Freelance Associate Creative Director, Art

GSW, powered by Syneos Health; United States; On-site; USD 234,192,000 - 289,296,000; Full time

Job summary

GSW, powered by Syneos Health, is seeking a Freelance Associate Creative Director, Art to lead the development of healthcare campaigns and brand experiences. You will translate complex medical information into clear, engaging creative and guide work from concept to execution.

The ideal candidate brings strong conceptual thinking, excellent design craft, and a collaborative mindset. You will work with copy, strategy, account, medical, and experience teams across multiple brands, ensuring

Qualifications

• Strong conceptual thinking and ability to develop unexpected, strategically sound visual ideas.
• Excellent design craft and proficiency in industry-standard creative tools.
• A sharp eye for detail and a commitment to polished, accurate work in a highly regulated category.
• Confidence collaborating across disciplines and building partnerships with internal teams and clients.
• Ability to present and sell creative ideas clearly and persuasively.
• Experience mentoring or directing other creatives and helping teams do their best work.
• Adaptability and curiosity in a fast-paced environment with evolving priorities.
• Working knowledge of healthcare, pharmaceutical, or wellness marketing and regulated communications.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development of creative concepts and visual solutions across multiple healthcare brands and assignments.
• Translate complex scientific, medical, and brand information into engaging, strategically grounded creative.
• Partner closely with copy, strategy, account, medical, and experience teams to develop integrated campaign ideas and deliver high-quality work.
• Provide day-to-day creative direction to designers and other team members, with clear feedback and high standards of craft.
• Present ideas persuasively to internal teams and clients to build alignment and momentum.
• Support broader brand vision and creative direction while identifying opportunities for innovation and stronger client partnership.
• Review work for accuracy, consistency, and alignment with regulatory, brand, and business requirements.
• Help manage workflow, scope, and team output to ensure creative excellence across deliverables.

Skills

Conceptual thinking

Design craft

Collaborative mindset

Presentation

Mentoring

Adaptability

Healthcare knowledge

Tools

AI-enabled workflows

Job description

Description

GSW is a healthcare advertising agency that creates strategically sharp, human-centered ideas for brands in health and wellness. We bring together creative, strategy, medical, and client expertise to develop work that helps complex science connect with the people who matter most. At GSW, we believe great ideas begin with curiosity, empathy, and a deep understanding of human behavior.

Description

GSW is a healthcare advertising agency that creates strategically sharp, human-centered ideas for brands in health and wellness. We bring together creative, strategy, medical, and client expertise to develop work that helps complex science connect with the people who matter most. At GSW, we believe great ideas begin with curiosity, empathy, and a deep understanding of human behavior.

Role Summary

We are looking for a Freelance Associate Creative Director, Art to help lead the development of compelling healthcare campaigns and brand experiences. This role requires a strong conceptual thinker and visual storyteller who can translate complex medical and scientific information into clear, engaging creative. The ideal candidate brings a sharp design sensibility, a collaborative mindset, and the ability to guide work from idea through execution across multiple brands or assignments.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the development of creative concepts and visual solutions across multiple healthcare brands and assignments.
• Translate complex scientific, medical, and brand information into engaging, strategically grounded creative.
• Partner closely with copy, strategy, account, medical, and experience teams to develop integrated campaign ideas and deliver high-quality work.
• Provide day-to-day creative direction to designers and other team members, offering clear feedback and maintaining high standards of craft.
• Present ideas persuasively to internal teams and clients, helping build alignment and momentum around the work.
• Support broader brand vision and creative direction while identifying opportunities for innovation, organic growth, and stronger client partnership.
• Review work for accuracy, consistency, and alignment with regulatory, brand, and business requirements.
• Help manage workflow, scope assumptions, and team output to ensure creative excellence across deliverables.

What You Bring

• Strong conceptual thinking and the ability to develop unexpected, strategically sound visual ideas.
• Excellent design craft and proficiency in industry-standard creative tools.
• A sharp eye for detail and a commitment to producing polished, accurate work in a highly regulated category.
• Confidence collaborating across disciplines and building strong partnerships with internal teams and clients.
• Ability to present and sell creative ideas in a clear, engaging, and persuasive way.
• Experience mentoring or directing other creatives and helping teams do their best work.
• Adaptability, curiosity, and comfort working in a fast-paced environment with evolving priorities.
• Working knowledge of healthcare, pharmaceutical, or wellness marketing and the nuances of regulated communications.

Preferred Experience

• 8–10 years of relevant experience in advertising, with strong healthcare, pharmaceutical, or wellness agency experience preferred.
• Experience developing campaigns for HCP and/or patient audiences.
• Understanding of medical terminology and the ability to work effectively with medical and regulatory partners.
• Background leading work across multiple brands, business lines, or complex assignments.
• Experience presenting to clients and contributing to high-level creative and strategic discussions.
• Familiarity with emerging tools, platforms, and creative technologies, including AI-enabled workflows, is a plus.

The anticipated hourly rate for this position is $90 but may vary based on various factors such as the candidate's qualifications, skills, competencies and proficiency for the role.

At GSW, we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive and authentic workplace. If your past experience doesn’t align perfectly, we encourage you to apply anyway. At times, we will consider transferable skills from previous roles. We also encourage you to join our Talent Network to stay connected to additional career opportunities.

GSW is a full-service healthcare communications agency that goes beyond advertising to create personalized brand experiences that involve, inspire, educate and activate people through ongoing brand journeys. As one of the world's ten most-awarded healthcare advertising agencies, GSW is hell-bent not to replace the same old with the same old. This is achieved through a provocative premise — if other brands communicated the way healthcare brands do, how many customers would they have? GSW turns against this premise through discovery of beneath-the-surface customer insights that we impact with stories, simplicity and authenticity.

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Syneos Health companies are affirmative action/equal opportunity employers (Minorities/Females/Veterans/Disabled)

As a Syneos Health freelance, temporary, or contract employee, you may be eligible to participate in the Company 401k match and benefits such as paid time off or benefits through provisions in the Affordable Care Act or State-specific requirements depending on the terms of your employment. Syneos Health complies with all applicable federal, state, and municipal paid sick time requirements for temporary/freelance/contract employees.