A Southampton based Creative agency are looking for an Art Director with strong Design skills who can blend strategic understanding and cross-channel ideation. Your role will be to lead the creative ideation, strategy and execution for branded pitches and campaigns, to give visual direction, detail-orientated executions, project ownership and hands-on creation. It’s an opportunity that requires excellent creative skills to be able to run the process from end to end, whilst also demonstrating commercial awareness and understanding of the agencies’ ways of working.
We’re looking for a confident presenter, someone who can create a compelling narrative and articulate the creative proposition.
Working with the wider creative team, you will be responsible for overseeing everything from campaign strategy, creative direction and concept development to art direction and campaign post-production. That means doing everything from setting the strategy and creative direction, to presenting creative to senior leadership teams, all the way down to setting creative deck layouts, checking and approving designs, copy and toolkits to ensure the highest level of creative standard across the board.
In order to be able to do the role you’ll need to have a strong understanding and passion for luxury and lifestyle audiences and you’ll have an affinity for a broad range of industries including automotive, property and health & beauty. You’ll also possess a lot of current experience delivering campaigns across both print, social and digital channels.
CREATIVE RESPONSIBILITIES
* Own the creative and strategic direction of projects, in collaboration with the Creative Partner.
* Lead by example and immerse yourself within the client’s business so you can identify, understand and overcome commercial and internal challenges, inspiring and delivering the best work possible, whilst still considering the holistic needs of the brand.
* Lead and collaborate with creative and client service teams to develop considered and effective creative approaches based on current cultural insights and a good understanding of the consumer & brand.
* Be a creative and channel specialist - understand the roles, opportunities and production constraints of different content types across different channels.
* Run projects with minimal senior oversight - championing creative direction, intent and creative excellence whilst being aware of commercial pressures including resourcing, budget and profitability.
* Answer briefs with great work as a solo creative, and a great leader.
* Understand how to brief supporting specialists from designers, visualisers and developers to photographers and production partners
* Possess highly advanced communication skills to effectively present a point of view, using logic, empathy, and fact to craft a compelling narrative.
MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITIES
* Accurately scope projects alongside project managers, taking responsibility for delivering on time and within budget.
* Challenge briefs and strategies where necessary.
* Play an active role in helping Project Managers manage clients - balancing creative with production realism to set and manage expectations around projects.
* Proven ability to ideate for digital, print, out-of-home, experiential, social and film.
* Strategy writing / development – create compelling content / social / strategy proposals.
REQUIREMENTS & EXPERTISE
* Fluent in English, both written and spoken.
* Extensive experience working at a Senior Creative level, or higher, in a similar agency environment.
* Demonstrated creative success in leading collaborative multi-functional projects
* Demonstrable understanding of the retail environment, its touchpoints, and the customer mindset
* Exceptional presentation (visual and written) experience, explaining the rationale behind your ideas
* Experience in, and enthusiasm for, creating 360 campaigns from brief to delivery and beyond
* Experience in side-by-side collaboration with Art Direction, Copywriters, Animators, Design and UX teams and leaders.
* Have a strong understanding of all digital platforms
* Be fluent in In-Design, Illustrator and other Creative Suite programmes
* Full working knowledge of and experience in brand, campaigns, social and digital campaign development.
* Ability to juggle multiple projects and to delegate work efficiently.
* Ability to work independently and as a member of a team
QUALITIES & CHARACTERISTICS
* A confident self-starter and a highly motivated individual with a strong work ethic, willing to regularly go that extra mile to ensure we always deliver for our team and our clients.
* Strong attention to detail and ability to balance multiple workstreams, tasks, and deliverables.
* Ability to remain calm under pressure and bring clarity to fast-paced and at times fluid projects.
* A leader who assumes responsibility and enjoys being accountable for their work.
* An open-minded but critical thinker who is able to see opportunities as well as weigh their potential risks and rewards.
* Highly collaborative and transparent. You're not a sole contributor, but rather someone who will work with the team, where sharing knowledge and experience is second nature in order to grow together.
* You will bring energy, passion and optimism to your role and will ensure that you and those around you are motivated and enjoy working together..
* Openness to learn, collaborate, inspire and innovate.
* Ability to blend commercial awareness with passion and creative flair.
This role is based in the Southampton office four days a week, with the fifth day working from home.
Please include a link to your portfolio with your application.
Please note due to the large volume of applications we receive we cannot respond to everyone.
We are committed to ensuring and supporting representation from all backgrounds across the creative industry, irrespective of race, religion, belief, ethnicity, age, gender, sexual orientation, disability or socio-economic background.
With this in mind, we welcome applications from all areas of the community. Please do get in touch and let us know if there is any additional support or reasonable adjustments we can cater for, to ensure our process and roles fit your needs and creates a comfortable & enjoyable recruitment process.