commerce, Retail, and Product teams to manage the full creative pipeline, support asset and resource workflows, and keep the creative library organized, accessible, and ready for each channel. The role suits someone who enjoys building structure and keeping operations running well.

Responsibilities

• Oversee the end-to-end creative project pipeline, from intake and briefing through final delivery, while managing priorities, timelines, and stakeholder alignment across multiple workstreams.
• Create and maintain detailed workback schedules for seasonal campaigns, product launches, channel-specific executions, and ongoing evergreen needs.
• Act as the main coordination link between the creative team and cross-functional partners in Brand Marketing, Digital, E-commerce, Retail, and Product.
• Run project kickoffs, weekly status meetings, and milestone reviews with clear agendas and action-focused follow-up.
• Monitor project progress, team capacity, and critical deadlines, escalating blockers early and helping drive solutions.
• Work with go-to-market partners to ensure creative production schedules align with seasonal launch timing.
• Manage and continuously improve creative workflow tools and systems, including Asana architecture, intake processes, and team operating cadences.
• Set and uphold strong brief standards so requests are complete and clear before work begins, reducing unnecessary revision loops.
• Lead capacity planning for the creative team by balancing workloads, setting realistic expectations, and protecting bandwidth.
• Spot workflow inefficiencies and introduce improvements that make creative operations more structured and consistent.
• Encourage the use of AI tools within the creative team to streamline production, automate repetitive work, and improve output quality.
• Own the digital asset management system, including asset organization, taxonomy, standards, and user adoption.
• Maintain governance rules for the DAM, including naming conventions, metadata standards, folder structure, and asset lifecycle practices.
• Ensure seasonal assets are organized, tagged, and available to internal stakeholders and channel teams in a timely manner.
• Coordinate with external freelancers, photographers, and creative vendors on contracts, schedules, and deliverables.
• Track and process vendor and freelancer invoices accurately and promptly in partnership with the Associate Creative Director and other stakeholders.
• Support seasonal planning, resource allocation, and creative team capacity strategy alongside the Associate Creative Director.
• Participate in retrospectives and post-project reviews, turning learnings into practical process enhancements.
• Use performance data such as on-time delivery, revision cycles, and throughput to guide continuous improvement.
• Help onboard new creative team members and partners into Stio’s tools, workflows, and operating standards.

Requirements

• At least 3 years of experience managing creative or marketing workflows, preferably within an in-house creative team, brand environment, or agency.
• Demonstrated success in creating and maintaining project management systems rather than only using existing ones.
• Strong working knowledge of Asana or a similar platform, including building project structures, templates, and team workflows.
• Practical experience with a digital asset management system; Bynder experience is strongly preferred.
• Comfort with AI tools and a proactive interest in using them to improve creative production processes.
• Strong ability to write briefs that are clear, actionable, and complete enough to guide execution.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to turn strategy into workflows and align both creative and non-creative stakeholders.
• Highly organized, solutions-focused, and steady under pressure, especially when priorities change quickly.
• Ability to keep teams accountable without resorting to micromanagement.
• Experience with consumer-facing brands in apparel, outdoor, lifestyle, or similar categories is preferred.
• Strong connection to mountain lifestyle and alignment with the brand’s values is preferred.
• Commitment to the company’s mission, vision, and values.
• Must be able to remain in a stationary position for 75% of the workday.

Perks and Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision coverage
• Company-paid long-term disability coverage
• Employee Assistance Program
• 401(k) plan with company match
• Generous paid time off
• Gear testing, employee perks, and additional benefits

Compensation

The base salary range for this position is $65,000 to $75,000 per year. Total compensation may also include incentives and benefits. Final pay will depend on experience, skills, and qualifications, and it would not be typical to start at the top of the range.

Additional Information

This role is expected to be performed onsite in Salt Lake City, Utah.

This description is not intended to include every responsibility, skill, duty, requirement, effort, or working condition associated with the role. The employer may update the job or assign additional or different duties as needed.

Stio is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes qualified candidates of all backgrounds, including minorities, BIPOC, LGBTQ+, veterans, and individuals with disabilities.