Creative Director

Thesis; Portland (OR); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work model

In-office Tue-Thu

Job summary

Thesis is seeking a Creative Director in Portland to establish the creative vision for clients, lead multidisciplinary teams, and own the creative outcome from opportunity through execution.

You will turn business and audience insights into bold ideas, mentor rising leaders, and partner across Strategy, Technology, Production, and Operations to deliver transformative work in a hybrid environment. The role emphasizes AI-enabled exploration and strong client storytelling.

Qualifications

• A multidisciplinary creative leader with experience leading significant creative work, teams, and client relationships.
• An ideas person, thinker, and maker who can move between strategy, creative direction, and execution.
• A creative with exceptional taste and judgment across disciplines.

Responsibilities

• Establish the creative vision for assigned clients, accounts, and opportunities.
• Turn business, audience, and cultural insights into strong ideas and creative opportunities.
• Lead concept development and ensure ideas maintain their integrity as they scale across channels, experiences, and content.
• Partner with Strategy and clients to define the problem and opportunity before defining the deliverable.
• Connect creative decisions to audience needs, brand ambition, culture, and business objectives.
• Look beyond the immediate ask to identify opportunities for greater client and creative impact.
• Lead multidisciplinary teams across design, writing, motion, experience, content, and emerging disciplines.
• Set a high creative standard while staying close enough to the work to meaningfully shape and elevate it.
• Manage, mentor, and develop creative talent and emerging leaders through clear expectations, feedback, and meaningful opportunities for growth.
• Build teams that can increasingly operate with ownership and autonomy.
• Serve as a trusted creative partner to senior clients.
• Build belief in ideas through clear, compelling storytelling and presentations.
• Navigate feedback and business constraints while protecting the creative ambition.
• Build relationships that expand Thesis's creative influence and uncover new opportunities.
• Use AI and emerging technology to expand exploration, prototype ideas, accelerate learning, and increase the leverage of teams.
• Partner with Technology and Production to explore new ways of making and bringing ideas to life.
• Use technology to scale strong ideas without replacing human judgment, originality, and taste.
• Own the creative outcome from opportunity through execution.
• Build the smallest, strongest team capable of solving the problem.
• Partner across Strategy, Technology, Client Leadership, Production, and Operations to reduce handoffs and create clear ownership.
• Balance creative ambition with scope, timing, resources, and business realities.
• Identify opportunities to grow existing client relationships through creativity, strategy, and technology.
• Play a leadership role in new business, from opportunity framing and concept development through pitching.
• Bring proactive ideas and provocations to clients before they're requested.

Job description

Salary Range: $140,000.00 To $180,000.00 Annually

About Thesis

Thesis is an independent agency working at the intersection of creativity, strategy, and technology. We partner with ambitious brands to solve complex business and marketing challenges and create ideas, experiences, and systems built to scale. We're evolving how we work to bring thinking and making closer together, build more accountable teams, and use technology and AI to expand what's creatively possible.

Role Overview

As a Creative Director at Thesis, you'll establish the creative vision for the clients, teams, and opportunities you lead. You'll turn business and audience challenges into ideas worth pursuing, build belief around those ideas, and lead multidisciplinary teams to make them real. You're a thinker and a maker with strong taste, strategic instincts, and the ability to move between ideas and execution. You know when to get into the work and when to create space for others to lead. You'll be accountable for the idea, the people, the client relationship, and the creative outcome, while managing, mentoring, and developing the next generation of creative leaders.

Key Responsibilities

Creative Vision & Ideas

Establish the creative vision for assigned clients, accounts, and opportunities.

Turn business, audience, and cultural insights into strong ideas and creative opportunities.

Lead concept development and ensure ideas maintain their integrity as they scale across channels, experiences, and content.

Strategic Thinking

Partner with Strategy and clients to define the problem and opportunity before defining the deliverable.

Connect creative decisions to audience needs, brand ambition, culture, and business objectives.

