Creative Systems & Optimization Manager

HelloFresh is seeking a sharp, systems-minded Creative Systems & Optimization Manager to own the operating model behind our XPOD studio. As the single intake owner across Paid Social, Organic Social, Brand Partnerships and localization, this role turns a complex, multi-brand production slate into one prioritized, efficient engine — ensuring the highest-impact work moves first. XPOD Creative Studio is focused on delivering a high output of creative assets to drive growth across paid channels. Day-to-day, that still means hands-on project management - scoping, scheduling, resourcing, and driving projects through to completion across TikTok, Reels, Snap, Pinterest, YouTube and beyond. We move fast, flex with business needs and operate at the intersection of creative and performance. The right candidate is fluent in Growth, obsessed with efficiency and skilled at building systems that help creative teams move faster and smarter. This is not a traditional Creative Operations/PM role. You’ll proactively build AI-powered workflows, automate manual processes and keep stakeholders across Growth, Brand, Influencer and markets aligned and moving. In close partnership with Growth Ops, you’ll continuously test and embed smarter ways of working into the studio’s day-to-day operations. You will … Own the design and evolution of the studio's operational workflows - building frameworks flexible enough to move with shifting business needs, yet structured enough to scale and stay easy for others to follow. Apply strong project management fundamentals - setting milestones and deadlines from a brief, driving the decisions needed to execute within time constraints, and pushing every project through to completion, even when things are ambiguous or change at the last minute. Own all studio intake as the single point of contact for every video brief across brands and channels: scoping, prioritizing, and routing every request against total studio capacity Identify, evaluate, and implement automations, AI tools, and templates that lift the studio's operating efficiency. Maintain the studio's performance data and reporting - trends, production velocity, and project-level status - keeping the Head of Creative Production, project teams, and other stakeholders ahead of timelines and risk. Coordinate schedules and workflows with the wider creative operations team and Growth Operations, keeping cross-studio campaigns and the paid social content pipeline in sync. Stay close enough to every project in the pipeline that creatives always have what they need to keep moving, and that no question sits unanswered long enough to cause a delay. Work closely with stakeholders and creative teams to shape expectations and define project scope, and manage those relationships day to day - including negotiating, and where necessary pushing back on, channel requests against budget and priority so the studio's limited creative capacity goes toward what the business actually needs. Own resourcing and allocation across the creative team - assessing priority, balancing workload and timelines, and adjusting on the fly so creatives can sustain their pace without projects slipping. Onboard, train, and manage freelance creatives and creative partners or vendors, flexing the team's capacity up or down against demand. Partner with global stakeholders on localization, translation and versioning of assets, ensuring creative holds up at both a product and creative level in every local market. Ensure projects launch on time and to expectation, and drive the post-campaign assessments that follow. Bring critical thinking to competing business interests, cross-functional friction, and risk resolution. You are… Impeccably organized, with an eye for detail that doesn't slow you down. Fluent in paid social media channels, growth funnels, and performance marketing An empowered self-starter with strong time, people, and stakeholder management instincts. A confident negotiator on time, scope, budget, and resources - comfortable pushing back when a request doesn't match the studio's capacity. A systems thinker who'd rather design the framework than just manage what runs through it. An AI power-user: you build and maximize automation proactively, a self-starter obsessed with efficiency rather than waiting to be told what to do A natural coach, comfortable onboarding, training, and developing freelance creative talent. Able to run high volumes of concurrent projects through prioritization and organization under tight deadlines. Able to follow through, own, and guide a project from infancy to execution - even when very little is known at the start. A fan of working in an ultra-fast-paced environment. A creative thinker who uses non-linear approaches and critical thinking to proactively problem-solve and steer projects. Willing to challenge assumptions and the status quo in favor of iterative, adaptive change. Solution-oriented - you flag and fix problems as they arise, not after the fact. At a minimum, you have… Bachelor's degree in Advertising, Business, Management, Communications, or equivalent experience. 5–7 years of creative/marketing project management or creative operations experience at an in-house agency or studio, in a high-volume, high-efficiency, fast-moving environment. Experience designing or evolving operational workflows and resourcing frameworks, not just executing within existing ones. Experience working in a project management system (e.g. Jira, Airtable). Experience managing, training, or onboarding freelance or contract creative talent. Familiarity evaluating or implementing automation, AI tools, or templated workflows within a creative production context. Appreciation for creative and production workflows and experience working closely with creative teams. Excellent interpersonal, verbal, and written communication skills, including experience negotiating scope and budget with non-creative stakeholders. Experience managing 360 campaigns spanning multiple deliverables (e.g. digital, photo, and video production). Exposure to international/localization workflows is a plus. You’ll get: Competitive salary and 401(k) with company match (vesting immediately upon participation) Generous PTO policy and 4 weeks of parental leave $0 monthly premium and flexible health plans starting on day one 85% discount on your HelloFresh subscription and other product offerings A collaborative, dynamic work environment within a fast-paced, mission-driven company This job description is intended to provide a general overview of the responsibilities. However, the Company reserves the right to adjust, modify, or reassign work tasks and responsibilities as needed to meet changing business needs, operational requirements, or other factors. New York Pay Range $88,935 — $121,000 USD