Responsibility: Creative Development Reports directly to: Creative Director
Reports indirectly to: Digital Director
Direct reports: Art Directors
Internal Relationships:
● Creative Team
● Strategy Team
● Account Manager
External Relationships:
● Brand Managers
● C-Level Executives
● Vendors and Third Party service providers
Position Grade: Senior Manager
As a Senior Art Director you will develop creative collateral for our campaigns by taking a brand concept and turning it into a tangible creative object.
Throughout this process, you will be held accountable for maintaining exceptional creative standards across print, collateral, direct mail, ad circulars, and web creative.
You will play an active role in internal and cross-functional brainstorming, so you must possess a wide range of creative styles and feel comfortable expressing and presenting creative rationale. You love to propose new ideas from A/B tests to better ways to get things done.
Your extensive experience in the digital space means you understand how to design winning email and display ads that catch consumers' eyes and entice them to click.
You'll be expected to stay abreast of current technological realities, and proactively incorporate them into your daily work.
Creative direction and development
● Maintain the creative direction and expectations for specific projects, ensuring
they fit the client, brand, retailer, and the overall business objectives, and are
cohesive across the entire campaign.
● Oversee multiple design projects at one time. This will include creating teams,
creating timelines, ensuring all deadlines are met, confirming clients are
satisfied with the results and troubleshooting any issues that may arise during
the duration of the project.
● Play an active role in strategic brainstorming sessions.
● Collaborate effectively with Account Management, Planning and the broader
creative team to develop disruptive and iconic work
● Present, share and review creative work with Creative Director, Account
Management and Planning Leads as well as members of the Management Team
● Develop disruptive creative that meets both our client's objectives as well as
our business objectives, maintaining the company’s expected levels of creative
excellence and professionalism
● Ideate, art direct and execute original and iconic creative concepts in response
to client briefs, objectives or goals
● Manage and delegate responsibilities to other team members
● Stay on top of all trends and maintain best practices
Expectations
● Working knowledge of promotional media vendors, as well as the ability to work with a variety of product specifications.
● Experience in an Art Director role and with formally supervising and training
employees to organize and prioritize work assignments.
● Knowledge of additional design, prototyping tools or experience with
copywriting is a plus, as is expertise in front or back-end coding, illustration,
motion graphics, video production, or photography.
● Expertise in brand development, including a strong understanding of how to
incorporate a brand throughout all aspects of a campaign.
● Ability to work well under pressure, maintaining quality and attention to detail under real-world deadlines. Self-motivated and collaborative spirit.
● Significant experience designing and concepts in a fast-paced agency or start-up setting.
● Thorough fluency with Adobe Creative Suite. Produce sketches, storyboards,
and art layouts based on creative visions and ideas
● Understanding marketing initiatives, strategic positioning and target audience
Required Qualifications
● A university degree in advertising, marketing, design, fine art or graphic design is ideal but not mandatory
● A design-related postgraduate qualification or relevant industry equivalent is an added advantage
Relevant Experience
● 7+ years of working experience as an Art director in an advertising agency.
● At least 8+ years as a professional designer
Skills & Competencies
● Demonstrable design skills with a strong portfolio
● Consistent ability to produce and communicate fresh ideas and visual concepts
● Ability to lead and motivate a team
● Great understanding of the advertising process
● Acute observation and an eye for detail
● High level of accountability and motivation.
● Strong Interpersonal, presentation, leadership and communication skills.
● Creativity and ability to delegate responsibilities.
● Time and Project management skills
KPI
Creativity and Concept Development:
Evaluation of the originality and effectiveness of creative concepts proposed.
Design Quality:
Assessment of the visual designs produced, considering aesthetics, functionality, and brand alignment.
Team Leadership:
Feedback from the creative team on the art director's ability to lead, inspire, and mentor.
Client Satisfaction:
Client satisfaction scores based on feedback surveys or ratings related to design deliverables.
Project Management:
Timely completion of design projects, adhering to budgets and client expectations.
Industry Recognition:
Recognition and awards received for outstanding creative work in the industry.
