Operations Director

About Us

:Teeth is an award-winning creative agency with offices in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. We specialise in crafting impactful, integrated marketing campaigns for major global and regional brands. As an extension of our clients teams, we pride ourselves on delivering memorable brand experiences that leave a mark on people, brands, and culture.

Role Overview

The Head of Operations is the backbone of how :Teeth runs - owning the systems, finances, and processes that allow our creative and client teams to do their best work.

In addition to managing day to day operations, this role proactively drives operational strategy. The Operations Director is expected to independently identify operational and financial gaps, present structured recommendations to leadership, and own implementation through to completion.

The Operations Director leads operations, not just manages them. You'll spot inefficiencies before they become problems, build systems that scale, and act as a strategic partner to leadership on everything from profitability to resource planning to agency culture. You'll be the person who ensures nothing falls through the cracks - and who's always thinking about how we can run better, not just smoother.

This is a leadership role that requires commercial sharpness, operational rigour, and the confidence to own a function, not just execute tasks within it.

Key Responsibilities

Operational Leadership

• Design, implement, and continuously improve internal processes - from project workflows to compliance to onboarding.

• Own AI governance, tools and subscription strategy, including setting policies, streamlining platforms and processes, and optimising agency spend to improve productivity and output quality.

• Lead a quarterly Operations Review. Identify operational or financial issues, build a structured problem analysis deck, recommend solutions, and own implementation and follow up.

• Identify operational friction across teams and lead initiatives to fix it, bringing recommendations to leadership with clear problem/solution framing.

• Build and maintain the systems and tools that keep the agency running: resourcing, time tracking, project management, documentation.

• Act as the agency's early warning system by proactively flagging operational risks and inefficiencies before they impact delivery or profitability.

Financial Stewardship

• Own the agency's financial rhythm: forecasting, billing, project profitability, budget tracking.

• Establish and run a monthly financial check in that reviews revenue versus forecast, outstanding billings, and project profitability, ensuring no surprises for leadership.

• Design and implement a shared accountability process that gives client and creative leads visibility and ownership over project profitability.

• Provide leadership with clear, timely financial reporting - flagging risks and opportunities before they become surprises.

• Monitor project and client profitability, identifying where margins are healthy and where we're leaking.

• Manage cost control and vendor relationships, always looking for ways to improve efficiency without compromising quality.

• Audit and rationalise agency software and subscriptions regularly to ensure cost efficiency and strategic alignment.

People & Culture Operations

• Own the operational side of HR: contracts, policies, leave management, onboarding, and compliance.

• Develop and lead a quarterly People and Culture plan covering staff recognition, engagement initiatives, and workplace environment.

• Be a trusted, approachable point of contact for team members on operational and HR matters - balancing fairness, clarity, and empathy.

• Support leadership in shaping agency culture through rituals, recognition, and the rhythms of how we work together.

• Maintain a workspace that people feel proud of - clean, functional, and cared for.

Strategic Partnership & Internal Initiatives

• Act as a thinking partner to leadership, not just an executor. Bring perspective, push back when needed, and contribute to agency-wide decisions.

• Prepare clear, well-structured decks and recommendations that allow leadership to make informed decisions quickly.

• Take full ownership of internal initiatives such as awards submissions, treating them as client projects with timelines, accountability, and delivery ownership.

• Anticipate challenges and plan ahead, rather than only responding to issues as they arise.

Regional Coordination

• Support operational alignment between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, ensuring shared processes and consistent standards.

• Gradually extend proactive operational leadership practices regionally as systems mature in Singapore.

• Partner with the Malaysia team on operational matters, providing guidance and support as needed.

Must-Have Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience managing operations within a creative agency environment.

• Strong financial literacy: comfortable with forecasting, budgeting, P&L tracking, and profitability analysis.

• Proven ability to build and improve processes - you've made things run better somewhere, not just kept them running.

• Excellent organisational skills and attention to detail, with the ability to manage multiple priorities without dropping balls.

• Clear, confident communication - able to hold people accountable while maintaining trust and respect.

• Sound judgement and discretion, particularly when handling sensitive HR or financial matters.

• Proficiency in core operational tools (Google Workspace, project management software, basic financial systems).

• A proactive mindset: you see problems coming and move to fix them before being asked.