Creative Director

Position: Creative Director

Reports To: Managing Director / Partners

Job Details: Full-time

Salary: $135,000 - $200,000

Location: Remote or in-studio in Boulder, CO or Austin, TX

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ABOUT US‍

Interact is a branding agency that connects deep industry knowledge with data driven insights to produce wildly effective design systems. Our work connects the dots between design and culture, between creativity and community. We are a small, fast-paced agency that runs on hustle and passion and are constantly seeking hardworking, self-starting thought-leaders who can focus and thrive in a creative environment. Interact-ers enjoy a flexible remote-hybrid environment with [optional] offices in Boulder and Austin.


Do you want to join a growing creative studio where culture and design come together? Let’s see if this opportunity is right for you [or someone you know! 


POSITION OVERVIEW

The Creative Director's primary responsibility will be to lead and manage our creative team, as well as creative projects within the studio. Our CD is a key member of the Interact leadership team and will drive the agencies’ creative vision and contribute to forward progress and growth at the studio. 

As the Creative Director you will work alongside the strategy team to ensure we’re building solid launching points with a proper bridge to creative and the account team to develop & build strong client relationships as well as ensure our output is on schedule and mirrors the stated business and engagement goals.

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KEYS TO SUCCESS 

  • Exceptional creative vision & ability to lead / push a team toward that vision
  • Ability to foster meaningful relationships with a range of clients
  • Strategic thinker that can develop work which is both wildly creative & effective 
  • Ability to push and get buy-in from clients
  • Deep design, branding & packaging experience with passion for building world-class brands
  • Motivated to build a department 
  • Ability to optimize creative team roles, processes, workflow & best practices.
  • Desire to build something great with a growing agency; you will not be a COG in the wheel, you’ll be our fearless leader

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REQUIREMENTS 

  • 10+ years of design &/or branding agency experience with 2+ years in a director-level / manager position
  • Experience with CPG and packaging
  • Previous experience managing a team of skilled designers and desire to mentor and develop team members
  • Strong communication and presentation skills with experience interacting with clients at senior and executive levels

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RESPONSIBILITIES

Creative Leadership:

  • Lead creative projects in the studio
  • Work closely with strategic leadership to help craft and define the brand strategy for all relevant client projects
  • Define and lead the design strategy on all relevant projects
  • Facilitate creative crits and ideation sessions for projects being lead
  • Support the organizational structure of the creative team
  • Coauthor creative processes and protocols with other Creative Director(s)
  • Work with the Managing Director to ensure the Creative Department is fulfilling the needs of the agency.
  • Think beyond the brief for every imaginable environment, and in every medium
  • Collaborate with Creative Leadership (CDs, DDs) to learn from and teach on internal and external initiatives.
  • Identify & address areas to breakdown & rebuild from processes to creative
  • Co-author and develop the Interact Brief and process
  • Co-develop the Interact creative philosophy and principles
  • Be actively involved in the development of best-in-class case studies

Mentorship & Team Management:

  • Establish check-ins with design staff, inquire on their progress, goals, providing feedback, and maintaining open communication
  • Give timely project-related feedback to aid in individual development
  • Ensure the creative team is able to meet client needs, and that the studio is meeting the creative employees needs
  • Motivate and develop the creative team at all levels by celebrating wins and coaching with feedback
  • Have long-term vision in managing creative bandwidths and plan needs accordingly.
  • Encourage the creative team to voice opinions to enhance critique and improve the work.
  • Develop and foster relationships with world-class resources (illustrators, photographers, typographers, retouchers, motion designers, copywriters, etc.)
  • Circulate 360 feedback review documents and compile for creative reviews
  • Provide constructive and timely performance feedback
  • Address employee performance issues and support their development
  • Conduct interviews and make hiring decisions
  • Encourage team members to share their ideas and opinions about creative work and drive their ideas forward
  • Establish truthful and honest critique that will support the goal of better work.
  • Manage creative team bandwidth and plan annual hiring needs for creative team with the Managing Director
  • Help build a strong roster of freelancers 

Client Relationships:

  • Champion efforts toward creating work that meets aligned-upon client success metrics
  • Confidently and effectively present to all audiences (from multinationals to entrepreneurs)
  • Be an effective guide to our clients, understanding when to make recommendations and persuade in service of producing successful, best-in-class work and strong relationships
  • Develop strong client relationships and push enviable and effective work through the studio and get buy-in from clients

Leadership Team:

  • Author yearly departmental objectives & tactics and work with the managing director to ensure expectations are met in services of impacting agency goals
  • Partner with Strategy Director to bridge strategy and creative and ensure that the narrative we are are telling is compelling and ladders back into client goals
  • Partner with the account team to develop and build client relationships, make sure clients are aware of the goals and needs of the creative team and that all timelines and deliverables are completed on schedule 
  • Identify areas that we can creatively push the studio and develop focus spaces that help us act on those pushes
  • Support new business initiatives as needed 
  • Champion efforts toward achieving our yearly agency goals
  • Be an active part and inspire through thought leadership at Interact
  • Rewrite the creative culture to foster inspiration, knowledge and knowhow and overall employee development
  • Critically approach internal communications
  • Establish the cross functional relationship between creative, account, and strategy team


BENEFITS

  • Highly competitive health care & dental coverage
  • Paid maternity/paternity leave
  • MacBook laptops & necessary equipment provided
  • Remote work flexibility with hybrid pet-friendly offices in Boulder + Austin
  • Open vacation policy
  • Sick days
  • 4+ weeks paid holiday closures including Interact Disconnect Day
  • Summer Fridays - studio closes at 1PM MST
  • Mind Reset Stipend 
  • Access to a 401K plan and company match
  • Professional development opportunities
  • Ability to make an impact at a growing company working with well-known brands

SALARY

$135,000 - $200,000

Starting base salary depends on a variety of job-related factors, including but not limited to geographic location, market demands, experience, training, and education.

This position is eligible for bonus pay. 

EEOC STATEMENT

Interact Brands is committed to equitable hiring and employment practices and provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race,  color, creed, ancestry, national origin, citizenship, sex or gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, and pregnancy-related conditions), gender identity or expression (including transgender status), sexual orientation, marital status, religion, age, disability, genetic information, service in the military, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local laws and ordinances. 

Ready to Apply? Click here and fill out the form, someone from the Interact hiring team will reach out!