The Company

Kanda is the fastest growing independent communications consultancy working in the UK property industry. We are a multi-disciplinary agency that is passionate about and dedicated to property and place-making helping built environment creators, agents and operators to navigate change, tell their story and connect with customers, communities and influencers.

We use our breadth and depth of experience to help our clients navigate external factors and internal business challenges, crafting robust multi-channel communications and branding programmes that align with strategic business objectives and which speak to multiple stakeholders. Our strength in planning consultation means that we understand the nuances of the sector and are intimately acquainted with the challenges and opportunities facing our clients and their businesses.

With more than 50 built environment experts, we work with you to understand, navigate and respond to the commercial drivers impacting the real estate sector, including Government legislature, local issues, consumer trends and confidence as well as macro-economic factors.

Since launching in 2017, we have secured over 200 planning consents and developed a unique and bespoke consultation toolkit for the property sector underpinned by political knowledge and networks at all levels of local government. Our current client list includes developers, international investors, local authorities, housing associations, Great Estates, house builders, supermarkets, high street retailers and NHS trusts.

The Role

As our Studio and Operations Manager, your primary role is planning, managing, tracking and delivering all work that comes into the Studio as well as overseeing the day-to-day operational functions of the business including the management of the office space, monitoring of contracts and relationships with external suppliers.

You will manage and grow the creative and digital team whilst working alongside the rest of the consultancy business to support client needs and new business. Working closely with the Director of Strategic and Creative Communications, Head of People and Culture and the wider Senior Management Team, you will have a clear understanding of the requirements of the business in order to plan multiple work-streams, balancing the creative vision and objectives of Studio with running an efficient, lean and effective team studio team and operations staff.

Objective Of This Role

You will have an analytical eye and manage both Studio and business operations from a strategic standpoint.
You will develop strong relationships with all parts of the business.
You will manage and resource all Studio traffic.
You will be the gatekeeper for all agency project fee proposals/contracts, ensuring Studio SOWs are detailed and priced correctly.
You will manage and monitor all Studio forecasting, reconciliation, billing and Studio related project expenses.
You will oversee the day-to-day operational functions of the agency, including management and maintenance of office space

Responsibilities

In-House Studio Department

Studio SOW and new briefs reviews.
Working with the project lead to fill in any missing info to complete the brief ready for the designers/developers
Studio resource allocation: Efficiently and effectively allocating creative resources across a variety of projects and skill sets. Ensuring consideration between designer level vs project output when resourcing. In-house Team includes a mixture of levels of graphic designers, digital designers, and web developers.
Studio capacity planning: Continuously assess the studio's capacity and workload, proactively identifying potential bottlenecks or resource shortages, and making recommendations for adjustments as needed.
Studio schedule management: Develop and manage studio schedules, balancing project deadlines, and team workloads to optimise efficiency and ensure project delivery.
Studio billing: Create and share the bi-monthly billing report with the ops team, track and monitor Studio deliverable forecasting and reconciliation against active fee proposals, flagging any inconsistencies.
Studio project expenses: Complete and share the monthly credit card report with the ops and finance team, logging each Studio and digital related project expense to the relevant project code, ensuring each expense is recharged.
Studio tools & systems: Implement and manage project management tools and software to streamline resource allocation, project tracking, and reporting processes.

Business Operations

Agency systems & processes: review and identify operational weaknesses and help improve or innovate new processes to deliver quick solutions and problem solving.
Agency practice development: lead strategic operational development of Kanda Create across the business to drive consistency and opportunity.
Agency practice marketing: aid in internally marketing our creative service offer, to raise Studio profile, win business and share knowledge across all Kanda practices.
Agency ops team: oversee the work of Kandas Operations staff, who are responsible for the management and maintenance of the office space and relationships with relevant external suppliers.
Agency GDPR: be the company point of contact for GDPR overseeing all aspects of GDPR ensuring compliance within the business whilst liaising with our outsourced Data Protection Officer for additional advice where necessary.
Agency contracts: responsible for ensuring that all client contracts are in place, ongoing monitoring and liaising with the outsourced legal advisor where necessary.

Essential Skills

5+ years of studio management and/or operational experience within an agency.
Confidence in ability to plan, schedule and manage resource and partial budgets across 100+ projects simultaneously.
Confident communicator, working with people at all levels and can develop trusted relationships between internal teams.
Proven experience in managing design and digital production processes, including resource allocation, workflow management, and ensuring timely and high-quality deliverables.
Advanced experience of utilising management systems like, Teamwork, Harvest, Float, Monday, etc.
Demonstrated ability to lead and inspire a team of designers and developers, providing guidance, feedback, and fostering a collaborative work environment.
Strong understanding of design principles, aesthetics, and industry-standard design software, enabling effective collaboration with designers and ensuring design outputs meet agency standards.
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills to identify issues, propose effective solutions, and make informed decisions to overcome challenges during the production process.
A mindset of constantly seeking opportunities to enhance processes, workflows, and efficiencies, and implementing best practices to optimise the Studio's operations and drive continuous improvement.

Reporting to:Kaylene Oliveira, Strategic and Creative Communications Director & Jen Bryan, Head of People and Culture

Salary:£45-50k (+ benefits package)

Benefits

25x days annual leave
Day off on (or around) your birthday
Summer, away day(s) and Christmas socials
Maternity and paternity leave
BUPA private medical insurance
Private pension 5:4
Income protection
EAP with Health Assured
Cycle to work scheme
Season ticket loan
£500 personal development allowance p/a

And more

Equal opportunities

Kanda is an equal opportunities employer; we encourage applications from candidates from underrepresented backgrounds to attract a diverse and inclusive workforce. We welcome applications from candidates regardless of their ethnic origin, sexual orientation, gender, disability, religious beliefs or age.

Kanda Values

Kandas values have been created by the talented people that work for Kanda. Our values underpin everything that we do, including how we work with clients, communities and colleagues.

Integrity (/?n't?gr?ti/)

To live by our values, that Kanda aims to work with partners to help create the best outcomes for the future of our places. Our integrity is what sets us apart, we are trusted by our clients and communities to be brave enough to challenge ourselves and others to demonstrate our values in all we do.

Openness (??p(?)nn?s)

To continue the Kanda spirit of candour, to listen to everyone and value all points of view, to be honest in our feedback and advice, to be ready to change, to share information and knowledge in a clear and accessible way with clients, communities and colleagues.

Inclusive (?n'klu?s?v)

To welcome everyone as they are, respecting and championing difference, to be accessible to all parts of the community, to encourage people from diverse backgrounds to become part of the Kanda team at all levels, to encourage diversity of thought and experience.

Creative (kri?'e?t?v)

To approach each project with a fresh perspective and meet challenges with enthusiasm to find innovative and interesting solutions, to engage our strategic, verbal, design, writing and technical skills and imagination for the most inspiring, best quality outputs.

Collaborative (k?'lab?r?t?v)

To work with our clients, communities and colleagues to make sure everyone takes part in the journey, sharing ideas, skills and resources in a collegiate and generous manner to create a better outcome for our places.

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