At a Glance
- Tasks: Oversee daily operations, manage workflows, and ensure creative projects are delivered on time.
- Company: Join a rapidly growing global company with a collaborative culture.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, employee participation plan, and a supportive work environment.
- Other info: Be part of an innovative team and drive operational excellence.
- Why this job: Make a direct impact on the growth of a dynamic design studio.
- Qualifications: Experience in resource management and strong organisational skills required.
The predicted salary is between 40000 - 50000 € per year.
We are looking for an organised, proactive, and commercially minded Design Studio Manager to oversee the day-to-day operations of our design studio. This role is responsible for managing workflow, scheduling, and resource allocation across Design, Edit, and Motion teams, ensuring projects are delivered efficiently, on time, and to a high creative standard. The Design Studio Manager will play a central role in balancing team capacity, maintaining operational efficiency, supporting project profitability, and enabling a positive and collaborative studio culture.
Working closely with Design & Edit Leadership, Client Service, and the wider Anthesis teams, this role will act as the operational heartbeat of the studio ensuring work is planned efficiently, deadlines are achievable, and teams are set up for success.
Summary of Role & Key Responsibilities- Studio Resource & Workflow Management
- Own and manage day-to-day resourcing across Design, Edit, and Motion departments.
- Allocate projects based on skills, availability, development opportunities, and project requirements.
- Maintain accurate short, medium, and long-term resource plans across all studio teams.
- Lead daily or weekly studio traffic and resource meetings.
- Manage project scheduling, timelines, and workload distribution to support high-quality creative output.
- Identify and resolve resource conflicts, bottlenecks, and scheduling risks proactively.
- Capacity Planning & Forecasting
- Build and maintain accurate capacity forecasts across all studio disciplines.
- Work closely with Client Service and the wider Anthesis team to forecast upcoming work and resource demand.
- Support effective prioritisation of projects and changing business needs.
- Anticipate future hiring and freelance requirements based on pipeline and business growth.
- Stakeholder & Team Collaboration
- Act as a key operational partner to Heads of Department.
- Build strong relationships across departments to ensure smooth collaboration and delivery.
- Support a positive, solutions-focused studio culture with clear communication and fair workload management.
- Escalate risks, delivery challenges, or resourcing concerns proactively.
- Commercial Performance & Reporting
- Monitor and improve studio utilisation, chargeability, and operational efficiency.
- Support profitable project delivery by tracking allocated hours against budgets and timelines.
- Partner with Finance and Client Services teams to monitor project profitability and resource performance.
- Produce regular reporting on utilisation, capacity, freelance spend, recoverability, and workflow trends.
- Help ensure projects are scoped realistically and resourced appropriately.
- Freelance & External Resource Management
- Manage the sourcing, onboarding, allocation, and offboarding of freelance across Design, Edit and Motion teams.
- Maintain accurate records of freelance bookings, costs, contracts, and performance.
- Ensure freelance support is aligned with budgets, timelines, and profitability targets.
- Ensure freelancers are effectively integrated into project teams and workflows.
- Build and maintain a strong network of trusted freelance partners and specialist contractors.
- Studio Operations & Process Improvement
- Continuously improve studio workflows, processes, and ways of working.
- Champion best practice in planning, resource management, and timesheet accuracy.
- Drive consistency, transparency, and operational discipline across the studio.
- Help create efficient processes that enable creatives to focus on high-quality work.
- Experience in Resource Management and/or Studio Management, Traffic Management, or Creative Operations within a creative, design, content, or integrated agency environment.
- Proven experience managing workflows across Design, Edit, & Motion teams.
- Strong understanding of studio operations, creative production workflows, and agency commercials.
- Experience managing utilisation, chargeability, forecasting, and project profitability.
- Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
- Strong organisational skills with exceptional attention to detail and accuracy.
- Ability to manage multiple fast-moving priorities in a deadline-driven environment.
- Commercially minded with strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
- Work within a highly motivated team in an innovative and rapidly growing global company.
- Opportunity to have a direct impact and be a key part of the growth and development of the business and the team.
- Competitive salary in line with education, experience and skills.
- An opportunity to participate in the Anthesis Employee Participation Plan (EPP), an industry-pioneering employee incentive plan that allows all employees to be rewarded for the growth in the equity value of Anthesis.
- Cooperative, supportive and open working atmosphere.
Design Studio Manager in London employer: Anthesis Group
At Anthesis, we pride ourselves on being an excellent employer, offering a dynamic and collaborative work environment where creativity thrives. As a Design Studio Manager, you will play a pivotal role in shaping our studio culture while enjoying competitive salaries, growth opportunities, and the unique benefit of participating in our Employee Participation Plan, which rewards your contributions to our success. Join us in a supportive atmosphere that values innovation and teamwork, making a meaningful impact in a rapidly growing global company.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Design Studio Manager in London
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Reach out to people in the industry, attend events, and connect with potential colleagues on LinkedIn. Building relationships can open doors that a CV just can't.
✨Tip Number 2
Prepare for interviews by researching the company and its culture. Understand their projects and values so you can show how you fit in. We want to see your passion for the role!
✨Tip Number 3
Practice makes perfect! Do mock interviews with friends or use online resources to get comfortable with common questions. The more you practice, the more confident you'll feel when it counts.
✨Tip Number 4
Apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets seen. Plus, we love seeing candidates who take the initiative to engage directly with us.
We think you need these skills to ace Design Studio Manager in London
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your Application:Make sure to customise your CV and cover letter for the Design Studio Manager role. Highlight your experience in resource management and studio operations, and show us how your skills align with our needs.
Showcase Your Organisational Skills:We want to see how organised you are! Use specific examples from your past roles to demonstrate your ability to manage workflows and schedules effectively. This will help us understand how you can keep our studio running smoothly.
Be Proactive in Your Approach:In your application, share instances where you've taken initiative to solve problems or improve processes. We love a proactive mindset, especially when it comes to balancing team capacity and ensuring project profitability.
Apply Through Our Website:Don’t forget to submit your application through our website! It’s the best way for us to receive your details and ensures you’re considered for this exciting opportunity in our growing team.
How to prepare for a job interview at Anthesis Group
✨Know Your Studio Operations
Familiarise yourself with the ins and outs of studio operations, especially in resource management and workflow processes. Be ready to discuss how you’ve successfully managed similar environments in the past, as this will show your understanding of what it takes to keep a design studio running smoothly.
✨Showcase Your Communication Skills
Since this role involves collaboration across various teams, demonstrate your excellent communication skills during the interview. Share examples of how you've built strong relationships with stakeholders and resolved conflicts, as this will highlight your ability to foster a positive studio culture.
✨Prepare for Scenario Questions
Expect scenario-based questions that assess your problem-solving abilities. Think about potential challenges in resource allocation or project scheduling and prepare to explain how you would tackle these issues. This will showcase your proactive approach and commercial mindset.
✨Highlight Your Analytical Skills
Be prepared to discuss how you monitor and improve operational efficiency. Bring examples of how you've tracked project profitability and resource performance in previous roles. This will demonstrate your analytical skills and your ability to contribute to the studio's commercial success.
