Director (Production) - MAT Cover

The Director role is fundamental to the board, team and clients – giving us ultimate upthrust towards our strategic goals. Forming part of the Leadership Team, the Director helps to build, maintain, inspire and nurture a very strong team of creative thinkers and brilliant do-ers, and proactively leads on a range of opportunities that contribute to the ongoing vision and growth of the agency overall. Alongside supercharged strategising, the day to day will largely consist of overseeing the output from the Project Directors and wider business unit, ensuring first-class planning, delivery, execution, as well as ensuring strong commerciality across every project. The Director will be continuously identifying revenue growth opportunities across the project lifecycle and clients organically. This role requires a strong and seasoned visionary leader with a background in leading on complex experiential projects, who wants to take their love for growth, strategic direction and leadership excellence to the next level.

ABOUT US

We are a culturally connected experience agency with heaps of creative energy and stacks of strategic thinking and production expertise. We’re not afraid to be bold. We fuse big ideas, cultural insight, and a playful approach to design experiences that mould what’s next. We do not believe in “one size fits all.” Instead, we come at every brief with a fresh perspective, underpinned by a deep understanding of trends and consumer behaviour. This ensures our solutions are authentic and land ROI, legacy, and fame. We don’t just create—we collaborate. Our house-style is grounded in long-term partnerships, where we co-create with our clients, taking on their challenges and delivering seamless experiences that resonate. We work with commercial brands to produce moments which crescendo their marketing calendars. We love what we do, and that passion shows right through the design process and into all physical touchpoints. We join the dots between an array of talented people to create immersive experiences—whether that’s a brand trip, a VIP party, or an all-singing, all-dancing store launch! Our clients include big names such as Nike, Estée Lauder, Longchamp, and Selfridges.

Heaps + Stacks is an equal opportunity employer, committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment, where all applicants will receive equal consideration regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, or disabilities.

At the core of our agency are our guiding values:

• Imagination – We think beyond the ordinary, inspiring each other to dream big and challenge the status quo.
• Joy – We understand that play and wonder are powerful tools for creating authentic emotional connections with today’s audiences.
• Energy – Shooting for the moon – we thrive in the moment where big ideas are realised. We push the boundaries in search of innovation.
• Care – We are thoughtful stewards of the brands we partner with, fostering kindness within our team and taking a mindful approach to every project we undertake.

WHO YOU’LL BE WORKING WITH:

Internal:

• Director – collaborating on schemes and supporting on each other daily
• Your team – you will lead on day to day management of your direct reports, being accountable for the performance and optimisation of your whole team
• Creative Director – across key points in projects
• Studio Manager – on any operational aspects and recruitment needs

External:

• Various client teams, including senior level clients and some external freelancers

Line Manager:

• Managing Director to feedback on day to day successes, developments as well as any challenges along the way

WHAT’S EXPECTED:

Your duties will include but not be limited to the below:

• NEXT LEVEL LEADERSHIP
  • Bring high level energy and confidence to your team all year round, even in challenging times.
  • Foster a culture of innovation where we see change as exciting over threatening and where we see possibilities over limitations.
  • Building trust and camaraderie making cross functional communication and collaboration central to how we work at Heaps + Stacks.
  • Cultivating resilience within the team culture.
  • Being able to create or take plans and turn them into living breathing things within the business.
  • Lead, by example, a culture of continuous improvement, and review, implement and share effective methods of working.
• TEAM
  • Encourage and foster a dynamic, engaged and energised team.
  • Expert training and coaching of the team where needed across; project management, deck writing, budgeting, jargon, best ways of working with any tips and tricks as you go.
  • Be responsible for creating a clear progression for everybody in your team.
  • Know your team’s aspirations and consider best ways to ensure they achieve these so the team feels consistently rewarded and motivated.
  • Consider succession planning on key top clients and make sure client knowledge (and their trust) is across a number of people in each team.
  • Use the performance management meetings to make sure your team members are the best they can be and have the right training sessions lined up.
  • Owning personal career development by knowing your areas for development and making sure to attend relevant training sessions/workshops/talks to gain appropriate experience.
  • Ensuring the SMT and wider team have the skills to implement all parts of the process and they can deliver to deadline, and achieve top class creative work that’s enjoyable for the duration of the project as well as on the live day.
  • Ensure the SMT has the necessary skills to hold motivating and constructive dev plans for their direct reports as needed making sure leaders have chipped into collective messages and making sure they are shared.
  • Seek and accept peer to peer coaching from other directors and also from MD to help you to improve.
  • Routinely delegate appropriate areas of responsibility to the wider team so they can support and learn at the same time.
  • Directors to make sure to share WOW and top tips between each other and to share tips and tricks and to consider the agency as one ‘big team’ and to share workload across the biz before using external resources.
  • Ensuring the process is stuck to, making workflows simplified and easy to follow.
  • Lead by example in caring about being actively involved in office running and organisation.
  • Making sure time is logged very promptly and correctly.
• CLIENTS
  • Ensure fabulous happy client relationships, which create a feeling of trust and respect, and which also reflect the persona of Heaps + Stacks, ensuring it is built and maintained.
  • Make sure relationship‑building events and meet ups are organised for each key client.
  • Set a high standard with the team by talking clearly and confidently on calls and face to face – but in a way that always feels warm and feels on brand for the agency!
  • Present to senior clients and teammates with confidence, and conviction.
  • Ensure delivery of the project feels easy to follow, smooth, and has a lot of forward motion.
  • Promote strategic and creative culture – pushing for excellent creativity that is going to delight the client.
  • Be familiar with what other fashion, beauty & lifestyle brands (and their agencies) are doing in their activations.
  • Encourage your team to follow this too and to share ideas/trends with clients’ so we can stay one step ahead and help them to achieve their goals.
  • Ensure clients feel that you have a strong understanding and connections within the industry.
  • Understand and ensure that our creative projects support our client’s wider marketing/sales.
  • Promote a results focused way of working that we can use to drive future sales and help us quantify what we do with results.
  • Ensure any client dissatisfaction is acted on very swiftly and make sure any adjusted WOW are put into action.
  • Ensure and check that account management procedures are followed to a tee.
  • Occasional onsite leadership level event management (UK and sometimes abroad) when required making sure running to plan and client/s well looked after and team are solving any issue as they arise.
  • Review event performance and reach results to evaluate success as a metric, identify best practices and learnings to apply going forward with client POV in mind.
• GROWTH
  • Grow existing client accounts, both through your own efforts, and those of your team.
  • Using the CRM to track and log account actions and next steps to maintain growth.
  • Managing the value scheme each year for top spenders.
  • Track old clients when they leave and where they go to next.