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Overview
We're seeking an experienced Program Manager, Creative Operations to be a part of the operational backbone of Instacart's Creative Studio. This is a pivotal role responsible for ensuring our creative engine runs smoothly, efficiently, and at scale. You'll be the bridge between creative excellence and operational rigor—building systems, optimizing workflows, and enabling our creative team to focus on what they do best: creating exceptional work that turns creativity into a competitive advantage for Instacart.
As the Program Manager, Creative Operations, you oversee critical operational functions across the Creative Studio, including creative resourcing, tooling strategy, business management, and program management for complex, creative-driven campaigns. This role is instrumental in bringing structure, industry best practices, and operational excellence to a fast-paced, cross-functional creative environment.
About the Job
Creative Project Management
- Lead program management for complex creative campaigns requiring coordination across multiple creative disciplines (design, video, copy, photography) and cross-functional workstreams
- Provide hands-on program management for the Creative Studio's largest, cross-functional projects where creative deliverables are on the critical path
- Manage programs requiring creative-specific vendor coordination and complex resource allocation, leveraging Creative Operations' specialized vendor relationships
- Optimize creative team efficiency and protect their ability to focus on core creative work through strategic capacity planning and resource allocation
- Develop frameworks for balancing in-house talent, agency support, and project-based contractors
Creative Studio Business Operations
- Support financial tracking and expense management for the Creative Studio
- Help forecast expenses in partnership with the Executive Creative Director and Head of Production
- Assist in projecting the cost to execute creative projects, taking into account the blended rate of in-house talent, agency support, and project-based contractors
- Support operational systems and processes that give Senior Marketing Leadership and Finance clear visibility into creative expenses
- Develop frameworks for balancing in-house talent, agency support, and project-based contractors
Operational Excellence
- Own and continuously improve end-to-end operational processes for creative work within your domain (e.g., Commercial Marketing, Consumer Marketing, and/or Brand Systems)
- Drive alignment, visibility, and accountability across the lifecycle of creative projects: from intake and prioritization through delivery and deployment
- Build and maintain dashboards, trackers, and project management tools that enable transparency across teams and functions
- Identify opportunities to scale and streamline systems and workflows across the Creative Studio
Culture and Team Engagement
- Partner with the Executive Creative Director and Head of Creative Operations to foster a positive, collaborative Creative Studio culture
- Support whole-team culture initiatives, including meeting cadences, conference attendance, and professional development opportunities
- Foster a team environment that values collaboration, accountability, and continuous improvement
About You
Minimum Qualifications
- 7+ years of experience in Creative Operations, Project Management, Production Management, or Studio Operations, ideally within a fast-paced consumer brand, tech company, or in-house creative organization
- Proven track record managing complex, high-volume creative workflows across digital and physical channels (performance marketing, brand campaigns, product launches, retail)
- Deep hands-on experience with project management platforms (e.g., Workfront, Asana, Monday.com, Airtable) and creative collaboration tools
- Demonstrated experience with creative resourcing, capacity planning, and vendor management
- Strong understanding of creative disciplines (design, video, copy, photography) and how they intersect in campaign execution
- Experience managing creative budgets, vendor relationships, and resource optimization
- Experience with Monday.com
Preferred Qualifications
- Exceptional stakeholder management and cross-functional collaboration skills—able to partner effectively with Marketing, Creative, Production, and Finance teams
- Process-oriented mindset with the ability to design, document, and implement scalable workflows that serve creative teams
- Strategic thinker who understands when to apply operational rigor vs. when to enable creative flexibility
- Strong problem-solving skills with a bias toward action and continuous improvement
- Highly organized, detail-oriented, and comfortable navigating ambiguity in a dynamic, fast-paced environment
- Excellent communication skills—able to translate between creative and business stakeholders
Instacart provides highly market-competitive compensation and benefits in each location where our employees work. This role is remote and the base pay range for a successful candidate is dependent on their permanent work location. Please review our Flex First remote work policy here. Currently, we are only hiring in the following provinces: Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia, and Nova Scotia.
Offers may vary based on many factors, such as candidate experience and skills required for the role. Additionally, this role is eligible for a new hire equity grant as well as annual refresh grants. Please read more about our benefits offerings here.
For Canadian based candidates, the base pay ranges for a successful candidate are listed below.
United States
