Group Operations Director in London

YourStudio is a dynamic strategy and creative agency specialising in next-generation experiences and environments for global brands. With studios in London, Melbourne, New York, and LA, we work supportively as one global team to deliver award-winning retail experiences that are recognised globally.

The Group Operations Director is a pivotal senior leadership position that shapes both strategic direction and day-to-day reality, navigating the fundamental tension between driving profitability and delivering outstanding creative work. This role serves as the agency’s internal engine focusing on margin protection, operational scalability, and the financial health of our output. You will ensure that the operational infrastructure can deliver on growth promises while setting the commercial standards and culture that underpin long-term success.

What You’ll Do

• Commercial & Margin Leadership
  • Drive margin performance across all studios to achieve stretch targets.
  • Navigate the inherent tension between margin optimisation and investment in top creative talent and practice.
  • Contribute to SOW and Proposal pricing development to ensure client and agency value is represented and target returns are met.
  • Monitor project health and step in with creative problem-solving when profitability and resource strain put our margins or team at risk.
  • Validate pricing and scoping on new business to ensure margin viability and realistic delivery.
  • Partner with the Group FD to maintain financial health and commercial environment, build business cases for strategic investments, and assist in monitoring and maintaining OPEX budget.
• Global Tactical Operations
  • Lead the tactical operations of the group, ensuring the structure supports current and future business needs, and aligns with evolving business strategy.
  • Implement new structures to improve team collaboration, workflow efficiency, and client experience across London, NYC, LA, and Melbourne.
  • Drive consistency in operations, standards, and 'one agency' culture across all geographic locations.
  • Identify when processes must evolve to support growth without compromising quality.
• Delivery & Project Excellence
  • Ensure seamless and efficient project delivery across all studios.
  • Oversee, alongside the Group Client Director, the scoping, planning, and operational delivery of all client work.
  • Work alongside Creative Directors to shape optimal teaming from existing in-house resources, and plan hiring alongside the Head of People and Creative Ops Manager.
  • Work with the Creative Ops Manager to optimise delivery processes and resource planning.
  • Ensure realistic scoping that clients can afford and the business can deliver profitably.
  • Monitor project health across the portfolio and intervene when needed.
  • Continue to evolve the delivery model and overcome team burnout while hitting deadlines.
  • Create feedback loops to continuously improve delivery effectiveness.
• Team & Leadership Development
  • Work with the Group Head of People to ensure talent planning, building succession plans and leadership pipelines across studios to move the business toward growth goals.
  • Foster a culture of excellence, collaboration, and accountability across the global network.
  • Partner with the Studio Manager to champion an inclusive, vibrant studio environment that upholds YS values and fuels our global team's energy.
  • Work alongside the Group FD and Head of People to ensure team salaries and benefits meet or exceed a competitive marketplace for talent.
• Technology, Infrastructure & Information Security
  • Own all the agency’s core tech stack (e.g., Forecast, Hubspot, Slack, Google Workspace).
  • Technology change management – co-manage the process with the Creative Ops Manager.
  • AI Journey – Own the evolving AI implementation, tool-use, ethics, and practice journey. Work with partners and IT support to integrate AI tooling within the agency tech stack, and design a full implementation and change management process. When live, continually monitor practice, and when fully operational, ensure the scalability and maintenance of the central YS intelligent ‘brain’.
  • Information Security – with IT support, ensure the agency continues to work towards globally accepted compliance and governance norms (minimum equivalent SOCII) in handling client data.
  • Technology Use – with the Studio Manager, ensure instances and subscriptions are regularly monitored for cost efficiency.

What Success Looks Like in This Role

• Margin Performance – achieving stretch margin targets across all studios.
• Operational Efficiency – utilisation and recovery rates and project profitability.
• Quality Standards – creative output quality and industry recognition.
• Team Health – employee engagement, wellbeing, and retention rates.
• Scalability – successful growth of operational infrastructure as the business expands.
• Master the 'And' – find the balance where neither profitability nor creative excellence is sacrificed for the other.
• Operational Scalability – build systems and processes that enable growth rather than constraining it.
• Trust Builder – earn the respect of both financial stakeholders and creative teams by being a 'builder of people and systems'.

What We Offer

• We offer a competitive salary, available upon request, plus our benefits package, which includes:
• We value culture and collaboration, for this reason we operate a 3 day in the office and 2 day WFH hybrid working policy.
• Generous holiday allowance, including 25 days plus bank holidays, a well-being day, 2 community days and your birthday off! Alongside additional extra service allowance (pro-rata for fixed-term contracts).
• Private Healthcare.
• 2 week Working Abroad Opportunity.
• Opportunities to work from our global studios whilst travelling.
• Dedicated learning platform.
• Enhanced parental leave policies.
• Lunch club, Thursday office drinks, Summer and Christmas parties.

We would love to hear from you! YourStudio is an equal opportunity employer — we welcome applications from all backgrounds and encourage you to apply even if you don't meet every requirement. Accommodations are available upon request throughout the recruitment process.