Marketing Operations Manager

About Keen:

At Keen, we don't just deliver services we become an extension of our clients' businesses. From digital marketing and creative to customer experience, we help ambitious brands scale through exceptional execution, strategic thinking, and world-class talent. We're a fast-growing agency built on ownership, innovation, and collaboration, helping businesses create meaningful connections with their customers while delivering measurable results.

We're not just building campaigns we're building long-term partnerships, and that's where you come in.

About the Role:

We're looking for an experienced Marketing Operations Manager to lead our creative operations while acting as the primary point of contact for our clients. This role combines team leadership, project delivery, client relationship management, and operational excellence to ensure our creative department consistently delivers outstanding work.

You'll be responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of the creative team, ensuring projects are delivered on time and to the highest standard, while building trusted client relationships that drive long-term growth. You'll also oversee our internal marketing initiatives, helping strengthen the Keen brand across our owned channels.

If you're someone who thrives in fast-paced environments, enjoys building structure, and loves helping creative teams perform at their best, we'd love to meet you.

What You'll Do:

• Lead the day-to-day operations of the creative department, ensuring projects are delivered on time and to a high standard.
• Manage team workload, resource planning, and project prioritisation across multiple client accounts.
• Coach, mentor, and support designers, marketers, copywriters, and creatives to deliver their best work.
• Build a culture of ownership, accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for assigned clients, building trusted long-term relationships.
• Lead regular client meetings, communicate project progress, and manage expectations throughout the creative process.
• Translate client objectives into clear, actionable briefs for internal teams.
• Identify opportunities to improve operational processes, workflows, and delivery efficiency.
• Monitor project health, team utilisation, and delivery performance using project management tools.
• Work closely with leadership to identify opportunities for client growth through upselling and cross-selling.
• Oversee the planning and execution of Keen's internal marketing initiatives, including website content, LinkedIn, social media, blogs, case studies, employer branding, and agency announcements.
• Collaborate with leadership on strategic planning, recruitment, onboarding, and scaling the creative department.

Requirements

What We're Looking For:

• 5+ years of experience working within a creative, digital, marketing, or advertising agency.
• 3+ years of experience leading creative teams or managing creative operations.
• Proven experience managing multiple clients and projects simultaneously.
• Strong understanding of creative production, digital marketing, and agency workflows.
• Excellent client relationship management and stakeholder communication skills.
• Exceptional organisational, planning, and project management abilities.
• Experience improving operational processes and driving team performance.
• Strong leadership skills with the ability to coach, mentor, and develop high-performing teams.
• Commercial awareness with a client-first mindset.
• Experience using project management and collaboration platforms.
• Bonus if you've worked in a fast-growing agency or start-up environment or have experience with SEO, content marketing, and website management.

Schedule & Location

• Keen supports clients around the world and operates in a 24/7/365 environment. The standard working hours for this role are 12:00pm – 21:00pm SAST. Team members should be comfortable with occasional flexibility to meet business and client requirements.
• This is a full-time, office-based role located in Salt River.

Benefits

Why Join Keen?

Join a collaborative, fast-growing team where you'll play a key role in shaping marketing operations, driving process excellence, and enabling high-performing teams. At Keen, we value innovation, ownership, and continuous improvement, giving you the opportunity to make a meaningful impact while growing your career.

Enjoy a competitive salary package, including a Medical Allowance, alongside opportunities for professional development, career progression, and exposure to global stakeholders