Creative Lead, Design

Ghostnoteagency; Chicago (IL); Remote; USD 100,000; Full time

Job summary

An established industry player is looking for a Creative Lead in Design to spearhead innovative projects that drive impactful branding and storytelling. This role combines hands-on design with strategic oversight, ensuring top-tier creative execution across digital, print, and motion media. You will lead multidisciplinary teams, manage client relationships, and drive business development initiatives. Join a fully remote team that values creativity and collaboration, and make your mark in a dynamic environment where your contributions will shape the future of branding and design. If you are passionate about elevating brands and fostering creative talent, this opportunity is perfect for you.

Benefits

Unlimited PTO

Health, dental, and vision insurance

401k with company match

Company equipment provided

Parental Leave

Qualifications

• 7+ years of relevant experience with 2+ years in leadership roles.
• Strong brand building and storytelling skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead creative projects from concept to completion across various media.
• Guide and mentor design and copy teams for high-quality output.

Skills

Creative Direction

Visual Design

Brand Strategy

Project Management

Client Communication

Team Leadership

Creative Problem Solving

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Design or Related Field

Tools

Adobe Creative Suite

Project Management Software

Job description

Ghost Note is a Black-owned and led creative agency born and based in the District of Columbia. While our roots are in DC, our team is fully remote and extends from DC to Los Angeles, NYC, Chicago, and Central America. We create impactful brands, stories, campaigns and experiences that celebrate undertold perspectives and communities from higher rooftops. We believe that when good people come together, they can create truly great things.

The Role

Ghost Note is seeking a Creative Lead, Design, to drive high-quality creative execution across branding, digital, video, print, and motion. This role blends hands-on design work with creative direction, ensuring top-tier results for our clients.

Key Focus Areas & Time Allocation

• Creative Execution (50%) – Hands-on visual design work for client projects and internal initiatives.
• Creative Direction & Oversight (25%) – Leading and reviewing work from internal design and copy teams as well as external partners.
• Business Development & Internal Initiatives (15%) – Supporting pitch deck design, proposals, and agency marketing efforts.
• Account & Client Management (10%) – Client communication, feedback collection, and project oversight.

Responsibilities

• Lead creative and design projects from concept to completion, ensuring high-quality output across digital, video, print, experiential, social, and motion.
• Guide and direct designers, copywriters and developers on assigned accounts, balancing execution with creative mentorship.
• Develop and deliver compelling creative presentations that articulate strategic thinking, design logic, and storytelling impact.
• Partner with appropriate internal stakeholders to make ongoing program and project decisions, leverage insights from the team, and lead high-level creative decision-making across a range of our project portfolio.
• Utilize creative problem-solving skills to identify and resolve issues that may arise.

Strategic & Department Leadership

• Consult with Head of Creative to drive execution and internal adoption of department vision, values and culture and communicate successes and challenges in real-time.
• Oversee production and execution of internal team brand, marketing and design initiatives - inclusive of case study development, original content, awards and brand recognition.

Client Support

• Manage the design and development of creative projects from concept to completion, ensuring that all deliverables are completed on time and within budget.
• Develop and maintain relationships with external vendors, ensuring that creative projects are completed according to timeline and budget.
• Establish a presence and develop rapport with client as a subject-matter expert and advisor, acquire a true understanding of the needs of the client/assignment and act as lead liaison between the client and creative team, should challenges or deviations to scope, budget or timeline arise.

Business Development

• Participate in prospecting identification and strategies in contribution of new business pipeline.
• Participate in ideation and shaping exercises through to the production and presentation of winning pitches and proposals.
• Collaborate with Head of Creative as primary liaisons between Creative Department, Strategy, and Operations in service of scoping and pricing considerations for new business.
• Coordinate with Head of Creative in building project teams, based on strategy, skillset, development goals and capacity/utilization.
• Help identify and serve as representative at conferences and networking events.

Qualifications

You have at least 7+ years of relevant professional experience, with 2+ years of leadership experience as a senior designer or equivalent design leader, including experience at an agency or consultancy, and you thrive on working with multidisciplinary teams in a fast-paced, highly creative environment. Specifically:

• You’re a brand builder and storyteller that excels at crafting strategy, visual and graphic design, and stories for large and emerging brands and institutions.
• You’re a strong and supportive manager who leads with empathy as well as pragmatism and is passionate about helping people grow.
• You are action-oriented and know how to use data and past experiences to make informed decisions about approaches to work.
• You are nimble and agile in your approach to maximizing output through the ebbs and flows of project lifecycles.
• You possess excellent writing skills and hold a high standard for the written word.
• Whether with start-ups or Fortune 100s, you are adept at engaging with senior level clients and their teams to realize ambitious outcomes.
• You have a contemporary understanding of the evolving role of brands and what it means to build brands in the modern diverse and digital age.
• You thrive on continually innovating and modernizing brand thinking, approaches, and tools to get to the best outcome.
• You’re skilled in or have the ambition to learn co-creation processes, and believe that working in true partnership with clients and their teams leads to the best outcomes.

The Nitty Gritty

• Currently (and for the foreseeable future) this is a remote position.
• Please note that candidates must be eligible to work in the United States.
• Salary for this role is $100,000, negotiable commensurate with experience.

Benefits include:

• Unlimited PTO.
• Health, dental, and vision with company contribution.
• 401k with company match.
• Company equipment provided.
• Parental Leave, and more.

Application

To apply, please submit your resume and portfolio.