Senior Designer/Art Director

OLIVER Agency; Kingston; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

A creative agency in Kingston is seeking a leader to drive social-first design initiatives for food brands. The role involves leading a team of designers and leveraging generative AI tools to create engaging visual narratives. The ideal candidate will have a strong portfolio showcasing exceptional design thinking and experience in social media. This position emphasizes innovation and environmental responsibility, ensuring that creativity aligns with sustainability goals.

Qualifications

• Portfolio showing exceptional social-first design thinking.
• Deep understanding of social platform behaviors.
• Experience in leading creative teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead a team of designers and content creators.
• Develop strong conceptual ideas for social environments.
• Art direct food photography and video shoots.
• Integrate generative AI tools in content creation.
• Collaborate with strategists and copywriters.

Skills

Social-first design thinking

Visual storytelling skills

Leadership

Generative AI tools knowledge

Adaptability across platforms

Job description

About the role

Your creative vision will bring food brands to life. Based in our Kingston studio and working in partnership with the Foods Content, Media and Commerce (CMC) team, you\'ll lead a team of designers and content creators to craft compelling visual narratives. Your design expertise and conceptual strength will transform how consumers connect with food brands in the moments that matter. You\'ll be the visual storyteller behind appetite-inducing ideas that make food brands irresistible in crowded feeds. Working at the intersection of brand strategy and creative execution, you\'ll translate consumer insights into mouth-watering visuals designed. We\'re looking for someone who champions social-first thinking while guiding designers and content creators, leveraging traditional skills alongside generative AI tools to find innovative approaches that perform. Success means creating conceptually strong work that captures attention, drives engagement, and delivers measurable business results.

What you will be doing:

• Lead a talented team of designers and content creators developing assets that can flex across other touchpoints
• Develop strong conceptual ideas that shine in social environments and differentiate food brands
• Champion conceptual thinking throughout the creative process, from briefing to execution
• Pioneer the thoughtful integration of generative AI tools to enhance content creation
• Art direct food photography and video shoots
• Spearhead platform-specific design initiatives that leverage the unique strengths of each social channel
• Build and mentor designers and content creators, fostering a culture of social-first excellence and collaborative innovation
• Collaborate with strategists, copywriters and marketing teams to develop integrated campaign assets
• Transform brand guidelines into distinctive executions that resonate with target audiences
• Stay ahead of social platform algorithms, features, and user behaviours to maintain competitive advantage
• Contribute to Oliver\'s drive for sustainability and change, bringing your own creative approaches to tackling the industry\'s sustainability challenges

What you need to be great in this role:

• A portfolio demonstrating exceptional social-first design thinking and execution for consumer brands
• Deep understanding of social platform behaviors, algorithms, and content performance factors
• Visual storytelling skills with the ability to adapt across multiple platforms
• Strong conceptual ability to develop big ideas that flex across multiple touchpoints
• Experience with generative AI tools and their strategic application in social content creation
• Proven ability to lead both designers and content creators
• Expertise in creating native content for key social platforms (Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Pinterest)
• Experience directing creative teams to produce content at scale
• A talent for presenting concepts with clear rationale and enthusiasm
• The ability to manage multiple projects with varying timelines and platform requirements
• An eye for emerging social media trends and the agility to quickly capitalise on platform opportunities
• You prioritise environmental responsibility, social equity, and economic viability and how that translates into your day-to-day role

Our values shape everything we do:

Be Imaginative to push the boundaries of what’s possible

Be always learning and listening to understand

Be actively pro-inclusive and anti-racist across our community, clients and creations

OLIVER Agency is an equal opportunity employer committed to creating an inclusive working environment where all employees are encouraged to reach their full potential, and individual differences are valued and respected.

OLIVER has set ambitious environmental goals around sustainability with science-based emissions reduction targets. We work towards embedding sustainability into every department and stage of the project lifecycle.