Design Operations Manager (Contract)

We are open to candidates based in +/- 5 hours PT. Please note this is a 14-month contract beginning May 2024.

MetaLab is seeking a Design Operations Manager to take the lead on driving process, team coordination, design tooling, communication, and design culture within our 60+ person design and research team. Collaborating closely with cross-functional partners from around the globe, you’ll define programs, processes, and systems that drive organizational excellence. You’ll be an advocate for the needs of the department and optimize workflows to maximize productivity and efficiency. You’ll leverage your exceptional communication skills to keep our team informed, aligned, and empowered to do their best work.  If you’re a skilled multi-tasker with a passion for efficiency and an eye for detail, we want you to join our team!

Responsibilities

• Assist with managing day-to-day operations of the Design Department, balancing long-term strategic thinking and near-term execution
• Establish and grow the vision and strategy for the next phase of design operations at MetaLab
• Oversee the maintenance and communication of our department and process documentation 
• Manage all department-wide communications in collaboration with Design Leadership
• Translate feedback and learnings from the team into meaningful process change that optimizes designers’ day-to-day workflow
• Foster and champion a healthy, collaborative, and inclusive design culture and plan team events and cultural touchpoints 
• Optimize our design tooling and systems being used to maximize efficiency
• Promote knowledge sharing by managing our monthly cross-department workshares
• Establish success metrics across programs to measure progress against outcomes
• Support with hiring and the new employee experience for the Design Department
• Champion the growth and talent of our team by strategically leading and programming learning and development initiatives 
• Work with Resource Management to help with resourcing design team members on projects, providing oversight of design team utilization and internal project traffic management
• Contribute to our standard for coaching/management best practices and support performance review cycles in partnership with People Operations and Design Leadership
• Assist with design team budgeting, capacity, and annual planning
• Report directly to the VP of Design and partner with senior design leaders to design and lead programs to enable a world-class design organization

The must-have shortlist

• 5+ years of experience in design operations and program management
• You’re a confident communicator and balance autonomy and collaboration effectively
• You have experience supporting creatives to enable them to do their best work
• You have a proven track record of successfully managing operationally complex projects & programs with cross-functional and distributed teams 
• You’re motivated by solving design team pain points and driving organizational excellence
• You have great interpersonal skills and are comfortable working with all levels of stakeholders
• You have superior organizational skills and an ability to work independently on multiple, simultaneous projects