Director, Photo Studio and Warehouse Operations

Our Company

Founded in 1956, Williams-Sonoma, Inc. is the premier specialty retailer of high-quality products for the kitchen and home in the United States. Our family of brands are Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, PBteen, West Elm, Williams-Sonoma Home, Rejuvenation, and Mark and Graham. These brands are among the best known and most respected in the industry. We offer beautifully designed, stylish and functional products for every area of the home, including the kitchen, living room, bedroom, home office, closet, laundry room and even outdoor spaces. We've seen some big changes since our first brick-and-mortar store opened more than half of a century ago. What hasn't changed is our passion for high-quality products, functional design, outstanding customer service, and enhancing the lives of our customers and the communities where we operate. Today, we're a multi-brand, multi-channel, global enterprise supported by state-of-the-art technology and some of the most talented teams in retailing - and we're always looking for new energy and ideas.

Position Summary

The Director Photo Studio Operations is responsible for overseeing the daily operations of the photography studio. The role is responsible for managing all aspects of the production of in- house photography including managing the production team, managing budgets, establishing efficient processes, directing the schedule and master photo calendar, overseeing digital and lifestyle photo production, managing photo sample inventory and the warehouse facility. This role is strategy, efficiencies, metric, and operations driven.

The Director of Photo Studio Operations establishes the production strategy in line with evolving business needs and communicates a clear road map to leadership. The strategy establishes and evolves procedures, utilizes systems to ensure efficient planning, balances team capacity, integrates budget wisely, and ensures studio operations run efficiently and effectively. You collect and analyze data to drive process improvements and new initiatives and regularly report out to leadership the performance metrics of the studio, partnering with the Photo director to continually improve efficiencies and use the budget in the most resourceful way. You proactively create cross functional partnerships to ensure best practices for shared resources, align calendars, and lead initiatives. You are a strong leader of people and bring out the best in your team to achieve results and support the growth of the brand.

This position requires the ability to excel in a fast- paced environment where change is a constant element, the ability to multi- task, demonstrate a strong business acumen, model leadership standards, and possess great collaborative and communication abilities. This leader will provide vital day to day support to the production team at the studio and develop a strong partnership with merchandising, DTC, and the finance teams.

Specific Responsibilities

• Planning, execution, and overseeing the photo studio operations --ensure operational excellence.
• Work force and workflow planning for internal production crew and roster of freelance talent of photographers, stylists, retouchers, assistants, and merchandise coordinators.
• Set goals for operational efficiency and evolve practices in line with company goals and oversee the execution of these goals.

• Create, manage, and maintain a strategic studio budget; maintain relationships with vendors; handle contract negotiations, quarterly, and annual budget review process. Ensure the most efficient use of the creative budget.

• Identify existing process bottlenecks and deploy scalable improvements through internal analysis and cross functional partnership.

• Provide daily supervision as well as mentoring, training, development, and performance management of the studio production team of three producers and two warehouse associates.
• Create robust training and production standards that are updated as business needs evolve.
• Regularly report production metrics and share process improvement initiatives to leadership. Be ahead of shot count growth and anticipate resource needs to support the business.
• Create strong partnerships with brand leaders to deliver yearly brand goals.
• Oversee the Studio facility with a focus on tight photo sample management, inventory, and auditing.

Qualifications

• Five (5) or more years of prior photography studio or related leadership experience.

• Previous full cycle management experience required--recruitment and selection, growth and development, performance management in conjunction with Creative Director.

• Ability to organize time and meet deadlines with urgency, manage multiple workflows, teams and prioritize effectively.

• Detail-oriented with the ability to juggle varying priorities simultaneously.

• Strategic capability to identify existing process bottlenecks and quick deployment of scalable improvements.

• Demonstrated experience of successfully leading team through change and growth.

• Ability to prioritize and manage multiple projects at once in a deadline-driven environment.

• Strategic and analytic approach to problem solving.

• Ability to influence and build successful working relationships with diverse set of partners, priorities, and strong communication skills.

• Proven track record in hiring, managing, and building strong operational teams.

• Self-motivated and demonstrates strong leadership experience and business acumen.

• Proven success in creating budgets and managing the end- to -end budget process with a strong attention to detail and discipline.

• Proficiency of Adobe Creative Suite and Microsoft Office programs.

• Requires use of personal transportation.

• On site role Monday- Friday

Personal Competencies

Global Business Acumen - Understand the complexity of business on a global scale. Embrace cultural and individual differences with empathy. Work with the nuances of specific local cultures to make informed decisions.

Strategic and Analytical Capability -- Ability to think globally, strategically, and objectively. Effectively translates data into actionable insights, strategies and financial plans.

Leading Teams -- Attracts, develops and motives the talent needed for current and future business requirements. Articulates an inspiring vision for the future, establishes high performance expectations and sets example through own behavior. Ensures alignment of individual goals with overall business objectives. Coaches team members to success and holds individuals accountable for achieving results.