At Orgill, creativity is not simply about making things look good. It plays an important role in helping thousands of independent retailers grow, supporting major business initiatives, strengthening brands, and bringing meaningful customer experiences to life.
We’re looking for a Senior Manager, Creative Studio to lead the people, operations, and performance of Orgill’s evolving in-house creative team.
This role is for someone who enjoys building—not only creative work, but also teams, processes, capabilities, and culture.
You will lead a multidisciplinary group supporting Orgill, independent retailers, CNRG brands, major events, private brands, digital experiences, and strategic business initiatives. You will help create the clarity, structure, and support the team needs to consistently deliver excellent work while continuing to grow professionally.
Working closely with the Director of Brand Strategy, you will translate business and brand priorities into an effective creative operating model. You will oversee talent development, workflow, resource planning, creative quality, studio systems, and continuous improvement.
This is an opportunity to help shape what a modern, high-performing Creative Studio can become.
As Senior Manager, Creative Studio, you will serve as the day-to-day leader of the creative organization.
You will balance people leadership with operational excellence—developing employees, improving workflow, establishing clear standards, and ensuring the team has the tools and support needed to do its best work.
You will also help build the studio for the future by strengthening career paths, onboarding, training, technology adoption, resource planning, and scalable ways of working.
This role is ideal for a leader who understands creative work but is equally energized by developing people, solving operational challenges, and creating an environment where others can succeed.
- Lead, coach, and develop a multidisciplinary team of designers, writers, digital specialists and video producers.
- Conduct regular one-on-one meetings, performance reviews, and development conversations.
- Establish clear expectations and provide direct, constructive feedback.
- Support hiring, onboarding and career development.
- Build an engaged, collaborative, accountable, and inclusive team culture.
- Help employees identify growth opportunities and strengthen both creative and professional skills.
- Lead the day-to-day operation and continued evolution of the Creative Studio.
- Establish clear priorities, expectations, roles, and ways of working.
- Partner with project leads as they guide assigned business portfolios and major initiatives.
- Create an environment that supports creativity, collaboration, ownership, and continuous improvement.
- Help the studio operate as a trusted strategic partner to the business.
- Oversee creative intake, prioritization, assignment, workflow, and delivery.
- Balance workloads across the team while maintaining quality and reasonable capacity.
- Identify bottlenecks, risks, and resource gaps before they affect delivery.
- Develop scalable processes that improve clarity, speed, and consistency.
- Lead annual capacity planning and recommend staffing, freelance, agency, or technology needs.
- Establish meaningful studio performance measures related to workload, turnaround time, quality, and service.
- Partner with project leads to maintain high standards across print, digital, events, presentations, retail, video, and other channels.
- Establish effective creative review and quality-control practices.
- Ensure work aligns with brand standards, project objectives, and audience needs.
- Support the development of templates, design systems, creative standards, and reusable resources.
- Encourage innovation while maintaining consistency and production excellence.
- Build onboarding programs, training resources, process documentation, and knowledge-sharing practices.
- Improve the organization and accessibility of creative assets, templates, and team resources.
- Evaluate tools and technologies that improve creative quality, collaboration, and efficiency.
- Guide the thoughtful adoption of AI, automation, and emerging creative workflows.
- Help the team build capabilities that support future business and customer needs.
- Work closely with Brand Strategy, Marketing, Events, Marketing Services, Communications, Sales, Technology, and other business partners.
- Translate strategic priorities into clear resource and execution plans.
- Communicate capacity, risks, timelines, and recommendations with transparency.
- Help clarify roles and responsibilities across creative and partner teams.
- Serve as a trusted advisor on creative operations, team capability, and execution planning.
- Building a creative team that is engaged, accountable, collaborative, and proud of its work.
- Developing employees through meaningful coaching, feedback, and growth opportunities.
- Creating clearer workflows, ownership, and prioritization across the studio.
- Improving operational efficiency without sacrificing creative quality.
- Establishing scalable systems that support long-term growth.
- Building strong partnerships across the organization.
- Helping the Creative Studio become a more strategic, modern, and effective business partner.
- Are energized by developing people and helping others succeed.
- Understand creative work but do not need to personally own every creative decision.
- Bring structure and clarity to complex, fast-moving environments.
- Know how to balance quality, capacity, deadlines, and business priorities.
- Communicate directly, thoughtfully, and professionally.
- Are comfortable making decisions and addressing performance concerns.
- Enjoy improving systems, processes, and ways of working.
- Lead with empathy while maintaining strong accountability.
- Are curious about AI, automation, and the future of creative work.
- Want to help build an evolving creative organization rather than simply maintain an existing one.
- Demonstrated success leading multidisciplinary creative teams in an agency or in-house environment.
- Strong experience with people leadership, coaching, performance management, and employee development.
- Deep understanding of creative workflow, project intake, prioritization, resource planning, and studio operations.
- Strong knowledge of integrated marketing, branding, design, and creative production.
- Ability to manage competing priorities and make sound resource decisions.
- Excellent communication, facilitation, relationship-building, and conflict-resolution skills.
- Experience developing processes, operating standards, and performance measures.
- Familiarity with Adobe Creative Cloud, Canva, Asana, proofing platforms, asset-management systems, and collaborative creative tools.
- Understanding of AI, automation, and emerging creative technologies.
- Bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design, Marketing, Communications, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.
- 8-10 or more years of professional creative experience.
- 5 or more years leading creative teams or studio operations.
- Experience working within an in-house agency, external agency, or multi-brand organization.
- Demonstrated success developing talent, improving operations, and leading teams through change.
- Experience supporting a broad mix of print, digital, retail, event, video, and brand work is preferred.
- Lead a talented, multidisciplinary creative team.
- Help shape the structure, culture, and future of an evolving in-house studio.
- Work across corporate branding, retail marketing, events, digital experiences, private brands, and strategic initiatives.
- Build systems and capabilities that will have visible, long-term organizational impact.
- Support work that helps independent businesses and communities across the country thrive.
- Partner closely with leaders across marketing, brand strategy, events, sales, and technology.
Bring your leadership. Bring your ideas. Help us build what’s next.
Orgill is the world’s largest independent hardlines distributor and a trusted partner to thousands of independently owned hardware stores, home centers, pro dealers, and farm stores across North America and beyond.
For more than 175 years, we have helped independent retailers compete and grow through products, services, education, technology, and innovative business solutions.
Behind the scenes, our creative and marketing teams help bring that mission to life—supporting dealer growth, major events, national campaigns, retail marketing programs, private brands, digital experiences, and corporate storytelling.
This is an opportunity to lead a team helping shape the future of retail support.
Equal Opportunity Employer
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