Creative Director

Squadra Media; Bengaluru; On-site; INR 900,000 - 1,400,000; Full time

Job summary

Squadra Media Private Limited in Bengaluru seeks a Creative Director to lead on-site creative output for a retail and lifestyle client. This hands-on role involves building campaign thinking, writing copy, art-directing design, and directing video and photography.

The role centers on social media, requiring a proven track record in social-first work, a strong portfolio, and proficiency with Instagram, YouTube, and short-form video. On-site work at Sadashivanagar, Bengaluru.

Qualifications

• Experience: 5+ years with social media at the core
• Copy and content: write captions, headlines, scripts and campaign lines
• Campaign strategy: end-to-end campaign thinking, execution across platforms
• Creative direction: guide designers and production teams
• Portfolio: strong body of social-first work; reel or portfolio required
• Platform fluency: Instagram, YouTube, short-form video
• Tools: Adobe Creative Suite and Figma proficiency
• Client-facing: confident presenting to senior client stakeholders
• Work arrangement: on-site in Bengaluru; no WFH option
• Language: fluent written and spoken English

Responsibilities

• Own the creative direction of the account across platforms, formats and campaigns.
• Build campaign thinking from brand objectives, not just trends.
• Develop campaign thoughts, routes and taglines through to execution.
• Plan seasonal, festive and launch campaigns and define their calendar.
• Provide proactive ideas to the client beyond briefs.

Job description

Creative Director | Onsite, Bengaluru

Role: Creative Director

Location: Client location, Sadashivanagar, Bengaluru

Employer: Squadra Media Private Limited

Experience: 5+ years, with social media at the core

Type: Full-time

Work arrangement: Onsite

Work from office

Squadra Media is looking for a Creative Director to lead the creative output of a dedicated on-site team for one of our retail and lifestyle clients in Bengaluru. This is a hands-on role: you build the campaign thinking, write the copy, art-direct the design, and direct video and photography.

Social media is the core of this role. We are looking for someone whose experience is genuinely built on social, not a brand or print background with some social attached to it.

Eligibility criteria

• Experience: Minimum five (5) years of experience with social media at the core of the work. Social media experience is mandatory and is the first thing we will look at.
• Copy and content: Demonstrated ability to write, not only direct. Captions, headlines, scripts and campaign lines must be work you have produced yourself.
• Campaign strategy: Prior experience building and running campaigns end to end, from the thought through to execution and rollout across platforms.
• Creative direction: Proven ability to give creative direction to graphic designers and to a production team covering video editors, photographers and videographers.
• Portfolio: A strong body of published social-first work, campaigns and brand films. A portfolio or reel is mandatory with the application.
• Platform fluency: Current, practical understanding of Instagram, YouTube and short-form video, covering formats, trends and what actually performs.
• Tools: Working proficiency across Adobe Creative Suite and Figma. You need enough craft to demonstrate an idea, not to execute every asset yourself.
• Client-facing skills: Confident presenting and defending creative work to senior client stakeholders.
• Work arrangement: Willing and able to work full-time from the client location in Sadashivanagar, Bengaluru. This role has no work-from-home option.
• Language: Fluent written and spoken English.

Good to have

• Performance marketing creatives. Experience building creative for paid campaigns, and an understanding of what makes an ad work rather than just look good, is a clear plus.
• Experience with F&B, retail, lifestyle or D2C brands.
• Motion graphics or animation direction experience.
• Working knowledge of Kannada or Hindi for local content and shoot coordination.
• Experience working on-site or embedded within a client team.
• Experience building or mentoring a small creative team.

What You'll Do

1 Campaign strategy & creative direction

• Own the creative direction of the account across all platforms, formats and campaigns.
• Build campaign thinking from the brand and business objective, not from a format or a trend.
• Develop campaign thoughts, creative routes and taglines, and take them through to execution.
• Plan seasonal, festive and launch campaigns, and define how they play out across the calendar.
• Bring proactive ideas to the client rather than only responding to briefs received.

2 Copy & content

• Write all copy for the account, covering captions, headlines, hashtags, CTAs, scripts and campaign lines.
• Define and maintain the brand tone of voice, and hold all written output to it.
• Write scripts, narrative structure and treatments for reels, videos and campaign films.
• Adapt messaging for each platform, format and audience without diluting the idea.

3 Art & production direction

• Art-direct the designer across layout, typography, colour, composition, references and mood.
• Direct video content end to end, covering concept, script, treatment, pacing and edit direction.
• Direct shoots on concept, mood, framing, styling and shot requirements, and supervise execution on set.
• Hold design and production quality, and brand consistency, across every asset that leaves the team.
• Build and maintain templates, design systems and reference libraries for the account.

4 Sign-off & client engagement

• Give the final creative sign-off on every deliverable before it reaches the client.
• Check work against the brief, brand guidelines, platform requirements and factual accuracy.
• Present and defend creative work, concepts and campaign ideas to client stakeholders.
• Interpret client feedback into creative direction, separating subjective preference from genuine deviation from the brief.
• Guide and mentor the on-site creative team, and set the quality standard they work to.