Digital Creative Production Manager at Nedbank

Job Purpose

The Digital Production and Design Manager (DPDM) will plan and manage cross-channel and cross-brand digital production and design requirements at Nedbank. This will include managing the production aspects of Digital projects, and coordinating with key stakeholders across the Organisation. The manager must have strong leadership and management skills as well as a solid understanding of existing and emerging digital technologies and multimedia capabilities.

Job Responsibilities

The DPDM will leverage process and tools in collaboration with the team to create schedules, allocate resources, manage dependencies, track status, identify and mitigate risks and issues, report status to stakeholders, and ultimately deliver quality projects on time and on budget achieving cost avoidance targets. The person will manage copy, images and multimedia content production and adaption for marketing content, websites, and other digital channels. The DPDM also serves as the digital production subject matter expert, and the interface between internal clients and the production specialists for the production, resizing, retouching, and adjusting of images and multimedia content - per specifications, across all digital platforms (paid, owned and earned).

• Day to day management of project pipeline ensuing smooth operations, including demand management and forecast monitoring, and evaluate and make trade off decisions to project resourcing and capacity.
• Ensuring the stages of the project are met according to client and creative brief, budget, resource, SLAs and deadline deliverables.
• Manages digital production workflows across multiple projects, ensuring that processes are documented and communicated. Champions new and improved processes and new technologies and collaborates with other leaders as needed to define, leverage and implement best digital delivery practices.
• Responsible for driving resolution to, and escalating issues risks associated with production pipeline, capacity and or scope.
• Provides strategic direction to the team and vendors as it relates to digital content quality check (QC) activities, processes, and standards. Has overall accountability for ensuring high-quality delivery of digital content and products. 
• Accountable for QC of all assets before Go Live.
• Overall responsibility for client engagement, liaison and satisfaction.
• Ensure all parties (internally and externally) are informed of project progress, delays are clearly communicated timeously, continuously managing stakeholder expectations.
• Attend all key internal and external status sessions ie: RIMS, CIMS, WIMS, external partners and vendors agency status.
• Keep track of all jobs across the various Clusters.
• Managing digital creative reviews with internal stakeholders.
• Accountable for the creation, delivery, effectiveness and accuracy of a variety of reports that inform forecasting and management of budgets and schedules.
• Conducting hands-on management of large campaign production functions.
• Use feedback, metrics and retrospectives to drive studio improvements and plan future initiatives for the studio.
• Actively participate in agency and inter team creative reviews and creative strategy sessions.
• Manage the implementation process and continuous management and up-keep of the Digital Design System and DAM
• Partner with stakeholders to identify process improvement opportunities, provide optimization recommendations and solutions.
• Drive internal concept creation and production quarterly 
• Provide mentoring, development and performance management to team leads and creatives to foster a positive work environment.
• Manage and track team KPIs and output, reporting weekly on performance and escalations.

People Specification

Essential Qualifications - NQF Level 7

• Advanced Diplomas/National 1st Degrees 
• Bachelor of Arts: Marketing , Bachelor of Commerce: Marketing 

Requirements and Skills

• Possess excellent leadership and management skills to create a positive, successful environment for both the team and clients.
• Strategic thinking skills - the ability to think beyond the immediate and tactical. 
• Analytical skills - ability to process information/insights
• Creative evaluation skills - ability to judge creativity in the context of briefs; effective business solutions; & marketplace impact and dynamics 
• Influencing stakeholders to obtain buy-in for concepts and ideas 
• Building and maintaining effective relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
• Strong work ethic, integrity and professional demeanour
• Solid multi-tasking skills required with the ability to manage various clients and teams

Minimum Experience Level

• Minimum of 4 year’s experience in managing staff, including recruitment, training, support and team development
• Minimum of 4 year’s experience in client-facing roles.
• Minimum of 4 years in a management role.
• Working knowledge of best practices and workflows for digital marketing channels (web, social, mobile, media, etc.) and digital content/asset creation.
• Experience with production studio delivery model within a digital agency environment.
• Experience with Digital Asset Management (DAM) systems and repositories.
• Experience with Production workflow management systems, tools and processes.
• Strong client communication skills, both verbal and written.
• Ability to critically assess a project or process to identify improvement opportunities.

Type of Exposure

• Strategic thinking skills - the ability to think beyond the immediate and tactical.
• Understanding of market strategy principles incl. market segmentation; target markets; positioning principles; branding principles; media & channel planning; social & digital platforms
• Marketing Mix Optimisation skills - the ability to understand and apply all the elements of the marketing mix to successfully impact the marketing of a product or service
• Ability to understand and apply knowledge of customer insights; CVP frameworks and products and services features & benefits to ensure effective marketing campaigns
• Analytical skills - ability to process information/insights resulting in plans/interventions/campaigns that are effective
• Creative evaluation skills - ability to judge creativity in the context of briefs; effective business solutions; & marketplace impact and dynamics
• Influencing stakeholders to obtain buy-in for concepts and ideas
• Sharing information in different ways to increase stakeholders understanding.
• Brainstorming ways of improving a product or situation
• Working with a group to identify alternative solutions to a problem.
• Interacting with diverse people
• Building and maintaining effective relationships with internal and external stakeholders

Technical / Professional Knowledge

• Accounting principles
• Communication Strategies
• Governance, Risk and Controls
• Decision-making process
• Company/Division/Cluster/Business Unit specific business knowledge
• Understanding of branding & brand building principles and techniques as drivers of marketing strateg
• Writing of briefs and verbal articulation thereof to internal and external stakeholders
• Development and implementaion of marketing plans in support of the marketing and business strategies

Behavioural Competencies

• Quality Orientation
• Customer Focus 
• Work Standards 
• Building Partnerships 
• Communication 
• Decision Making 
• Initiating Action 
• Innovation