Chief Operating Officer (COO) / Operations Director

About this role

Chief Operating Officer (COO) / Operations Director

Hawthorn Innovations — Louisville, KY (On-Site Preferred)

Hawthorn Innovations is a creative agency, production studio, custom manufacturing company, and supply chain operation all under one roof. We create premium creative campaigns, produce photo and video content, manufacture custom hospitality products at scale, build experiential environments, and ship branded products globally for some of the biggest names in food, beverage, and hospitality.

From national beverage rollouts and large-scale restaurant programs to luxury custom fabrication and experiential builds, our company moves fast and operates across multiple business verticals simultaneously.

Now we’re looking for an operational leader who can help orchestrate all of it.

This is a high-level operations leadership position focused on workflow management, organizational efficiency, accountability, communication, and scaling execution across the company.

The goal of this role is simple:

Help the company operate more efficiently day-to-day by ensuring teams are aligned, informed, accountable, and executing against priorities — allowing leadership to stay focused on growth, strategy, and major client relationships.

What You’ll Actually Do

Orchestrate Company-Wide Workflow

You’ll work directly with the owner, president, account leads, and department heads to help manage the operational flow of the business from start to finish with direct dept lead, and employee engagement.

That means translating high-level conversations, client asks, statements of work, timelines, and internal priorities into organized execution plans that teams can actually deliver against.

You’ll help ensure:

The right people are assigned to the right projectsTeams have the information they needTimelines are realistic and being followedBottlenecks are identified earlyInternal communication stays clearPriorities stay aligned across departmentsWe are utilizing human capital efficiently and responsibly

You are the connective tissue between leadership strategy and operational execution.

Manage Operational Efficiency

We operate across multiple departments simultaneously:

CreativeDesignProductionBuild/FabricationSupply ChainWarehouse & LogisticsAccounts & Client Services

You’ll help oversee workflow across all of them.

Part of this role is understanding bandwidth, human capital, scheduling realities, and operational capacity — then helping leadership make smarter decisions around priorities, staffing, timing, and resource allocation.

Build Systems That Scale

As Hawthorn grows, we need stronger systems, clearer SOPs, better accountability structures, and improved operational visibility.

You’ll help:

Improve workflowsBuild accountability systemsRefine operational processesImprove internal communication structuresHelp optimize Airtable and project tracking systemsIdentify inefficiencies before they become problems

This role is as much about operational architecture as it is daily management.

Keep Projects Moving

You will constantly be monitoring:

Is the information clear?Is the team aligned?Are timelines slipping?Does someone need support?Are we overloading certain departments?Are priorities being executed properly?Do team-members need assignments ?

You’ll proactively solve operational problems before leadership has to step in.

Help Leadership Stay Focused on Growth

One of the most important functions of this role is helping remove operational drag from leadership.

The owner should not be spending the day walking department-to-department checking statuses, solving small workflow issues, or tracking down missed communication. This role exists to create operational clarity, accountability, and momentum across the organization.

Who You Are

You’re highly organized, operationally minded, and extremely proactive. You naturally see inefficiencies, communication gaps, and workflow problems before others do.

You’re comfortable operating between leadership and execution teams. You can speak strategically with executives while also helping teams stay organized and accountable day-to-day.

You likely come from:

Agency operationsCreative operationsProduction operationsStartup operationsCOO / Director of Operations environmentsFast-moving entrepreneurial companiesHospitality, experiential, manufacturing, or logistics-heavy organizations

Most importantly, you know how to bring structure to fast-moving creative businesses without slowing them down.

The Hard Skills

5–10+ years in operations management, business operations, agency operations, or leadership rolesExperience managing workflows across multiple departments simultaneouslyStrong understanding of project management systems and operational organizationAbility to manage timelines, bandwidth, staffing priorities, and execution pipelinesExperience building or improving S