Traffic Manager (Northern Suburbs (Cape) at PEP

Purpose of the job 

• Responsible for managing the end-to-end workflow, scheduling, and asset delivery pipeline within the photography studio, ensuring the efficient movement of products and digital assets from warehouse intake through photography, post-production, and final publication. This role serves as the operational hub between Merchandising, Styling, Photography, Retouching, Creative, Digital, and AI-assisted production teams, ensuring all projects are delivered on time, to brand standards, and within production deadlines.

Requirements
Key Responsibilities

Workflow Planning & Traffic Management:

• Manage the daily intake, scheduling, and prioritisation of all photography and post-production requests. 
• Coordinate the movement of samples from Merchandise  through styling, photography, retouching, quality control, and final delivery. 
• Develop and maintain production schedules to ensure optimal studio utilisation and on-time delivery. 
• Monitor project timelines, identify workflow bottlenecks, and implement solutions to minimise delays. 
• Balance competing priorities across multiple brands, campaigns, product launches, and seasonal deadlines. 
• Ensure production workflows align with agreed service level agreements (SLAs) and business priorities. 

Photographer Coordination & Studio Management:

• Coordinate daily studio schedules, ensuring photographers, stylists, models, and studio resources are effectively allocated. 
• Partner with the Photography Lead to establish realistic daily production targets based on shoot complexity. 
• Allocate photographers according to their technical expertise and project requirements. 
• Coordinate studio set changes, ensuring efficient transitions between shoots. 
• Ensure photographers follow established file naming conventions, metadata standards, backup procedures, and digital asset management protocols. 
• Monitor studio productivity and recommend workflow improvements to maximise output. 

Retouching & Post-Production Management:

• Act as the primary liaison between Photography and the Image Retouching team. 
• Ensure all approved image selections, retouching briefs, and production notes are accurately communicated to post-production. 
• Manage internal and external retouching capacity to meet production deadlines. 
• Prioritise retouching workloads based on business priorities, product launches, and promotional campaigns. 
• Coordinate freelancer bookings during peak production periods where required. 
• Route retouched imagery for review and approval, consolidating stakeholder feedback into clear revision instructions. 
• Monitor revision cycles to ensure efficient delivery while maintaining quality standards. 

Operations & Process Management:

• Monitor production workflows, turnaround times, and delivery performance across the studio. 
• Ensure adherence to studio processes, file management protocols, version control, and digital asset management standards. 
• Generate production reports, monitor studio output, and provide regular status updates to management. 
• Identify opportunities to improve efficiencies through workflow optimisation, automation, and AI-enabled production tools. 
• Support continuous improvement initiatives across photography and post-production operations. 

Stakeholder Management & Collaboration:

• Act as the central point of communication between Merchandising, Buying, Styling, Photography, Creative, Digital, Retouching, and Production teams. 
• Manage stakeholder expectations by communicating production schedules, priorities, and delivery timelines. 
• Build effective relationships with freelance photographers, retouchers, agencies, and external suppliers. 
• Escalate production risks and capacity constraints proactively to management. 

Leadership & Team Support:

• Provide day-to-day coordination and operational guidance across studio production teams. 
• Support onboarding and training on studio workflows, production systems, and operational processes. 
• Promote adherence to production standards, quality expectations, and delivery deadlines. 
• Foster a collaborative, solutions-driven studio environment focused on continuous improvement. 

Studio Culture & Collaboration:

• Participate in regular production planning meetings and workflow reviews. 
• Collaborate closely with Photography, Styling, Retouching, Creative, and Operations teams. 
• Contribute to a positive, organised, and high-performing studio culture. 
• Encourage innovation and continuous improvement across production processes.

Required Knowledge, Skills and Competencies

• Relevant Tertiary Qualification (Diploma/Degree) in Project Management, Operations Management, Photography, Creative Production, Marketing, or a related field.
• 3–5 years' experience in production coordination, traffic management, studio operations, or workflow management within a fashion retail or e-commerce environment.
• Strong understanding of photography, post-production, and digital asset management workflows.
• Experience coordinating high-volume e-commerce photography production.
• Knowledge of fashion production processes, studio operations, and merchandising workflows.
• Experience managing production schedules, workflow planning, and resource allocation.
• Understanding of image retouching workflows and digital production pipelines.
• Experience working with photographers, stylists, retouchers, creative teams, and external suppliers.
• Strong organisational and project management skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities simultaneously.
• Excellent problem-solving and decision-making abilities.
• High attention to detail and commitment to quality.
• Strong verbal, written, and interpersonal communication skills.
• Proficiency in Google Workspace and Microsoft Office.
• Experience using project management, workflow, or digital asset management systems will be advantageous.
• Knowledge of AI-assisted workflow automation and production tools will be advantageous.
• Ability to work under pressure and meet demanding production deadlines.
• Competencies: Devotion to quality, Result-oriented, Planning, Service Oriented, Initiative, Client Focused, Innovating, and Creativity