Associate Creative Director

twentysix; New York (NY); Hybrid; USD 95,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Free snacks

Generous holiday and paid time off

Private medical, dental, and vision

Saving for the future

Mental wellness coaching

Access to 13,000 LinkedIn Learning

Job summary

Real Chemistry is seeking an Associate Creative Director, Art, to lead an integrated team of writers and designers and to drive cohesive, elevated brand aesthetics across campaigns for pharma clients.

You will mentor designers, collaborate with cross-functional teams, and shape brand strategy, while delivering hands-on design work and overseeing timelines, scope, and client feedback. This hybrid US role offers broad opportunity and culture.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of industry experience in managerial creative roles, healthcare experience not required.
• Lead and direct a creative team from concept to completion.
• Outstanding art direction and design across digital, social, print, broadcast, and corporate comms.
• Visual design with multichannel campaigns and storytelling.
• Strong user-centered design methods and techniques.
• Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite; other tools a plus.
• Excellent communication, organization and time management.
• Experience mentoring others to grow professionally.
• Entrepreneurial spirit and can-do attitude.
• BA or higher in Design or related field.

Responsibilities

• Concept creative ideas and execute multi-channel campaigns for existing and prospective clients.
• Manage and motivate a small team of full-time and freelance designers and copywriters.
• Establish and maintain design excellence and ensure brand standards are met for all client deliverables.
• In collaboration with Account and Project Management, oversee creative scope, timelines, resourcing, and deliverables.
• Partner with Account, Strategy, Data, and Analytics teams to develop briefs and evaluate results.
• Present to clients, incorporating internal and external feedback, and advocate for creative ideas.
• Maintain positive team morale while handling quick turnaround times and multiple deliverables.

Skills

Art direction

Team leadership

Design thinking

Multichannel design

User-centered design

Communication

Project management

Mentoring

Education

Bachelor's degree in Design or related field

Tools

Adobe Creative Suite

Job description

At Real Chemistry, making the world a healthier place isn’t just an aspiration-it’s our everyday reality. Our drive to transform healthcare is informed by our blend of deep scientific expertise, human-centred creativity, and AI-driven insights, fostering a unique environment where innovation thrives and our people are impact-obsessed. As a global agency, we provide a full suite of services across healthcare communications and marketing to our clients, including top players in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries.

Our #LifeatRealChem culture is rooted in our people-we believe we are best together and are committed to excellence for both our clients and colleagues. Whether you're a seasoned professional or just starting your career, if you share our passion for healthcare and connection, we invite you to explore our opportunities.

Discover your purpose. Embrace innovation. Experience #LifeatRealChem.

Real Chemistry is looking for an Associate Creative Director to join our growing team!

The Associate Creative Director, Art, plays a key creative role leading an integrated team of writers and designers. The ACD, Art will report to the Creative Director and will manage all aspects of art and design for a portfolio of brands. This person demonstrates exceptional talent in developing a sophisticated, cohesive and consistent aesthetic across all brand materials, along with strong conceptual thinking and innovative approaches to tactical execution. This is a hands-on role with an equal mix of creating work while also growing and nurturing a team. The ACD will work with a Creative Director to lead client relationships and develop overall brand strategy, and champion creativity and advance design for their clients and the agency. In addition, this person will partner with Copy, Account, Strategic Planning, Media, Technology and Business Development to shape innovative opportunities for existing and new clients in the pharma space.

This is a hybrid role, based in New York City, Boston, Chicago, Indianapolis, or San Francisco-or remotely within the US, depending on team and business needs.

What you’ll do:

• Concept creative ideas and execute multi-channel campaigns for existing and prospective clients.

• Manage and motivate a small team of full-time and freelance designers and copywriters.

• Establish and maintain design excellence and ensure brand standards are met for all client deliverables.

• In collaboration with Account and Project Management, oversee creative scope, timelines, resourcing, and deliverables.

