The Practice Architect II – Strategic Operations is a leadership role responsible for architecting, integrating, and optimizing the operational frameworks, technical workflows, process automation, governance models, and advanced work management solutions that drive scalable, high-quality service delivery for our clients.
In this position, you will lead cross-functional teams and client stakeholders across large, complex, and distributed portfolios that span multiple clients and significant books of business. You will combine deep business expertise with strong technical acumen to design robust, repeatable operational solutions that leverage best-in-class tools, integrated workflows, and data-driven insights to deliver measurable business value and scalable efficiency.
This role requires a proven track record of leading large-scale, cross-functional teams through operational transformation initiatives, expertise in defining and operationalizing key performance indicators and metrics frameworks, and hands-on experience implementing and customizing work management platforms.
This role will ideally be based in the Chicago area, but we are open to remote locations across the U.S.
Responsibilities
- Develop a comprehensive understanding of clients’ ecosystems, business objectives, challenges, and technical requirements.
- Define and lead an integrated operational strategy aligned with our organization’s vision, priorities, and growth objectives.
- Design and maintain scalable operational architectures, governance models, and process frameworks to ensure efficiency, consistency, and compliance.
- Oversee the technical tool stack and customize Work Management systems to enable automation, visibility, and collaboration, including developing bespoke configurations, templates, automation scripts, and API integrations.
- Define key performance indicators and build automated reporting dashboards to measure portfolio performance and deliver actionable insights for stakeholders and executive leadership.
- Establish standard operating procedures, governance guidelines, and best practices for service excellence and continuous improvement.
- Act as a subject matter expert on operational transformation and process improvement.
- Serve as a senior escalation point and proactively identify and mitigate operational and technical risks; develop contingency plans and escalation protocols for critical issues.
- Conduct regular process audits, tool stack reviews, and operational health checks by using data to recommend improvements and drive optimization.
- Contribute to financial forecasting, scenario planning, and pipeline management to align operational capacity and resources with strategic growth objectives.
- Develop and maintain reusable intellectual property (IP), templates, playbooks, and standards to accelerate future engagements and create standardization across accounts.
- Lead change management and user adoption initiatives.
- Support resource and capacity planning efforts to balance workload across large, multi-faceted programs.
- Support sales and business development by providing operational insights, solution recommendations, and estimations for proposals/SOWs.
- Foster a collaborative and transparent team culture, mentor and develop team, and celebrate successes to promote a culture of excellence, innovation, and continuous improvement.
- Identify opportunities to expand operational services and deliver value to clients.
Skills & Qualifications
- 10 or more years of progressive experience in operational architecture, strategic operations, or business process optimization within large, complex environments
- 5 or more years of experience working within a creative agency, digital production, or comparable digital delivery environment
- Proven expertise in designing, implementing, and scaling operational frameworks, technical workflows, governance models, and process standards
- Excellent conceptual and analytical thinking; able to translate complex business requirements into robust technical and operational solutions
- Advanced skills in workflow and portfolio management platforms (Asana, Workfront, Jira, etc.), including configuration, integration, automation design, and custom implementation
- Strong experience developing and operationalizing KPIs, metrics frameworks, reporting pipelines, and automated dashboards; proficient in data analysis and performance insights
- Proficiency in risk governance and capacity management for multi-program portfolios
- Demonstrated ability to architect solutions, pitch strategies, and manage workflows for onshore, nearshore, and offshore teams
- Proven success establishing, leading, and scaling high-performing, collaborative, cross-functional teams across geographically distributed environments
- Strong knowledge of the full creative lifecycle and production principles: strategy, design, front-end development, integration, quality assurance, and analytics fundamentals
- Outstanding communication, stakeholder engagement, and presentation skills; able to influence and collaborate effectively at all levels, including executive leadership
- Proven ability to drive change, foster a culture of continuous improvement, and lead user adoption for new tools and processes
- Highly organized, proactive, and adept at managing multiple priorities in a dynamic, fast-paced environment
- Agency or vendor experience required; global experience is a plus
- Relevant certifications such as PMP, Lean Six Sigma, CBAP, and workflow tool certifications (e.g., Asana, Workfront) strongly desired
- Bachelor’s degree in Business Management, Information Systems, Operations Management, or a related field preferred, but not required
Benefits
- Our comprehensive benefits program includes Blue Cross Blue Shield PPO Health coverage, as well as a health savings account with employer-funded contributions.
- We also offer Dental and Vision insurance. All of our full-time employees are eligible for Life/AD&D insurance and Short/Long Term Disability insurance free of cost, with the option to add additional voluntary coverage if desired.
- One North’s 401(k) plan allows employees to save for retirement through pre- or post-tax contributions along with employer-matched funds for maximized savings potential.
- Our Transportation Benefits enable employees to also make pre-tax contributions to pay for parking and public transit needs.
- We know how important unwinding can be for inspiration, innovation and productivity. Our full-time employees earn 4 weeks of paid time off, in addition to company paid holidays. Employees begin to accrue additional time off once they reach their 3-year and 10-year anniversaries with the business.
- One North also understands how critical it is for parents to bond with their new additions. We provide paid Parental and Primary Caregiver Leave to assist and support employees who experience a new birth, adoption or foster placement of a child.
- We also offer an Employee Perks Program that offers member-only discounts and corporate rates on everything from pizza and the zoo, to movie tickets, car rentals, and hotels.
We reserve the right to pay above or below the base salary range of $148,200-$222,400 based on factors unrelated to sex, race, or any other protected classification.
Additional earnings may be available through incentive programs like annual bonuses, profit sharing, etc.
Please click on the following link to learn more about our full-time internal employment benefits: https://www.teksystems.com/en/careers/benefits.
The expected posting close date is July 11, 2025.
**Clicking the Apply now button will redirect you to apply on TEKsystems.com.
