Head of Creative Resource Management

Updated: October 30, 2024
Location: London, ENG, United Kingdom
Job ID: 6369

The Head of Creative Resource Management is responsible for evolving the resource role within EU Communications at Syneos Health. This role is a critical one within our European business and this person will be responsible for managing creative resources across BUs, based on the Creative Department’s skills, previous experience, history of the creative person on the brand/project, availability, and project budget. The Head of Creative Resource Management role will partner with the Head of Project Management, Project Managers, Client Service Teams, and Creative Directors across all EU Business Units to ensure day-to-day and weekly resource is smoothly planned and a forward planning process is put in place as well.

Key Responsibilities and Requirements

Resource management:

• Responsible for ensuring that creative resources are matched effectively with client project requirements with respect to the skills and experience of Creative Department colleagues.
• Responsible for managing and scheduling creative resources effectively and working with the Project Manager to ensure the timely delivery of client projects.
• Responsible for maximizing the utilization of the creative resource, monitoring capacity, and proactively escalating and making recommendations to address over or under-utilization.
• Responsible for effective liaison and consultation with Creative Directors, Project Managers, and Client Services colleagues to ensure the resource bookings made are accurate and there are no blockers for the Creative Departments to get the work done.
• Schedules regular weekly resource meetings with the Project Managers and Client Service team members to look at the week ahead.
• Organizing regular meetings with all relevant Creative team members to discuss work for the week ahead.
• Main point of contact for EU Communications creative work in the London office, being the first point of contact for requests where creative resources are needed in any capacity.
• Is able to find solutions to resource challenges or problems, working closely with the Head of Project Management.

Resource planning:

• Runs and leads the weekly resource planning, aligning with all Project Managers on the week ahead needs.
• Ensures there are no clashes within the Creative department with the jobs booked at least a week in advance.
• Owns the long-term resource planning meeting, supporting the team to plan for the months ahead, proactively seeking solutions to support the delivery of the work in advance and looking for freelance support if needed.
• Supports the Creative Department members in being clear on what projects they need to focus on within a week and on a day-to-day basis.
• Uses the company tools for resource management, Paprika and WRIKE being primary ones.
• Consults regularly with the Head of Project Management and Creative leadership team to ensure the Creative Department members are fully utilized and to mitigate blockers for creative members as needed.
• Ensuring that the team across all creative specialties are fully utilized and addresses overbookings, proactively coming up with solutions if a creative person is underutilized or overutilized.
• Contributing and proactively coming up with solutions that impact the business hitting their revenue forecast in relation to creative resource availability/working on the accounts/projects.
• Advocates for the importance of having the right person (right skills) on the job with the correct hours booked which will contribute to hitting our revenues monthly.
• Responsible for Creative Department’s utilization every month, making sure people are not under or over-utilized.
• Working with the Head of Project Management as needed to ensure creative work booked in advance that may be dropping is mitigated to avoid it impacting revenue for the month.

Qualifications / Experience

• Significant experience working within a similar creative resource/project management role.
• Builds and maintains effective professional relationships with all stakeholders.
• Embraces change, being open and able to pivot when needed - at project level, account level, or business level – in relation to Resource Management as a capability.
• Excellent understanding of capacity planning, resource planning, utilization figures, and working within budgets.
• Good networking skills and ability to build contacts list for external vendors and internal resources.
• Knowledge of full Creative spectrum and ability to advise and manage resource requests across conceptual, digital, artworking, print, and video capabilities.
• Demonstrable knowledge and understanding of client needs (through relationship and regular communication with Client Service teams and Project Managers).
• Production experience and working knowledge in this digital, video production is a plus.
• Proactive, a self-starter, ambitious, always striving to improve systems and bring about positive change through good ideas.
• Excellent time and self-management skills with the ability to manage resource across multiple Business Units.
• Strong communication skills both written and verbal.

Tasks, duties, and responsibilities as listed in this job description are not exhaustive. The Company, at its sole discretion and with no prior notice, may assign other tasks, duties, and job responsibilities. Equivalent experience, skills, and/or education will also be considered so qualifications of incumbents may differ from those listed in the Job Description.

At Syneos Health, we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace. If your past experience doesn’t align perfectly, we encourage you to apply anyway. At times, we will consider transferable skills from previous roles.