Creative Director

Interact Brands; New York (NY); Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 225,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, dental, vision coverage

Paid parental leave

Flexible vacation policy

Access to a 401K plan and company match

Job summary

Interact Brands is seeking a Creative Director to oversee the creative department in New York. The role focuses on leading creative projects and developing strong client relationships, driving the agency's creative vision, and ensuring the team's output meets defined business goals.

The ideal candidate will have over 10 years of experience in design or branding with significant leadership experience. This position offers a hybrid work model and excellent benefits, including health coverage and flexible vacation policy.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of design or branding agency experience.
• 3+ years in a director-level/manager position.
• Experience with CPG and packaging.
• Strong communication and presentation skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead creative projects in the studio.
• Define and lead the design strategy on all projects.
• Support new business development with creative pitches.
• Audit and develop creative processes.

Skills

Creative vision

Business acumen

Strong communication

Branding experience

Team leadership

Job description

Interact Brands is a branding agency with a deep focus on consumer brands, specializing in creating meaningful and memorable brand identities that connect with culture and resonate in today’s marketplace. Our team is driven by collaboration, creativity, and impact, consistently pushing boundaries to bring out the best in our work and in each other. We operate in a dynamic, flexible environment with a commitment to both remote and hybrid work.

POSITION OVERVIEW

The Creative Director's primary responsibility will be to assist the ECD in leading and managing our creative department, creative team as well as creative projects within the studio. Our CD will drive the agencies’ creative vision and contribute to forward progress and growth at the studio.

As the Creative Director you will work alongside the ECD and strategy team to ensure we’re building solid launching points with a proper bridge to creative and the account team to develop & build strong client relationships as well as ensure our output is on schedule and mirrors the stated business and engagement goals.

KEYS TO SUCCESS

• Exceptional creative vision & ability to lead / push a team toward that vision
• Ability to foster meaningful relationships with a range of clients
• Strategic thinker that can develop work which is both wildly creative & effective
• Strong business acumen
• Deep design, branding & packaging experience with passion for building world‑class brands
• Develop a creative department and optimize creative team roles, processes, workflow & best practices alongside the ECD.
• Work closely with the Creative Services Director to help plan and resource projects.
• Represent the agency as a Creative Thought Leader within the industry and with our clients.
• Be a visionary with ways to strengthen our creative output, through new technologies and resources.

REQUIREMENTS

• 10+ years of design &/or branding agency experience with 3+ years in a director‑level / manager position
• Experience with CPG and packaging
• Relevant experience managing a team of skilled designers and desire to inspire, mentor, and develop team members
• Strong communication and presentation skills with experience interacting with clients at senior and executive levels

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Lead creative projects in the studio
• Work closely with strategic leadership to help craft and define the brand strategy for all relevant client projects
• Define and lead the design strategy on all relevant projects
• Support new business development with creative pitches and thought leadership
• Facilitate creative crits and ideation sessions for projects being lead
• Support the organizational structure of the creative team
• Audit and develop creative processes and protocols
• Think beyond the brief to truly understand a problem to then bring novel solutions to
• Collaborate with other creative leads (ECD, DDs, SDs) to learn from and teach on internal and external initiatives
• Be actively involved in the development of best‑in‑class case studies
• Ensure projects are profitable alongside the Creative Services Director and Account leads.

Creative Team Management:

• Establish check‑ins with design staff, inquire on their progress, goals, providing feedback, and maintaining open communication
• Give timely project‑related feedback to aid in individual development
• Ensure the creative team is able to meet client needs, and that the studio is meeting the creative employees needs
• Motivate and develop the creative team at all levels by celebrating wins and mentorship
• Encourage team members to share their ideas and opinions about creative work and drive their ideas forward
• Establish truthful and honest critique that will support the goal of better work.
• Identify short and long term creative bandwidths and plan needs accordingly
• Manage 360 feedback review documents and thoughtfully prepare creative reviews. ECD will continue to manage CD and DDs reviews.
• Address employee performance issues and support their development in constructive and timely manner
• Develop and foster relationships with world‑class resources (illustrators, photographers, typographers, retouchers, motion designers, copywriters, etc.)
• Assist in recruiting creative talent including freelancers

Client Relationships:

• Champion efforts toward creating work that meets aligned‑upon client success metrics
• Confidently and effectively present to all audiences (from multinationals to entrepreneurs)
• Be an effective guide to our clients, understanding when to make recommendations and persuade in service of producing successful, best‑in‑class work
• Develop strong client relationships and push enviable and effective work through the studio
• Foster strong relationships alongside Interact Account team members and build client relationships, make sure clients are aware of the goals and needs of the creative team and that all timelines and deliverables are completed on schedule

BENEFITS

• Health, dental, vision coverage for Interact employees and their family
• Paid parental leave
• Remote work flexibility with hybrid office spaces in Austin and NYC
• Flexible vacation policy - up to 23 days of PTO per calendar year
• Sick days
• 3+ weeks paid holiday closures including Interact Disconnect Day
• Summer Fridays
• Mind Reset Stipend - $100/quarter flexible mental/physical health reimbursement
• Access to a 401K plan and company match up to 4% after 6 months of service

SALARY

$150,000 - $225,000

Starting base salary depends on a variety of job‑related factors, including but not limited to geographic location, market demands, experience, training, and education.

EEOC STATEMENT

Interact Brands is committed to equitable hiring and employment practices and provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, creed, ancestry, national origin, citizenship, sex or gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, and pregnancy‑related conditions), gender identity or expression (including transgender status), sexual orientation, marital status, religion, age, disability, genetic information, service in the military, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local laws and ordinances.

Position: Creative Director

Reports To: Executive Creative Director

Location: Hybrid for Austin, TX and NYC; Remote for CA, CO, MA, NC; preferred location is NYC