Creative Director

Weber Shandwick; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 124,000 - 165,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

Freelance flexibility

Job summary

Weber Shandwick in Chicago, IL is seeking a Freelance Creative Director (art or copy) who lives and breathes the internet and turns cultural insight into ideas people want to share. You’ll lead with earned-first thinking and collaborate across strategy, accounts, media relations, social, and analytics to shape powerful ideas that travel across platforms. If you can craft standout work with a strong point of view and a sense of humor, we’d love to hear from you.

Qualifications

• Lead the idea and identify the human insight or cultural tension that drives travel.
• Create earned-first campaigns designed to generate attention, conversation, and participation.
• Collaborate across strategy, account, media relations, social, and analytics to shape integrated work.
• Guide the work and the team with clear, constructive direction and hands-on craft when needed.
• Stay close to platforms, cultures, and conversations shaping the news cycle.

Responsibilities

• Lead the idea from spark to finished work with strong creative direction.
• Think earned-first to drive attention and participation beyond paid placements.
• Work across disciplines to shape integrated ideas grounded in audience insight.
• Provide clear guidance to multidisciplinary teams to sharpen thinking and craft.
• Stay connected to culture and emerging platforms to keep ideas relevant.
• Present ideas with clarity and conviction to explain why they earn attention.

Skills

Creative leadership

Earned-first campaigns

Cultural insight

Multidisciplinary collaboration

Strategy background

Job description

Chicago, Illinois, United States of America

If you’re reading this, you’re probably scrolling on your phone. Perfect. Let’s talk.

The Weber Shandwick Collective (TWSC) is looking for aFreelance Creative Director—art or copy, we’re open—who lives and breathes the internet and knows how to turn cultural insight into ideas people want to share.

You might have a running theory about the next big TikTok trend, spot an emerging creator or meme format before it breaks through, or know exactly why a story will travel beyond the feed. Most importantly, you understand how to build ideas that start with earned attention—not just adapt to it.

This is a role for a creative leader who can shape ambitious ideas and help teams bring them to life. You’ll work across disciplines, from strategy and account to media relations, social, and analytics, to create work that captures attention, earns conversation, and makes a meaningful impact for some of the world’s biggest brands.

Let’s be clear: this isn’t about repeating the same old playbook. It’s about finding the idea that gives people a reason to care, participate, and pass it on—and knowing how to make that idea work in the real world.

So, let’s talk specifics.

What You’ll Do

Lead the idea:Set a strong creative direction from the first spark through the finished work. Identify the human insight, cultural tension, or unexpected opportunity that gives an idea the potential to travel.

Think earned-first:Create ideas designed to generate attention, conversation, and participation—not simply fill a channel. Bring a strong understanding of how media, creators, communities, and culture can help an idea break through.

Work across disciplines:Partner with strategy, account, media relations, social, and analytics teams to shape integrated ideas and make sure they’re grounded in both audience insight and real‑world opportunity.

Guide the work and the team:Give clear, constructive creative direction and help teams sharpen their thinking, raise the craft, and stay focused on what makes the idea matter. You’ll be hands‑on when the work calls for it, whether your background is art or copy.

Stay close to culture:Keep an eye on platforms, subcultures, emerging media, and the conversations shaping the news cycle. Bring relevant signals and insights to the work, not trends for trend’s sake.

Make the case:Present ideas with clarity and conviction, helping colleagues and clients understand not only what the work is, but why it has the potential to earn attention.

What You’ll Bring

Creative leadership:7–10+ years of experience in art direction, design, copywriting, or creative leadership, with a portfolio that demonstrates strong concepts and high‑quality execution.

Earned‑first experience:A track record of developing or leading earned‑led campaigns, with a clear understanding of what makes an idea newsworthy, shareable, and relevant beyond paid placements.

Conceptual strength:The ability to find a compelling, original idea—and shape it into work that can connect with people and move across platforms.

Cultural curiosity:You keep up with people, platforms, creators, communities, and conversations, and know how to distinguish a meaningful insight from a passing trend.

Collaborative leadership:You’re comfortable guiding multidisciplinary teams, making the work better through thoughtful direction, and adapting your approach to the needs of a project.

Craft in your discipline:If you’re an art director or designer, you bring a strong visual point of view and fluency in the tools needed to bring ideas to life. If you’re a copywriter, you bring range—from a scroll‑stopping caption to a compelling script or a platform‑defining narrative. In either case, you know when the idea needs to be made, written, presented, or rethought.

Freelance flexibility:You can get up to speed quickly, build trust with teams, and bring focus and momentum to the work.

A sense of humor:If you can’t laugh at yourself—or at least at the internet—we may not be your people.

Why You’ll Love It Here

(Other than the snacks)

You’ll work alongside talented people who believe in bold ideas, cultural insight, and collaboration.

You’ll help create work that earns attention and makes an impression on brands, audiences, and culture.

You’ll have the opportunity to bring your perspective to a range of challenges and help teams find fresh ways into the work.

Final Thought

(Because We’re Big on Storytelling)

This isn’t just about being clever. It’s about finding the idea that gives people a reason to stop scrolling—and making it matter once they do. If you know how to bring earned‑first thinking to ambitious creative work, we’d love to see what you can do.

$100.00 – $100.00

To the extent permissible by local law, Omnicom’s policy requires employees to work in the office for a minimum of three days a week, unless additional in‑office days are directed by their agency or manager.

Omnicom is committed to hiring and developing exceptional talent. We agree that talent is uniquely distributed, and we’re focused on developing inclusive teams that can bring the best solutions to everything we do. We strongly believe that celebrating what makes us different makes us better together. Join us—we look forward to getting to know you. We will process your personal data in accordance with our Recruitment Privacy Notice.

It is the policy of Omnicom and any of its affiliates to provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, religion, color, ethnic origin, gender, gender identity, age, marital status, veteran status, sexual orientation, disability, or any other basis prohibited by applicable federal, state, or local law. EOE/AA/M/D/V/F.

New York, New York, United States of America