Associate Creative Director

Awwwards; Northern (KY); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Active Theory seeks an Associate Creative Director to advance from senior contributor to holistic creative leadership, reporting to the Executive Creative Director. This remote role in North America or Latin America requires PST hours and active involvement in craft and leadership.

You will own creative direction across client accounts, mentor teams, and champion our studio’s vision both internally and with clients, while collaborating with Production and Tech to balance ambition with

Qualifications

• Transition from senior individual contributor into holistic creative leadership with ownership and influence.
• Remain practitioner at heart while leading creative direction and client stewardship.
• Ambassador for Active Theory, shaping studio vision internally and in the industry.

Responsibilities

• Take creative ownership of core client accounts, ensuring consistency and quality across engagements.
• Set and maintain creative direction from concept through execution.
• Be accountable for the overall creative health of the work.
• Be hands-on with conceptual and delivery phases of the creative process.
• Understand the possibilities and limitations of 2D/3D motion design.
• Act as a creative continuity point for client accounts.
• Collaborate with Production and Tech to balance ambition with craft.
• Lead pitches and new client opportunities and shape concepts/narratives.
• Grow public-facing leadership profile through industry events.
• Lead by example, mentor designers, and contribute to studio standards and processes.
• Foster a design culture and scalable workflows across the studio.

Skills

Creative direction

Mentorship

Client accounts management

AI awareness

Motion design

Job description

Reports to: Executive Creative Director

Location and Timezone: Remote in North America or Latin America, with ability to work PST hours

Works closely with: Creative, Production, Tech, Growth, and External Partners

The Role

The Associate Creative Director (ACD) role marks transition from senior individual contribution into holistic creative leadership. It reflects a high level of trust, ownership, and influence—both within our internal teams and across our global client accounts. As an ACD, you remain a practitioner at heart, staying deeply involved in the craft while taking command of creative direction, high-stakes client stewardship, and team mentorship.

Beyond project execution, this role requires a shift in mindset toward representing Active Theory as a future leader. You are expected to champion the studio’s vision and values, acting as an ambassador for our both internally to the team and externally to the broader industry.

Core Responsibilities

Creative Ownership

1. Take creative ownership of one or more core client accounts, ensuring consistency, quality, and clarity across engagements.
2. Set and maintain creative direction across projects — from early concept through execution.
3. Be accountable for the overall creative health of the work, not just individual deliverables.

Craft Champion

1. Be practiced in core creative competency – you should be intimately familiar with creative execution at the highest level
2. As needed, be hands-on with conceptual and delivery phases of the creative process
3. Understand the possibilities, limitations and potential within 2D/3D motion design

Partnership Leadership

1. Act as a creative point of continuity for assigned client accounts.
2. Build trust through taste, follow-through, and thoughtful decision-making.
3. Collaborate closely with Production and Tech to shape approaches that balance ambition, feasibility, and craft.

New Business & Growth

1. Step into a creative lead role on pitches and new client opportunities articulating our unique perspective. Help shape concepts, narratives, and presentations that reflect Active Theory’s point of view.
2. Contribute to how we position our creative capabilities externally.
3. Act as a primary ambassador for Active Theory starting to build a public-facing leadership profile (e.g., through industry events or thought leadership).

Team & Studio Leadership

1. Lead by example through craft, communication, and collaboration.
2. Demonstrate being AI native and generally interested in AI
3. Provide direction and feedback that helps elevate designers and strengthen the work.
4. Contribute to creative standards, systems, and ways of working that scale across the studio.
5. Foster a design culture and support in department process and initiatives

What Success Looks Like

1. The work feels cohesive, intentional, and confidently directed.
2. Partners experience clarity, consistency, and trust in creative leadership.
3. Designers feel supported, challenged, and elevated.
4. Creative leadership is proactive-identifying opportunities, not just responding to briefs.

Growth Path (ACD → CD)

As an Associate Creative Director, you’re building toward full Creative Director scope by:

1. Continued demonstration of high craft and quality
2. Build taste and sense of innovation within the department and cross functionally
3. Expanding ownership across multiple partnerships
4. Increasing influence on studio-wide creative direction
5. Leading larger pitches and long-term strategic narratives
6. Developing others into leaders, not just strong contributors
7. Demonstrating moving from 'leading the work' to 'shaping the future of the studio' through strategic public representation and studio-wide influence.