• Partner with Account, Strategy, Data, and Analytics teams to develop briefs and evaluate results.

• Present to clients, incorporating internal and external feedback, and advocate for creative ideas.

• Maintain positive team morale while handling quick turnaround times and multiple deliverables.

This position is a perfect fit for you if:

• Our Company values – Best Together, Impact-Obsessed, Excellence Expected, Evolve Always and Accountability with an "I" – really speak to you.

• You are adaptable, resilient, and OK with adjusting your scope, responsibilities, and focus as we grow. When things change, so do we. We’re always evolving.

• You are proactive, driven, and resourceful with strong prioritization skills and a desire to dive into the data.

• You are highly organized self-starter, able to work independently and under tight deadlines.

What you should have:

• 7+ years of industry experience in increasingly managerial creative roles with a proven track record of success. Experience in the healthcare space is appreciated but not required.

• Able to lead and direct a creative team from concept to completion.

• Outstanding art direction and design experience across a variety of media including digital, social, collateral, print, broadcast, corporate comms, etc.

• Visual Design background; great systematic design / multichannel experience as well as campaign / storytelling abilities.

• Candidates must be well-versed in user-centered design methods and techniques.

• Expert in Adobe CS, other design software a plus.

• Superior communication, organization and time management skills.

• A passion for managing and mentoring others to help them perform at their peak and grow in their careers.

• Entrepreneurial spirit and can-do attitude.

• BA or higher in Design, Art Direction, Communications, or a related field preferred.

Pay Range:

$95,000-$120,000

This is the pay range the Company believes it will pay for this position at the time of this posting. Consistent with applicable law, compensation will be determined based on job-related, non-discriminatory factors including but not limited to work experience, skills, certifications, and geographical location. The Company reserves the right to modify this pay range at any time.

Real Chemistry is proud to be Great Place to Work® certified; check out what our people shared about our culture and workplace on our Great Places to Work Profile here.

We believe we can do our best when feeling our best, which is why we’ve put together a benefits program designed to give you the support you and your family need at every stage of life. Real Chemistry offers a comprehensive benefit program and perks, tailored to your region. Globally, this includes offices in our key markets with free snacks to keep you running all day long, generous holiday and paid time off, options for private medical, dental, and vison plans, and support in saving for the future.

• free snacks to keep you running all day long
• generous holiday and paid time off
• options for private medical, dental, and vison plans
• support in saving for the future
• mental wellness coaching and support
• access to more than 13,000 online classes with LinkedIn Learning

Learn more about our great benefits and perks and search specific offerings in your region at: www.realchemistrybenefits.com.

Working with Real HART: Since the pandemic, we have adapted to how our people told us they want to work. We have office locations in cities in the US, UK, and Europe with many employees and clients that serve as hubs where and when they need us. For employees who are within an hour of one of our offices, we expect attendance in the office two days per week, either at a Real Chemistry office or onsite with clients. We are also actively opening new office locations, so if one opens near you, our Real HART policy will apply. We are not looking for attendance for the sake of attendance but believe that the opportunity to coordinate in‑office team meetings, 1:1 meetings with managers, taking advantage of on‑site learning, and connecting with client partners is a critical to delivering on our purpose of making healthcare what it should be. Outside of these offices, we have regions, where people work remotely but come together quarterly for collaboration, culture and learning opportunities. We call this our Real Hybrid and Regional Teams (Real HART) approach. Real Chemistry believes we are best together - and our workplace strategy fosters connection and collaboration in person - but also supports flexibility for our people.

Real Chemistry is an Equal Opportunity employer. We continually strive to build and sustain an inclusive and equitable work environment where our employees feel empowered to leverage all they bring from their personal lived experience and professional expertise, to make our team the best in the industry. We encourage motivated and qualified applicants to apply without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, ethnic or national origin, age, physical or mental disability, genetic information, marital information, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local employment discrimination laws where Real Chemistry operates. Should you require accommodations throughout the interview process please let your recruiter know.