ZooZatz · 1 week ago
Creative Operations Manager
Minneapolis, MN
Full-time
Onsite
Senior Level
5+ years expRoss Sportswear is a company that creates and produces collegiate licensed apparel and accessories under the brand ZooZatz. They are seeking a highly organized and proactive Creative Operations Manager to lead the Art Department's day-to-day operations, ensuring efficient project management and collaboration across teams to meet production timelines and quality standards.
Apparel & Fashion
Responsibilities
Create and manage short- and long-term departmental roadmaps, timelines, and deliverables
Oversee production readiness, ensuring artwork and technical files are properly prepared for manufacturing
Manage multiple concurrent projects with competing deadlines while maintaining scope, quality, and alignment with business objectives
Identify and troubleshoot workflow or communication breakdowns between departments
Monitor team adherence to established processes and timelines; proactively address bottlenecks
Standardize internal documentation, templates, and procedures to improve efficiency
Partner with leadership to prioritize initiatives, special projects, and urgent requests
Analyze seasonal selling data to inform development planning and resource allocation
Establish and manage deadlines for sample ordering, reviews, and approvals
Monitor progress to ensure projects stay on timeline and support broader company goals
Anticipate development risks and implement proactive solutions
Oversee sales art and production CAD timelines
Ensure accurate, timely communication between U.S. teams and overseas manufacturing partners
Participate in and/or lead meetings with overseas partners as needed
Oversee creation and delivery of artwork for production, both domestically and internationally
Implement quality-control processes for production art setup to ensure accuracy and efficiency
Monitor team workloads, project timelines, and adherence to deadlines; escalate when projects fall off track
Manage team PTO scheduling in relation to business needs and seasonal deadlines
Conduct regular 1:1 meetings, performance reviews, goal-setting, and career coaching, and time management
Lead hiring efforts including job descriptions, interviewing, onboarding, and training
Address performance issues, conflict resolution, and employee feedback constructively and professionally
Foster a positive, accountable team culture
Qualification
Required
Bachelor's degree in Design, Business, Operations, Apparel, or a related field (or equivalent professional experience)
5+ years of experience in creative operations, production management, or related roles
Prior team leadership experience required
Strong project management and organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple deadlines simultaneously
Excellent written and verbal communication skills
Working knowledge of development and production processes
Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Excel, Word, Outlook) and Adobe Creative Suite
Detail-oriented, solutions-focused, and comfortable operating in a fast-paced environment
Preferred
Background in apparel
Advanced level proficiency in Excel
Experience managing overseas production workflows
Process improvement or operations optimization experience
Familiarity with collegiate licensing or consumer apparel markets
Company
ZooZatz
The Zoozatz brand was built from the entrepreneurial spirit, it started with a screen-printing set up in a garage in Minnesota 30 years ago.
11-50 employees
Funding
Current Stage
Early StageLeadership Team
Katie Ross Block
Chief Marketing Officer
Company data provided by crunchbase