Marketing Operations Manager - Cape Town, Bishopscourt

Main Purpose of the Job

To lead and optimise the operational engine of Pam Golding Properties' (PGP) marketing function, ensuring that all creative, print and digital production activity is delivered with excellence, efficiency and brand integrity across National, International, Regional and Franchise channels.

The Marketing Operations Manager is responsible for the planning, coordination, governance and continuous improvement of all marketing production workflows, from briefing and resourcing through to final delivery. The role ensures that the marketing team operates at peak effectiveness, that budgets are managed responsibly and that processes, systems and supplier relationships are structured to support a high-volume, high-quality output across a complex, multi-market business.

This is a hybrid role, with 2 days currently in the office.

Key Responsibilities

Marketing Operations Strategy & Leadership

• Define and lead the operational strategy for the PGP Group marketing function, ensuring processes are fit for purpose, scalable and aligned to business growth objectives.
• Act as the operational backbone of the marketing department, connecting creative, digital, brand and regional teams through efficient processes.
• Lead, develop and manage the marketing operations team, including traffic management, production coordination and administrative functions.
• Drive a culture of operational excellence, accountability and continuous improvement.
• Partner with the Head of Group Marketing and other Heads to ensure operational plans support strategic objectives.

Creative & Print Production Management

• Oversee the end-to-end production lifecycle for creative and print collateral, from brief intake through concept, production, approval and delivery.
• Manage traffic and workflow across the internal creative team, ensuring capacity is optimised, priorities are clear and deadlines met.
• Establish and maintain production standards, templates and quality benchmarks across all print and digital formats.
• Manage relationships with print suppliers, production houses and specialist print vendors, ensuring quality, competitive pricing and delivery performance.
• Oversee print procurement, including national print contracts, ad hoc print requirements and branded collateral.

Digital Production & Platforms

• Oversee the operational delivery of digital marketing assets, including email campaigns, social media content, digital advertising and web content, across group channels.
• Ensure digital production workflows are structured, briefed accurately and delivered to brand and technical standards.
• Manage the Group's marketing technology stack, including project management tools (Jira/ClickUp), digital asset management (Alchemy), template platforms (Marq) and content management systems.
• Ensure platform access, user permissions and operational governance are maintained across all marketing tools and systems.

Agency & Suppliers

• Manage and coordinate relationships with all external creative, digital and specialist marketing agencies and suppliers.
• Oversee briefing processes, SLA agreements and performance reviews for all retained and project-based agencies.
• Lead procurement processes for new agency appointments, including RFP development, evaluation and onboarding.
• Ensure all agency output meets brief requirements, brand standards and commercial objectives.

Budget & Financial Management

• Support the Head of Group Marketing with marketing budget planning, allocation and reconciliation across National, Regional, International and Franchise channels.
• Establish cost management processes to improve return on marketing spend through procurement, consolidation and efficiency.
• Approve operational expenditure within authorised thresholds and ensure compliance with financial governance requirements.

National, Regional, International & Franchise

• Serve as the operational link between National Marketing and Regional, International and Franchise marketing teams, ensuring consistent processes, briefing standards and delivery quality.
• Develop and maintain operational frameworks, briefing templates and production guidelines.
• Support franchise and regional marketing teams with operational guidance, resource planning and escalation management.
• Coordinate Group-wide campaign production, ensuring inputs from business units are managed effectively and timelines met.

Process Optimisation & Governance

• Continuously improve marketing operations processes to increase efficiency, reduce bottlenecks and improve output quality.
• Implement and maintain project management disciplines, including intake processes, briefing standards, workflow tracking and sign-off protocols.
• Ensure compliance with brand governance, legal requirements (including POPIA) and company policies across marketing activities.
• Develop and maintain SOPs for key marketing operations.

Reporting & Performance

• Track and report on operational metrics including delivery performance, production volumes, budget utilisation and SLA compliance.
• Provide regular operational reporting to the Head of Group Marketing and relevant stakeholders.
• Identify trends, inefficiencies and improvement opportunities, presenting recommendations to leadership.

Key Competencies

• Strong commercial acumen and financial management capability, experienced in budget planning, tracking and accountability.
• Deep understanding of creative and marketing production processes across print, digital and multimedia.
• Analytical mindset with the ability to use data to drive operational decisions and improvements.
• Collaborative, solutions-focused and resilient, able to operate effectively in a fast-paced, high-volume environment.

Education & Experience

• Degree in Marketing, Business Administration, Project Management or a related field.
• Minimum 10 years' experience in marketing operations, creative production or agency traffic management.
• At least 4 years in an operations or management role within a marketing, agency or media environment.
• Proven experience managing marketing budgets, suppliers and multi-channel production at scale.
• Experience working within or for a large corporate, franchise or multi-site organisation is advantageous.
• Familiarity with project management platforms (Jira, ClickUp Asana or equivalent) and digital asset management systems.
• Experience in property, retail, luxury goods or financial services is an advantage.

Knowledge & Skills Required

• Proficiency in project management and marketing operations tools (Jira, Alchemy, Marq or equivalent).
• Exceptional organisational and project management skills with the ability to manage multiple complex workstreams simultaneously.
• Excellent leadership and team management skills, able to motivate, develop and hold teams accountable.
• Strong relationship management skills across agencies, suppliers and internal stakeholders at all levels.