Lead, Brand & Creative Operations NA

About the position Our Brand Creative team is at the heart of Nike’s storytelling, pushing boundaries and creating powerful stories about sport, athletes, and innovation. We take risks, break rules, and craft the unexpected. We flourish on bold creativity, fearless experimentation, and radical collaboration. Creative Operations manages creative ways of working, improving collaboration, reducing bottlenecks, increasing efficiency and managing resources. In short, Creative Operations drives operational clarity and establish the seasonal project priorities for Brand Creative. This position is based at our amazing worldwide headquarters campus in Beaverton, Oregon. The position follows a hybrid work schedule - Mondays-Thursdays in the office with Fridays optional from your home office. WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR Brand Creative Operations is seeking an experienced Lead, Brand & Creative Operations professional who is highly organized, detail-oriented, and a strategic problem-solver. You’ll collaborate with teams across the organization to find efficient and effective solutions that support the smooth running of the creative studio. In this role, clear communication is key. Curiosity and attention to detail are essential, along with the ability to scope and estimate project size and volume, and support the team in managing creative staffing, capacity, and bandwidth. Key Capabilities Adaptability & Strategic Support & Collaboration: Support and collaborate with senior team members in tasks that enable strategic planning. Demonstrate flexibility and initiative in ambiguous situations Leadership: Lead week-to-week operations, ensuring the team is thriving and can produce high quality work efficiently, whilst mentoring junior team members Organization & Detail Orientation : Maintain highly organized workflows to deliver clear operational information Tech Fluency: Use tools to centralize documentation and stay current with technology (e.g., AirTable, Figma, Keynote) Communication: Share updates clearly, escalate issues appropriately, and contribute actively to team dialogue Initiative: Show curiosity and initiative in learning, seek feedback and apply it quickly Cross-functional Collaboration and Influence: heavy collaboration with teams across the Nike enterprise and the ability to influence is critical in this role WHAT YOU WILL WORK ON Up-front Seasonal Project Planning: Collaborate with the Brand Creative Operations Director and Brand Creative Planning team to vet seasonal project requests and estimate project needs to ensure accurate scoping and resourcing Production: expertise in managing large-scale productions that require agile resourcing across a variety of roles Change Management: Act as a strategic ally to studio teams, mentoring talent and change to grow the studios creatively Project Scoping and Timelines: Establish realistic schedules based on key project dates and marketing codes to inform project kick-off In-Season Scope Management: Flag and assess scope increases in collaboration with Production, Creative Leadership and Creative Operations Project & Time Off Tracking: Provide accurate updates through centralized tools and ensure visibility into policies Leadership & Coaching: Provide direction and support to operations teams; fosters accountability and collaboration Conduit Between Global, Geo, and City Workstreams: Facilitate communication across Nike divisions to establish clarity, consistency, and efficiency Cross-Functional Collaboration & Relationships: Partner with brand and creative teams to understand project details, expectations, and process alignment Process Innovation: Identify operational opportunities and develop new processes to streamline and improve efficiency Tool Improvement & Alignment: Drive tool alignment and improvement initiatives to enable streamlined collaboration WHO YOU’LL WORK WITH Reporting to the Creative Operations Director, you will collaborate with other Senior and Lead Creative Operations team members. Key partners include Brand Planning & Operations, Brand and Creative Leadership, Finance, and Production Leads.

Responsibilities

• Up-front Seasonal Project Planning: Collaborate with the Brand Creative Operations Director and Brand Creative Planning team to vet seasonal project requests and estimate project needs to ensure accurate scoping and resourcing
• Production: expertise in managing large-scale productions that require agile resourcing across a variety of roles
• Change Management: Act as a strategic ally to studio teams, mentoring talent and change to grow the studios creatively
• Project Scoping and Timelines: Establish realistic schedules based on key project dates and marketing codes to inform project kick-off
• In-Season Scope Management: Flag and assess scope increases in collaboration with Production, Creative Leadership and Creative Operations
• Project & Time Off Tracking: Provide accurate updates through centralized tools and ensure visibility into policies
• Leadership & Coaching: Provide direction and support to operations teams; fosters accountability and collaboration
• Conduit Between Global, Geo, and City Workstreams: Facilitate communication across Nike divisions to establish clarity, consistency, and efficiency
• Cross-Functional Collaboration & Relationships: Partner with brand and creative teams to understand project details, expectations, and process alignment
• Process Innovation: Identify operational opportunities and develop new processes to streamline and improve efficiency
• Tool Improvement & Alignment: Drive tool alignment and improvement initiatives to enable streamlined collaboration

Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree in Business, Marketing, or related field; will accept any suitable combination of education, experience and training
• At least 5 years of experience in Creative Operations, Creative Project Management, Creative Administration, or Production
• Experience leading related projects / project teams and ensuring project timelines are adhered to
• Proven experience managing complex timelines, budgets, and deliverables
• Ability to streamline and optimize complex processes
• Excellent interpersonal skills and a strong team-player mindset
• Forward-thinking, solutions-oriented, and entrepreneurial approach
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, matrixed environment
• Passion for creativity and staying current with technology (AirTable, Figma, Keynote, AI)
• Understanding of brand marketing initiatives and frameworks
• Demonstrated alignment with team principles: Embraces the unknown and adapts confidently to ambiguity and change Seeks inspiration in new challenges and opportunities Obsessed with craft, striving for excellence in every detail Prioritizes team success, collaboration, and mutual support Speaks up with conviction, contributing ideas and feedback openly and respectfully

Nice-to-haves

• Familiarity with Nike’s internal matrix (bonus)
• Experience in digital environments (bonus)

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