Senior Manager, Brand Creative

Company Description

CREATIVITY IS OUR SUPERPOWER. It’s our heritage and it’s also our future. Because we don’t just make toys. We create innovative products and experiences that inspire fans, entertain audiences and develop children through play. Mattel is at its best when every member of our team feels respected, included, and heard—when everyone can show up as themselves and do their best work every day. We value and share an infinite range of ideas and voices that evolve and broaden our perspectives with a reach that extends into all our brands, partners, and suppliers.

The Team:

Mattel’s Brand Creative team is responsible for driving best-in-class strategic and creative thought leadership in the development and execution of best-in-class global marketing campaigns, activations and assets that consistently communicate the distinct and powerful identity of the Mattel Masterbrand and other Mattel IP across all internal and external touchpoints.

Job Description

The Opportunity: 

Mattel’s Brand Creative team is looking for a Sr. Manager, Account Management to lead account strategy and operations across both the Mattel Masterbrand and Mattel Creations.

This role sits at the center of the business, connecting Global Brand Teams (GBT), Marketing, Creative, and external agency partners to ensure work is strategically grounded, operationally sound, and executed at the highest level.

You will oversee the full lifecycle of creative work, from brief through delivery, while managing agency scopes, budgets, and workflows across a growing and highly visible portfolio.

What Your Impact Will Be: 

Account Leadership & Cross-Functional Integration

• Serve as the central account lead across Mattel Brand and Mattel Creations, ensuring alignment across GBTs, Marketing, Creative, and Production
• Act as a trusted partner to cross-functional teams, maintaining a clear understanding of business priorities, timelines, and deliverables
• Lead regular touchpoints with global brand teams to intake needs, clarify priorities, and ensure strong upstream planning
• Drive clarity, focus, and accountability across multiple concurrent workstreams

Creative Briefing & Strategic Intake

• Lead development of clear, insight-driven creative briefs that set teams and agency partners up for success
• Partner with Marketing and Brand to translate business needs into actionable creative direction
• Ensure all work ladders up to broader brand strategy and campaign objectives
• Establish consistent briefing standards and intake processes across the organization

Agency Management & Scoping

• Own relationships with external agency partners across all scopes of work (creative, social, ecomm, activations, bespoke)
• Lead scoping conversations, define deliverables, and ensure resources align to business needs
• Oversee agency workflows to ensure efficiency, clarity, and quality of output
• Partner with Creative leadership to guide agency direction and maintain a high bar for execution

Financial Oversight & Resourcing

• Manage budgets across all accounts in close collaboration with Marketing leadership
• Oversee forecasting, scoping, and ongoing financial tracking across projects and retainers
• Identify opportunities to optimize spend, improve efficiency, and balance internal vs. external resources
• Ensure financial transparency and accountability across all lines of business

Operational Excellence

• Establish and evolve processes that enable scalable, consistent ways of working across Mattel Brand Creative
• Drive timelines, prioritization, and workflow management across a complex, matrixed organization
• Partner closely with Project Management and Production to ensure work is delivered on time and on budget
• Create visibility into project status and key milestones for stakeholders at all levels

Executive Communication & Visibility

• Develop and present clear, concise updates to senior and executive leadership
• Navigate a high-visibility environment with confidence, professionalism, and strong point of view
• Anticipate needs, flag risks early, and drive solutions proactively

Qualifications

What We’re Looking For:

• 8–12+ years of experience in account management, marketing, or agency leadership roles
• Agency experience required, with strong understanding of integrated campaigns and creative workflows
• Proven ability to manage complex, multi-stakeholder projects across global teams
• Strong financial acumen, including scoping, budgeting, and forecasting
• Exceptional communication skills, with the ability to engage and influence executive stakeholders
• Strategic thinker who can connect business objectives to creative outcomes
• Highly organized, detail-oriented, and comfortable operating in a fast-paced, evolving environment
• Natural collaborator who builds strong relationships across teams and functions

• Reporting Details:

• The Sr. Manager will be overseeing ALL projects and lines of the business. They will be responsible for all new agency scopes, budgeting, and account management and strategy across all of the team’s lines of business.
• The Manager will be leading both external agencies (NEMO / Think Jam) on scope and asset management across Ecomm, social and Mattel creations bespoke specifically.

*The pay range is indicative of projected hiring range, however base pay will be determined based on a candidate’s work location, skills and experience. Mattel offers competitive total pay programs, comprehensive benefits, and resources to help empower a culture where every employee can reach their full potential. 

Additional Information

Don’t meet every single requirement? At Mattel, we are dedicated to an inclusive workplace and a culture of belonging. If you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we still encourage you to apply. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles. Join Mattel's Talent Community and start receiving exciting updates about our company, our employees, and our culture. Also, interested in signing up for job alerts? Do so here!

How We Work:
We are a purpose driven company aiming to empower generations to explore the wonder of childhood and reach their full potential. We live up to our purpose employing the following behaviors:

• We collaborate: Being a part of Mattel means being part of one team with shared values and common goals. Every person counts and working closely together always brings better results. Partnership is our process and our collective capabilities is our superpower.
• We innovate: At Mattel we always aim to find new and better ways to create innovative products and experiences. No matter where you work in the organization, you can always make a difference and have real impact. We welcome new ideas and value new initiatives that challenge conventional thinking.
• We execute: We are a performance-driven company. We strive for excellence and are focused on pursuing best-in-class outcomes. We believe in accountability and ownership and know that our people are at their best when they are empowered to create and deliver results.

Who We Are:
Mattel is a leading global toy and family entertainment company and owner of one of the most iconic brand portfolios in the world. We engage consumers and fans through our franchise brands, including Barbie, Hot Wheels, Fisher-Price, American Girl, Thomas & Friends, UNO, Masters of the Universe, Matchbox, Monster High, MEGA and Polly Pocket, as well as other popular properties that we own or license in partnership with global entertainment companies. Our offerings include toys, content, consumer products, digital and live experiences. Our products are sold in collaboration with the world’s leading retail and ecommerce companies. Since its founding in 1945, Mattel is proud to be a trusted partner in empowering generations to explore the wonder of childhood and reach their full potential.

Mattel’s award-winning workplace culture has been recognized by Forbes, Fast Company, Newsweek, Great Place to Work, TIME, and more.

Visit us at https://jobs.mattel.com/ and www.instagram.com/MattelCareers.

Mattel is an Equal Opportunity Employer where we want you to bring your authentic self to work every day. We welcome all job seekers, and all applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, ethnicity, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, veteran and protected veteran status, disability status, and or any other basis protected by applicable federal, state or local law.

Pursuant to the Los Angeles Fair Chance Ordinance and the California Fair Chance Act, qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment.

Videos to watch:
The Culture at Mattel
Corporate Philanthropy