Associate Director, Creative Operations Lead

About Understood

Understood is a nonprofit focused on shaping the world for difference. We raise awareness of the challenges and strengths of people who learn and think differently. Our resources help people navigate challenges, gain confidence, and find support and community so they can thrive. 

Having a shared commitment to our values is a key factor in any hire we make. We have five core values: 

1. Continuously learn.
2. Act with intention.
3. Champion difference.
4. Inspire change.
5. Grow together. 

Come be part of an organization with an entrepreneurial spirit that’s helping to shape the world for difference. Together, we can build a world where everyone can reach their full potential. 

To learn more about Understood, please visit: www.understood.org.

Who you are 

To advance Understood’s mission and measure our impact, we are hiring an Associate Director, Creative Operations Lead, reporting to the Vice President, Creative & Content Development. You’re someone who makes complex systems work smoothly. When you see a messy or confusing workflow, you immediately think about how to simplify it and make it more efficient. This is a behind-the-scenes, high-impact role for someone who pays close attention to detail and enjoys designing strong processes.

You collaborate easily across teams—creative, production, legal, finance, and others. You remove roadblocks, improve coordination, and help everyone stay aligned. Your work creates clarity and structure so people can focus on what they do best.

Your goal is to build the tools and frameworks that make the organization’s work easier to scale. You’re always looking for smarter, more automated ways of working, especially when new AI tools can unlock better creative results. You stay curious, experiment often, and look for practical ways to improve how we work.

This is a hybrid role that requires a minimum of three (3) days a week in our NYC office, with a focus on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday.

What you’ll do

Your core responsibilities include:

• Workflow Optimization: Streamlining our creative and production workflows by identifying inefficiencies and implementing new processes and AI-powered tools to enhance delivery and collaboration. You'll ensure our creative projects are always fully resourced, keeping them on time and within budget.
• Team Management: Leading and developing direct reports, providing guidance and managing their day-to-day workflow to ensure high-quality, on-time delivery of creative assets. 
• AI Integration & Implementation: Building tools and systems that leverage AI to scale creative strategy and automate the delivery of content and creative guidance across different teams.
• Strategic Support: Providing hands-on support for high-impact creative projects, from brand-building initiatives to major campaigns. You'll help build project-based teams, utilizing freelance support as needed to deliver pitches, playbooks, and strategic materials that drive results.
• Resource & Vendor Management: Owning all aspects of our external creative vendor relationships and resources. You'll manage a bench of creative freelancers ensuring we can deploy talent effectively for creative campaigns and brand refresh sprints. 

Must-haves 

• 7+ years experience in creative operations, marketing operations, program management, or a related field.
• Proven experience in streamlining workflows and scaling creative or production operations across a business, including managing project intake queues and maintaining file organization systems.
• Direct experience with vendor and resource management, including contract negotiation and procurement.
• Experience in managing a creative team, including designers and copywriters.
• Strong understanding of campaign creative development, including collaboration and alignment with brand strategists, marketing leads and paid/earned/owned teams.
• A strong understanding of how AI tools can be applied to content and creative production processes.
• Exceptional cross-functional communication and collaboration skills.

Nice-to-haves

• A background working within a media company or creative agency.
• Experience contributing to creative strategy or pitches.
• A working knowledge of analytics and project management software within the Atlassian platform.

The base salary range for this role is minimum $125,000 - $140,000 maximum, depending on years of experience and qualifications. We offer a comprehensive benefits package that supports wellness for our team members and their families. You can learn more about our benefits and offerings.

Understood.org does not sponsor applicants for work visas or legal permanent residence, including providing assistance with OPT extensions.

Commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion

Understood encourages individuals of all learning styles and ethnic, racial, and socioeconomic backgrounds, including those whose life experiences may include the challenge of access due to a disability, to apply for this position. We are committed to maximizing the diversity of our organization, as we want to engage all those who can contribute to supporting this work.

Understood is an equal opportunity employer and considers all applications without regard to race, color, religion, creed, sex, national origin, ancestry, age, alienage or citizenship status, marital or familial status, domestic partnership status, caregiver status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, change of sex or transgender status, genetic information, medical condition, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, physical or mental disability (where the applicant or employee is qualified to perform the essential functions of the job with or without reasonable accommodation), any protected military or veteran status, or status as a victim of domestic or dating violence, sexual assault or offense, stalking, or any other characteristics protected by federal, state, or local law or that of persons with whom that individual associates, or any other legally protected characteristics.

For additional information on learning and thinking differences, including ADD/ADHD, dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia, dyspraxia, executive function challenges, nonverbal learning disabilities, processing issues, and more, please visit www.understood.org.

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