Head of Design

Craft Agency Ltd.; Leeds; Hybrid; GBP 55,000 - 65,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work model (3 days in-studio)

Flexible hours

12-month maternity cover

B-corp certified

Job summary

Craft Agency Ltd. in Leeds seeks a senior creative leader to own the creative standard across web, performance and activation. You’ll direct a multidisciplinary team and shape strategy, narrative and storytelling for pitches and campaigns.

You’ll move between UX/UI and campaign work, coordinating with Heads of Department and reporting to the Operations Director in a fully integrated agency. This is a 12‑month maternity cover with hybrid work and flexible hours.

Qualifications

• Head of Design or senior creative leader in an integrated/full-service agency.
• Experience directing multidisciplinary teams and shaping pitches.
• Comfortable with strategy, narrative, and client-facing storytelling.

Responsibilities

• Own the creative standard across web, performance and activation.
• Lead and develop senior practitioners across UX/UI and graphic design.
• Shape narratives for pitches and key client work.
• Collaborate with Heads of Department and report to the Operations Director.
• Be the senior creative voice in major projects and proposals.

Skills

Leadership & People Mgmt

Creative Direction

UX/UI Oversight

Brand & Campaign Leadership

Narrative & Storytelling

P&L Awareness

Job description

Senior creative leadership roles in Leeds have been thin on the ground lately – established practitioners moving to freelance, others stepping back. This is one of the few, and it sits inside one of the North’s most decorated digital agencies.

This is a 12-month maternity cover; it’s a role the agency describes as one it will always need – the recent restructure is done, and this seat sits outside it.

The Role

You’ll own the creative standard of everything the agency puts out across three propositions: web, performance and activation – spanning UX/UI and digital experience through to campaign, brand and motion. This is a leadership seat, not a production one. You’ll lead and direct a multidisciplinary team that already includes senior practitioners across UX/UI and graphic design/art direction, so the job is developing others and holding the quality bar, not becoming the bottleneck.

You’ll be the senior creative voice in the room for the agency’s most important projects and pitches, weaving strategy, narrative and storytelling into work that has to win. You’ll work daily alongside the other Heads of Department (development, performance, social, PR, client services & strategy), sit across departmental P&L, and report to the Operations Director. This is a truly full-service environment.

The Package

£55,000 – £65,000
Hybrid working: 3 days in the studio
Flexible hours
12-month maternity cover
B-corp certified

The Person

You’re a Head of Design, Design Director or senior creative leader in an integrated or full-service agency of comparable scope – ideally one covering both UX/UI/web and campaign/graphic work, because this role covers both.

You’re well past hands‑on production, comfortable directing multidisciplinary teams and being pulled into pitches to shape the narrative and the overall quality. You move easily between very different personalities and departments. Given the fixed term, you’re most likely already looking or available.