Senior Specialist, Brand Creative Operations, Japan

rofessional to join our Tokyo-based Marketing team. This role is pivotal in enabling bold, culturally resonant creative work that aligns with Nike's global brand standards while celebrating the unique spirit of Japanese sport and culture. Success in this role requires a deep understanding of creative processes and production workflows, along with the ability to lead teams through change. A passion for sport, relentless curiosity about consumers, and a strong grasp of Nike's brand standards are essential.

• Minimum 3 - 5 years of experience in creative operations, studio management, or production leadership.

• Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Communications, Design, or a closely related field.

• Expertise in creative workflows, production processes, and resource planning.

• Ability to drive innovation and implement new ways of working.

• Proven collaboration skills across internal and external partnerships, with managing complex projects under tight timelines and budgets.

• Demonstrated genuine passion for sport, youth culture, and innovation.

• Strong leadership and people management capabilities, including adaptability, empathy, resilience, and assertiveness.

• Proficiency in Excel and/or Airtable preferred.

• Willingness to travel up to 5-10% of the time spent working each year.

• Strong verbal and written communication skills (in both English and Japanese), tailored to various levels of seniority.

WHAT YOU'LL WORK ON

As a part of the Brand Planning & Operations Team, you will lead the daily operations of creative workstreams, focusing on resource planning, workflow optimization, and process management to enable high-quality, on-brand creative output.

• Drive proactive resource planning to balance workload, forecast capacity, and optimize team efficiency.
• Monitor project health, timelines, and resource allocation to ensure on-time delivery and stakeholder alignment. Partner with the Senior Manager, Brand Creative, to prioritize work, flag bottlenecks, and adjust timelines based on team bandwidth.
• Manage a vetted pool of creative agencies and provide recommendations on contracts, talent, casting, and budget adherence.
• Develop and implement a standardized process for all creative intake process aligned with Global and APLA geography to ensure process connectivity across the network.
• Manage the full production workflow for territory creative projects, ensuing smooth progression from intake to final delivery. Coordinate internal review rounds and consolidate feedback to minimize delays and rework.
• Lead Creative Review sessions to uphold Nike Brand Standards and legal compliance, documenting decisions and follow ups.
• Continuously improve tools and processes, including the Japan Marketing Homebase, by gathering team feedback and iterating as needed.