Design Operations Manager
Cialfo
Cialfo is a leading platform connecting students, higher education institutions, and counselors through technology-driven solutions. Launched in 2017 with a mission to make education accessible to 100 million students, Cialfo provides a range of mobile and web solutions to students, K-12 institutions, and higher education institutions. We’re one of the fastest-growing tech startups in the region, consistently charting new heights!
About This Role
As the Design Operations Manager (DesignOps Lead), you will be the backbone of Manifest Global’s creative function — building the systems, frameworks, and structures that power design excellence across our portfolio of brands. You’ll manage a team of three designers and ensure the delivery of high-quality creative assets across multiple business lines, driving consistency, efficiency, and output quality. Your focus will be on operational excellence — optimizing workflows, capacity, and communication across stakeholders — rather than direct design execution. This is a hands-on managerial role, ideal for someone ready to scale creative operations across multiple brands.
Department: Central Marketing
Reporting To: Chief Operating Officer, Manifest Global – Strategic Operations
Eventual Reporting To: VP, Central Marketing
What You Will Be Doing
What You Will Execute On a Day-to-Day Basis:
- Oversee daily creative delivery across multiple brands, ensuring assets are on time, on brief, and on brand.
- Manage task allocation, capacity planning, and workflow tracking for the design team.
- Maintain adherence to brand and design guidelines across all creative output.
- Build and manage effort matrices and SLAs to balance workload and improve predictability.
- Conduct regular quality reviews to ensure high standards of work.
- Track and report delivery metrics — turnaround time, rework rate, and utilization.
- Introduce and manage AI-assisted tools and templates to automate and speed up repetitive design tasks.
What You Will Lead, Strategize & Develop on a Regular Basis:
- Develop and implement scalable design frameworks, playbooks, and SOPs for creative workflows.
- Create structured processes for task prioritization, project handoffs, and stakeholder communication.
- Build and maintain shared design libraries, templates, and visual systems for cross-brand consistency.
- Partner with marketing, content, and product teams to align creative output with business objectives.
- Lead capacity planning and forecasting sessions to optimize team utilization.
- Build a high-performing team culture through mentoring, feedback, and regular performance reviews.
- Identify process gaps and roll out initiatives to increase overall team efficiency and productivity.
- Serve as the operational link between design, marketing, and leadership — translating business goals into creative action.
- Continuously improve creative operations by adopting better tools, templates, and automation systems.
About You
- Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree in Design, Visual Communication, Marketing, or a related field.
- 8–10 years of experience in design operations, creative project management, or brand systems (experience in agency or cross-functional brand setups preferred).
- Proven experience in building, mentoring, and managing creative teams to deliver high-quality work in fast-paced environments.
- Demonstrated ability to manage multiple stakeholders and cross-functional teams.
- Experience working in fast-paced, multi-brand environments such as marketing or creative agencies.
- Skills:
- Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, After Effects) and Figma.
- Strong understanding and practical use of AI tools in design (Adobe Firefly, Runway, Midjourney, etc.) to enhance creative workflows and productivity.
- Familiarity with project management tools such as Asana, Jira, ClickUp, or Airtable.
- Excellent organizational and time-management skills, with a focus on efficiency and process improvement.
- Strong communication and presentation abilities, with comfort engaging senior stakeholders.
- Ability to design systems, maintain creative standards, and scale workflows across multiple brands.
- Qualities:
- You enjoy bringing structure and clarity to dynamic creative environments.
- You think beyond visuals — you focus on making design processes smooth and scalable.
- You manage people with empathy while keeping delivery sharp and efficient.
- You understand how design contributes to business goals and look for ways to create impact.
- You’re curious about new tools and use AI to speed up and enhance creative work.
- You stay calm under pressure and thrive when managing multiple brands and priorities.
You’re a Notch Above If You Have:
- Worked directly with C-level executives to align design operations with broader business objectives.
- Experience in multi-brand or multi-region portfolios where consistency and scalability were key.
- Experience setting up or improving design operations systems — such as intake processes, capacity frameworks, or workflow automation.