Resource Manager, Design

The Resource Manager role plays a pivotal part in our project process at Thesis through identifying contributors for each project, and ensuring that those contributors maintain a sustainable flow of work. Informed by an intimate understanding of our project lifecycle and the creative process of the department they support, this role organizes effective project teams through aligning strong executors with the right project content, indexing on project needs, individual preferences and growth plans. Through partnering with leaders, this role helps our contributors to reach their full potential through thoughtful and effective resourcing. Collectively, the Resource Management team works collaboratively with their department leaders to increase the overall execution range of their respective teams.

Job Details

Department Organization

The Resource Manager role sits within the Creative Operations function of the Operations Department, and reports to the Resource Management Lead role. This role is aligned with department leaders to inform resourcing trends and department capacity. 

• Reports: This role reports to the Resource Management Lead role.
• Mentorship: This role provides mentorship [Mentor] to Junior Designers, Designers, and Senior Designers, and Design Leads, actively communicating with these individuals to support opportunities for development.
• Leadership: N/A
• Collaborates: This role collaborates [Collaborator] with Design Leadership, Design Directors and Design Leads, to ensure that individual designer preferences and strengths are considered when resourcing. This role also collaborates with Design Leadership and Project Management to inform resourcing needs during the planning process. Should resourcing needs shift at any point in the project, this role will orchestrate the adjustments.

Responsibilities

Resource Managers are responsible for:

• Project Resourcing: Partners with a Resource Management Lead and respective department leadership assign and allocate team contributors. Coordinates resourcing conflicts as they occur. Monitors contributor utilization, and facilitates ongoing conversations with individual contributors to ensure that the data reflects their experience in the work. Inform Project Management and Account Management teams when trends forecast an excess of budget.
• Contributor Growth & Experience: In partnership with respective department leadership, track individual skills, areas of interest and growth, to ensure that the team is resourced to projects according to their skill sets and interests, providing fulfillment to the individual while creating teams that will execute a quality product on the right timeline. Recognize opportunities to cross-train within their respective department, and orchestrate those trainings in partnership with department leadership and People Operations.
• Capacity Planning & Forecasting: Inform respective department team hiring needs based on bandwidth reports and trends. Advise the best plan of action for the moment—whether that be a contracted or full time hire, and have the data to back it up.

• Time-tracking Collaboration: In partnership with the Resource Management Lead, continuously audit Harvest records to ensure that your department is tracking time accurately. Facilitate individual or team discussions when training is needed. Update team members to project teams in Harvest when resources are allocated/reallocated.
• Project Management Tool: Ensure that your teams have a thorough understanding of the tool’s process and components, and uplevel blockers to the Resource Management Lead to coordinate updates. Closely monitor the tool for correct information as it pertains to projects and resource allocation.

• Identify the Skills Gap: Time moves fast and we want to keep our teams’ skills aligned—and most importantly, ahead— of the industry’s pace. Your job is to proactively recognize and address the skills gap and work closely with department leadership to form a plan of action.
• PTO Tracking & Coverage: Partner with Resource Manager counterparts to co-own the PTO approval and tracking process. Work closely with department leadership to inform and ensure that leave is aligned with coaching objectives. Assign and inform appropriate coverage and communicate those updates to affected teams and executors. 
• Contractor Management: Track and confirm contractor hours and provide those reports to Project Managers. Be the main point of contact for behind-the-scenes schedule questions.

Skill Sets

Resource Managers possess the following skills:

• 3-5 years experience working with a creative agency as a designer, or as a project manager or producer supporting design teams [or comparable experience].

• An intimate knowledge of projects and deliverables specific to static design. You understand what’s unique to the creative process for the design team.

• Experience leading creative teams, building relationships, and confidence interacting with all levels of leadership.
• Knowledge of industry-standard software (Adobe CC, Figma, etc).

• Deep experience in a variety of project management, time tracking, and communication management tools. Strong project management skills.

• Review motion design department capacity data to inform department planning. Stay ahead of the business through employing forecasting skills to anticipate critical hiring junctures.

• Exceptional attention to detail and organization skills.
• Assessment skills specific to skills gap or training needs for static design teams.

• An ability to find inspiration in, and bring enthusiasm to, resource management department initiatives and mobilize teams to achieve those tasks and goals.