Lead Creative

Access Creative College; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 40,000; Full time

Job summary

Access Creative College seeks a visionary Lead Creative to enhance the visual identity and content strategy for its education brands. The role involves leading a team to deliver innovative campaigns that resonate with the youth while promoting diversity and inclusivity in creative education.

Benefits

Generous Holiday Allocation

Wellbeing Benefits: Health Cash Plan

Paid Leave: Enhanced Maternity and Paternity

Qualifications

• 5+ years in a senior creative role.
• Strong portfolio of bold, audience-first campaigns.
• Hands-on experience in design, photography, or videography.

Responsibilities

• Lead and shape creative strategy across all brands.
• Manage and mentor a team of designers, videographers, and content creators.
• Create standout content for various platforms.

Skills

Communication

Collaboration

Project Management

Tools

Adobe Premiere Pro

Photoshop

Lightroom

Job description

Department: Marketing

Contract Type: Permanent/Full Time

Hours: 37.5 hours per week with hybrid working

Reporting to: Group Head of Marketing

Location: Bristol or Manchester (with travel expected as required)

Salary: £40,000

Access Education Group

Do you have a passion for youth culture, storytelling, and creative education? Are you ready to shape the creative direction of some of the UK’s most exciting education brands?

We’re looking for a visionary and hands-on Lead Creative to inspire and drive the visual identity and content strategy across four dynamic brands within the Access Education Group—Access Creative College, Access Sport, Access Industry, and dBs Institute.

About Us

Access Education Group is the UK’s largest independent training provider for 16-18s in the creative industries, which boasts 32 campuses nationwide with over 5,000 students & apprentices across ACC, dBs Institute (Higher Education) & Access Sport.

Backed by private equity and growing fast, we deliver Further Education, Higher Education, and Apprenticeships to over 5,000 learners annually. From Esports to Music, Games to Health & Fitness—we’re empowering the next generation of creators and innovators.

What do we offer?

• Generous Holiday Allocation
• Wellbeing Benefits: Health Cash Plan, Doctorline GP Service, Employee Assistance Programme, Access to Counselling and Cycle to Work
• Staff Discounts & Benefits: access to Accolade, our benefits platform, which offers discounts at over 800 retailers!
• Paid Leave: Enhanced Maternity, Paternity and Sick pay.
  
  

What You’ll Do

• Lead and shape creative strategy across all brands, campaigns, and channels.
• Manage and mentor a talented in-house team of designers, videographers, and content creators.
• Create standout content including video, photography, graphics, and digital for social media, print, web, and events.
• Own the brand identity and tone of voice, ensuring consistency and innovation across platforms.
• Collaborate across marketing, academic, professional services and leadership teams to align creative with business goals.
• Drive creative insights through student feedback and performance analysis.
• Stay ahead of the curve in youth culture, UX, social media trends, and emerging technologies.
  
  

What You Bring

• 5+ years in a senior creative role
• A strong portfolio of bold, audience-first campaigns
• Hands-on experience in design, photography, or videography
• Expertise in tools like Adobe Premiere Pro, Photoshop, Lightroom
• Leadership and team development experience
• Understanding of web design, UX principles, and multi-platform content delivery
• An eye for storytelling and a passion for engaging young creative minds
• Strong communication, collaboration, and project management skills
• Experience in the education sector is a plus, but not essential.
  
  

Why Join Us?

• Be at the forefront of creative education in the UK.
• Work on innovative campaigns that shape real student journeys.
• Join a collaborative, fast-growing organisation with a powerful mission.
• Enjoy the flexibility of hybrid working and a supportive team culture.
  
  

A full job description and person specification is available for download alongside our full benefits booklet.

Access Creative College is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of young people and adults, and we expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. The post is subject to enhanced Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) clearance

We are committed to promoting a culture of diversity and inclusivity for all our employees and potential employees. Diversity and open expression are fundamental to creativity. We believe in the diversity of thought, as that's what helps us help our learners. We therefore welcome applications from all backgrounds.