Job Description

Creative Director

Reports To: Jess Lovell, ECD

Position Summary: 

Creative Directors at Grizzly are dynamic agency leaders who drive the creative vision and process across multiple teams and projects. They champion creative problem-solving, lead and contribute to creative work on cross-disciplinary projects, and elevate agency work and experience. Creative Directors collaborate with clients and Grizzly team members to solve big business challenges with bold creative solutions. S/he makes strategic decisions on behalf of Grizzly’s project teams, provides key feedback to the delivery team, and works closely with clients to ensure that every deliverable meets/exceeds their needs and expectations.

The Creative Director is responsible for overseeing versatile portfolios of client business, coaching and developing creative team members, and interacting with key clients and senior stakeholders. S/he will effectively manage a diverse team while prioritizing work and resources across engagements based on short-term and long-term needs, including timelines, budgets, and staffing.

Candidates for this role should have extensive experience in design concept and art direction, brand and campaign creative direction, and designing brand and campaign systems Creative Directors (Design) at Grizzly learn our clients’ business with tremendous depth, often working through complex product and business challenges, and translating the human/consumer benefit into simple, smart ideas. The ideal candidate must have experience in creative direction, design direction, and concept development/design, both as an individual contributor and in a team capacity, across all mediums. The role requires the ability to confidently interact with and present their work to key clients and internal stakeholders. Must have strong experience with B2B or technology brands. This role requires proficiency in all Adobe Creative Cloud design applications and a deep understanding and experience designing, collaborating, and prototyping in Figma.

Essential Functions:

Lead, Coach and Develop Creative Team:

• Attract, develop and retain top creative talent.
• Inspire and motivate the team creatively with high expectations, accountability, and support.
• Provide clear creative direction/guidance and timely and constructive feedback to optimize creative processes and deliver excellent work on time and on budget. 
• Deliver ongoing coaching, feedback and performance reviews—providing team members with opportunities to grow and thrive creatively.
• Determine staffing plans and overall reporting structure for the team.
• Manage allocation of talent for new business pitches and ensure staffing requirements are met.
• Identify and hire/train the next level of creative management.

Collaborate, Motivate and Sell to Clients:

• Promote and facilitate a culture of collaboration between the agency and clients.
• Listen to and synthesize client feedback in a way that benefits the work.
• Ensure creative objectives and approaches align with both agency and client goals.
• Deliver forward-thinking solutions that meet our clients’ strategic needs.
• Lead creative for new business and help pitch new business.
• Develop relationships with key clients.
• Present and sell great creative work to clients.

Advocate, Prioritize and Improve Creative Work/Process:

• Prioritize work and resources across engagements based on short-term and long-term needs, including timelines, budgets, and availability change.
• Partner with CCO on creative operations to ensure that all processes, tools, expectations, and products are in keeping with the ideals set forth for the agency and our clients.
• Foster ongoing improvements in creative processes and methodologies.
• Lead the development of outcome-focused work, providing solutions to client problems, in addition to great creative work.
• Ensure that Grizzly is consistently creating leading-edge ideas and campaigns.
• Maintain the highest of standards for all creative and production outputs.
• Act as a partner to fellow leadership team members, engaging in constructive critiques in service of the best ideas for our brands.
• Create understanding, expertise, and discipline within the creative department and agency on its use.
• Ensure representation of work in key industry competitions.

Qualifications: 

• 7+ years experience in client-facing, creative leadership role in an agency environment, 3+ years experience working directly with B2B clients
• 5+ years experience in growing, managing and inspiring internal teams.
• Highly motivated, with proven skills in advertising, collateral, identity, or interactive design.
• Strong working knowledge of fundamentals—design, copy, creative process, etc.
• Deep understanding of how brands work, from a business perspective, with proven ability to develop concepts providing client solutions and sell creative ideas to clients.
• Expert presentation skills that encompass clear, compelling communications to all-levels internally and externally.
• Confident salesperson, adept at supporting and selling their ideas, both internally to the team and externally to the client via thorough education on the strategy and creative.
• Plans and carries out job responsibilities with minimal direction.
• Handles stressful situations and deadlines with grace under pressure.
• Excellent interpersonal, verbal and written communication skills.
• Able to manage and prioritize multiple business initiatives in an entrepreneurial environment. 
• Expert knowledge of all functional agency departments, capabilities and service areas.
• Deep understanding of a wide range of industries, markets and brands, and what it takes to stand out and service them.
• Proven ability to work cross-functionally with all agency personnel in developing plans, recommendations, and deliverables.

Work Requirements:

• Southern California or Atlanta based work preferred, but remote will be considered
• Flexibility with schedule to meet client commitments.
• Domestic and international travel may be required.

Disclaimer:

The above job description is meant to describe the general nature and level of work being performed. It is not an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and skills required for the position. Employees will be required to follow any other job-related instructions and to perform other job-related duties requested by their supervisor in compliance with Federal and State Laws. 

All job requirements are subject to possible modification to reasonably accommodate individuals with disabilities. Some requirements may exclude individuals who pose a direct threat or significant risk to the health and safety of themselves or other employees. 

Requirements are representative of minimum levels of knowledge, skills and/or abilities. To perform this job successfully, the employee must possess the abilities or aptitudes to perform each duty proficiently. Continued employment remains on an “at-will” basis. 

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