Creative Operations Lead

About Gusto

At Gusto were on a mission to grow the small business economy. We handle the hard stufflike payroll health insurance 401(k)s and HRso owners can focus on their craft and customers. With teams in Denver San Francisco and New York were proud to support more than 400000 small businesses across the country and were building a workplace that represents and celebrates the customers we serve. Learn more about our Total Rewards philosophy.

About Design at Gusto

Design at Gusto is made up of over 80 creative collaborative people who care deeply about our mission to empower small businesses and their employees. Were a cross-functional group that is always looking for opportunities to build comprehending and empathy for the people who use Gusto. We dont care much about swim lanes and though we care deeply about quality and craft we are never precious about it. We work closely with cross-functional partners in Product Engineering Data and Marketing to design build and ship experiences that make a real difference. We believe great design can make hard things possible even delightful.

We are building an AI-native design organization and we mean that seriously. Were looking for designers who are already working this way: using AI to prototype ideas quickly shorten customer feedback loops and ship quality UX directly to customers. This isnt a future goal its how we work now and its changing what the design role looks like at Gusto and across the industry.

About the Role:

The work coming out of Gustos Creative team has never been more ambitious or more central to our mission. Across brand campaigns production and content our creative work shapes how we reach connect with and serve small businesses and their employees. The volume variety and quality bar for that work keeps rising and were building the operational foundation to match it. We want world-class creative work to happen predictably and at scale without the friction that slows great teams down.

Were looking for a Creative Operations Lead who brings genuine creativity to operational problems. The systems dont exist yetyoull invent them. This isnt a role for someone who follows playbooks; its for someone who writes them. Youll design and run the AI-enabled systems processes and programs that allow our brand creative and marketing teams to do their best work predictably and at pace. Youll also coach and develop a production manager building shared team capability as the function grows.

In this role you will rethink our operational approaches from the ground up using an AI-first mindset to rethink and scale how we work:

• Design and run the AI-enabled creative operating system. Build Gustos complete creative ops infrastructure from the ground up. This includes frameworks for intake and prioritization. Develop resourcing models briefing workflows and production systems. Automate what should be automated and free the team for work that requires human judgment craft and creativity.
• Own vendor production and budget management: Lead agency and vendor relationships from scoping to payment to performance review. Partner with Finance to own budget tracking forecasting and reconciliation. Ensure every production has the right partners locked budgets and clear timelines before work begins.
• Improve throughput quality and predictability. Build systems and visibility tools. These tools will provide the management with real-time insight into pipeline health capacity and output quality. This allows the team to scale its impact without increasing its tension.
• Build cross-functional creative infrastructure: Partner with Marketing Brand People and other functions to align on shared processes SLAs and expectations. Create an operating model that gives every cross-functional partner clarity on how to engage the creative teamwhen how and at what cost. Create systems that enable teams to get what they need without bottlenecking through ops.
• Establish asset management and production oversight: Build or improve digital asset management (DAM) systems to ensure creative assets are organized discoverable and properly versioned. Define standards for naming storage archiving rights management and distribution that help the team execute consistently as it evolves.

This is a high-trust high-ownership role for someone who loves building things from scratchand believes that great operations is a form of creative care. Youll report into Design leadership and work closely with brand marketing and agency partners across Gusto.

We are looking for a creative builder and ops leader with:

• 8 years of experience in creative operations production management or program management within a brand creative or marketing function
• Demonstrated success building creative operations infrastructure from scratch or significantly improving an existing system at a scaling companynot just coordinating within one
• Solid production background. Hands-on experience managing large campaigns. This includes video and photo shoots as well as content programs in different formats.
• End-to-end ownership of agency and vendor management: scoping contracting invoicing payment and performance review
• Experience owning a creative or production budget including forecasting actuals tracking and Finance partnership
• A genuinely AI-native approach to operationsyou use AI to redesign workflows not just hasten them up and you can point to specific systems youve built that others now rely on
• Proven ability to work across multiple functions (marketing brand people finance) and build trust as a reliable anticipatory operational partner
• A natural problem solver who brings creativity and ingenuity to operational challengessomeone who designs elegant systems not just workable ones
• Robust communicator and systems thinker who can document processes build shared operational fluency and make structure feel like an enabler rather than a constraint

Compensation Details

At Gusto we strive to provide rewards that empower employees to achieve their financial and personal goals. We offer competitive compensation packages with a strong emphasis on equity based compensation (ownership in Gusto). To learn more about Gustos compensation philosophy and benefits offerings please view our Total Rewards Approach page.

Our cash compensation range for this role is $172000/yr to $215000/yr in Denver & most remote locations and $202000/yr to $253000/yr in San Francisco Seattle & New York. Final offer amounts are determined by multiple factors including candidate experience and expertise and may vary from the amounts listed above.

Gusto has physical office spaces in Denver San Francisco and New York City. Employees who are based in those locations will be expected to work from the office on designated days approximately 2-3 days per week (or more depending on role). The same office expectations apply to all Symmetry roles Gustos subsidiary whose physical office is in Scottsdale.

Note: The San Francisco office expectations encompass both the San Francisco and San Jose metro areas.

When approved to work from a location other than a Gusto office a secure reliable and consistent internet connection is required. This includes non-office days for hybrid employees.

Our customers come from all walks of life and so do we. We hire great people from a wide variety of backgrounds not just because its the right thing to do but because it makes our company stronger. If you share our values and our enthusiasm for small businesses you will find a home at Gusto.

Gusto is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate in hiring or any employment decision based on race color religion national origin age sex (including pregnancy childbirth or related medical conditions) marital status ancestry physical or mental disability genetic information veteran status gender identity or expression sexual orientation or other applicable legally protected characteristic. Gusto considers qualified applicants with criminal histories consistent with applicable federal state and local law. Gusto is also committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities and disabled veterans in our job application procedures. We want to see our candidates perform to the best of their ability. If you require a medical or religious accommodation at any time throughout your candidate journey please fill out this form and a member of our team will get in touch with you.

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