Creative Director (Manhattan, NYC, U.S.)

Agency Bell; New York (NY); Hybrid; USD 225,000 - 275,000; Full time

Job summary

Agency Bell is seeking a Creative Director to lead high‑craft brand creation in a Manhattan hybrid environment. You will shape identities, systems and campaigns with senior leadership, blending strategic thinking with hands‑on design.

You'll mentor the team, develop design language and present boldly to clients, driving growth and creative excellence across sectors.

Qualifications

• 10+ years' relevant brand, design or creative agency experience.
• Portfolio demonstrating sophisticated brand thinking, identity creation, design systems and strong visual craft.
• Strong creative direction, strategic thinking and presentation skills.
• Experience leading teams and managing senior client relationships.
• An exceptional eye for detail, craft, execution and typography.
• The ability and desire to remain hands on, demonstrating rather than simply directing the creative work.
• A collaborative mindset, commercial awareness and genuine curiosity about brands and sectors.

Responsibilities

• Developing visual identities, brand worlds and design systems for established and ambitious challenger brands.
• Working with research, data and sector experts to uncover meaningful opportunities and translate them into thoughtful creative ideas.
• Working closely with the CCO and 2 Creative Directors.
• Presenting and defending creative thinking confidently to senior clients and stakeholders.

Skills

10+ years experience

Portfolio: brand identity

Creative direction

Team leadership

Typography

Hands-on design

Collaboration

Job description

Creative Director (Manhattan, NYC, U.S.) Job Ref: 40946 Job Type: Permanent Job Hours: Full-time Salary: Competitive / DOE / (circa $250,000 plus benefits package) Location: Hybrid (3-4 days in studio)

The speed read:

Big brands. Beautiful work. Seriously exciting growth phase.

A globally respected, independent Brand & Communications agency is looking for a Creative Director to join its New York team, leading thoughtful, high-craft brand creation and evolution across a range of sectors. With deep sector expertise and a growing reputation, this is an agency building a clear point of difference in the market and attracting increasing attention.

You’ll join at a pivotal moment, with new clients landing, new hires being made and plenty of momentum building. Working closely with senior creative leadership, you'll have genuine influence over the work and the opportunity to help shape what this team becomes next.

The facts:

You'll join a creative team of 6 (and growing) in a proper grown-up creative agency environment. People tend to join this business and stay.

This role will appeal if you want to combine senior creative leadership with being hands on. You'll form identities, visual languages and design systems from the earliest stages through to delivery, while also having the opportunity to develop campaigns and wider brand expressions.

You'll be involved early, helping identify and hone opportunities, shaping the creative response and leading senior-level conversations with prospective and existing clients.

From defining big-picture brand thinking to obsessing over the finer details, this role embraces strategy, storytelling and design excellence.

You’ll also mentor and develop the wider creative team, collaborate closely with strategy and leadership, and present your thinking confidently to senior stakeholders and clients.

You’ll be:

• Developing visual identities, brand worlds and design systems for established and ambitious challenger brands
• Working with research, data and sector experts to uncover meaningful opportunities and translate them into thoughtful creative ideas
• Working closely with the CCO and 2 Creative Directors
• Presenting and defending creative thinking confidently to senior clients and stakeholders

You’ll have:

• 10+ years' relevant brand, design or creative agency experience, with a strong grounding in brand identity and design
• A portfolio demonstrating sophisticated brand thinking, identity creation, design systems and strong visual craft
• Strong creative direction, strategic thinking and presentation skills
• Experience leading teams and managing senior client relationships
• An exceptional eye for detail, craft, execution and typography
• The ability and desire to remain hands on, demonstrating rather than simply directing the creative work
• A collaborative mindset, commercial awareness and genuine curiosity about brands and sectors