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Datafin

Head of Operations & Program Delivery – (Hybrid – Cape Town)

Datafin

  • R Undisclosed
  • Contract Senior position
  • Cape Town
  • Posted 06 May 2026 by Datafin
  • Job 2638333

About the position

ENVIRONMENT

Our client is a leading social-first agency that connects brands with influential creators to produce culturally relevant, performance-driven campaigns. The agency is scaling into its next phase of growth and is investing in the operational backbone and program-management discipline required to deliver premium work, repeatably, profitably, [Email Address Removed] role exists at a growth inflection where operational decisions and project delivery are deeply interdependent. The environment is hybrid, collaborative, and innovation-forward, embracing AI and automation as force-multipliers. The person in this role operates across NY and LA, serving as the operational bridge across all departments.

DUTIES:

  • Lead planning, execution, and delivery of major agency-wide initiatives.
  • Build detailed project roadmaps with clear owners and decision gates.
  • Proactively identify risks and implement mitigation plans.
  • Drive stand-ups, steering committees, and retrospectives.
  • Define and enforce project management methodology standards across the agency.
  • Own the selection and optimization of internal tools and tech stack.
  • Continuously refine the A-to-Z Process Playbook.
  • Eliminate bottlenecks to increase output without proportional headcount.
  • Maintain real-time team bandwidth visibility across all accounts.
  • Resolve resourcing conflicts, balancing strategic versus immediate needs.
  • Refine influencer pricing models and the deliverables calculator.
  • Monitor project budgets, gross margins, and P&L data.
  • Enforce budget adherence and flag variances early.
  • Keep the deliverables calculator aligned with market conditions.
  • Manage the end-to-end legal workflow: SOWs, reviews, redlines, scope changes.
  • Ensure compliance with FTC regulations and AI content standards.
  • Serve as operational point of contact with outside counsel.
  • Lead operationalization of AI agents across high-frequency workflows.
  • Measure and report on time and cost savings from AI integrations.
  • Continuously identify new automation opportunities.
  • Serve as the operational bridge across all departments.
  • Act as objective decision-maker for shared resource conflicts.
  • Contribute an operations-first perspective to leadership discussions.
REQUIREMENTS:

  • 7+ years in operations management, project/program management within an agency or marketing services environment.
  • Demonstrated track record of leading complex, multi-stakeholder programs from planning through delivery.
  • Strong financial acumen — comfortable with P&L statements, margin analysis, and budget management.
  • Experience managing SOW/contract workflows and familiarity with FTC advertising compliance.
  • Proven ability to manage cross-functional teams without direct reporting authority.
  • Proficiency with modern project management tools (Asana, com, Notion, Smartsheet).
  • Strong command of both Agile and Waterfall delivery methodologies.
  • Preferred: Strong operational experience in a high-stakes environment with excellent project management capabilities driving a premium team to achieve operational objectives.
  • Preferred: Hands-on experience evaluating, deploying, or managing AI/automation tools in an operational context.
  • Preferred: PMP, PgMP, or equivalent project management certification.
  • Preferred: Experience with capacity planning software or resource management platforms.
  • Preferred: Background working in a high-growth, founder-led or private-equity-backed agency environment.
ATTRIBUTES:

  • Operational Rigor:Builds systems that run without daily intervention; obsessive about documentation, repeatability, and continuous improvement.
  • Program Delivery:Consistently delivers complex, multi-stakeholder initiatives on time and within budget — even when scope shifts mid-flight.
  • Financial Acumen:Naturally thinks in margins, utilization, and ROI; translates P&L data into actionable operational decisions.
  • Cross-Functional Influence:Earns trust across departments without positional authority; resolves conflict through clarity, not escalation.
  • Tech & AI Fluency:Comfortable evaluating, adopting, and operationalizing new tools and AI workflows at speed.
  • Bias to Action:Defaults to “solve it now” over “schedule a meeting about it.”

Desired Skills:

  • Development
  • Financial Software
  • Operations

About The Employer:

Our client is a leading social-first agency that connects brands with influential creators to produce culturally relevant, performance-driven campaigns.

Datafin

About the agency

Datafin Recruitment was established in 1999 and is one of South Africa’s leading Recruitment companies. Owned and managed by two sisters Lindy and Bev Sollinger, we focus on connecting with both our clients and candidates in an authentic conscious meaningful manner. We focus on the Tech, Digital/Online, Data, Finance and HR industries.

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