Look beyond the immediate ask to identify opportunities for greater client and creative impact.

Lead multidisciplinary teams across design, writing, motion, experience, content, and emerging disciplines.

Set a high creative standard while staying close enough to the work to meaningfully shape and elevate it.

Manage, mentor, and develop creative talent and emerging leaders through clear expectations, feedback, and meaningful opportunities for growth.

Build teams that can increasingly operate with ownership and autonomy.

Client Leadership & Storytelling

Serve as a trusted creative partner to senior clients.

Build belief in ideas through clear, compelling storytelling and presentations.

Navigate feedback and business constraints while protecting the creative ambition.

Build relationships that expand Thesis's creative influence and uncover new opportunities.

Use AI and emerging technology to expand exploration, prototype ideas, accelerate learning, and increase the leverage of teams.

Partner with Technology and Production to explore new ways of making and bringing ideas to life.

Use technology to scale strong ideas without replacing human judgment, originality, and taste.

Process & Delivery

Own the creative outcome from opportunity through execution.

Build the smallest, strongest team capable of solving the problem.

Partner across Strategy, Technology, Client Leadership, Production, and Operations to reduce handoffs and create clear ownership.

Balance creative ambition with scope, timing, resources, and business realities.

Growth & New Business

Identify opportunities to grow existing client relationships through creativity, strategy, and technology.

Play a leadership role in new business, from opportunity framing and concept development through pitching.

Bring proactive ideas and provocations to clients before they're requested.

Who You Are

A multidisciplinary creative leader with experience leading significant creative work, teams, and client relationships.

An ideas person, thinker, and maker who can move between strategy, creative direction, and execution.

A creative with exceptional taste and judgment across disciplines.

A leader who knows how to manage, mentor, and grow creative talent.

A compelling storyteller who can build belief with clients, teams, and senior stakeholders.

Comfortable with ambiguity, direct client relationships, and the pace of agency work.

Curious and experimental with AI, technology, and new ways of making.

Collaborative, accountable, low ego, and capable of making the people around you better.

Relationships

Reports to: Chief Creative Officer

Direct Reports & Teams: Lead multidisciplinary teams across design, writing, motion, experience, content, and emerging disciplines; manage, mentor, and develop creative talent and emerging leaders.

Internal Cross-Functional Partners: Partner across Strategy, Technology, Client Leadership, Production, and Operations.

External Partners: Serve as a trusted creative partner to senior clients.

Work Environment and Physical Demands

The following capabilities are required in order to perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations that do not create an undue burden on the agency are available to address the following requirements:

Using standard office equipment, computers, and related technology.

Certain activities are performed in an environmentally controlled office setting subject to extended periods of sitting, keyboarding, and manipulating a computer mouse.

Bending, reaching, lifting, pushing, and pulling up to 25 pounds.

Thesis operates on a hybrid work model, with in-office collaboration Tuesday through Thursday and remote work on Mondays and Fridays.

As a proud B-Corp, Thesis prioritizes candidates based in the Portland Metro area to allow for a hybrid working set-up in our beautiful office in NW Portland.

Minimal travel is anticipated for this role.

Inclusion and Encouragement

We know that experience can show up in many ways, and we encourage you to apply even if you don't meet 100% of the qualifications. If you're passionate about strategy, eager to grow, and excited to contribute your perspective, we'd love to hear from you.

At Thesis, we believe the best ideas come from bringing together diverse voices, experiences, and ways of thinking. Diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging are not checkboxes—they are essential to how we work, collaborate, and create.

We are committed to fostering an environment where all employees can thrive and where every individual is treated with respect and dignity.

Thesis is an Equal Opportunity Employer and is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. We provide reasonable accommodations throughout the hiring process for applicants with disabilities. If you require an accommodation, please contact Human Resources at [e-mail].

As part of our commitment to equitable hiring practices, we do not request or consider applicants' salary history when making hiring decisions.