Creative Director - Creative

Publicis Groupe; Johannesburg; On-site; ZAR 900,000 - 1,500,000; Full time

Job summary

Publicis Groupe in Johannesburg is seeking a Brand Creative Lead to shepherd the creative vision for assigned brands, ensuring brand integrity across all outputs and channels. You will lead the creative teams, translating client briefs into compelling strategies and delivering high-quality work.

The role requires 10+ years in the industry with 5+ in leadership, a proven digital/integrated agency background, and a strong portfolio.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of industry experience with 5+ years in a creative leadership role.
• Proven leadership in a digital or integrated agency environment.
• Strong portfolio demonstrating brand leadership.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills.
• Future-first mindset with demonstrated capability in using AI tools and tech.

Responsibilities

• Lead the execution of the brand's creative vision and ensure alignment with strategy.
• Oversee day-to-day creative work by delivery teams and ensure adherence to briefs.
• Collaborate with clients and agency teams to align direction with objectives.
• Mentor creative team members and foster a culture of excellence.
• Implement quality control processes and monitor industry trends to stay competitive.

Skills

Brand leadership

Creative direction

Stakeholder management

AI tools knowledge

Client collaboration

Tools

Adobe Creative Suite

Job description

Company description

Within Publicis Groupe’s Intelligent Creativity business, we specialize in bringing creative ideas to life, and to consumers. By combining 100 years of craft excellence with 6,000 experts across 52 locations of the world’s biggest studio network, we leverage the industry’s richest data, through the power of agentic AI, to radically redefine content production with Intelligent Content. We intuitively deliver this through Marcel Make, the world’s first Intelligent Content agent. The result? Predictively performing content that unlocks business growth in unprecedented ways. No more guesswork. No more waste.

Just content that works, working a lot harder.

Overview

The Brand Creative Lead is a pivotal role responsible for steering the creative vision of specific brands, ensuring that all creative output aligns with the highest quality standards and brand guidelines. As the brand custodian, you will be the go‑to person for maintaining brand integrity across all creative executions and ensuring consistency in visual and messaging outputs.

Responsibilities

BRAND LEADERSHIP AND VISION

• Lead the execution of the creative vision for assigned brand(s), ensuring alignment with overall brand strategy and goals.
• Serve as the brand guardian, upholding brand guidelines and ensuring all creative work meets brand standards and expectations.
• Oversee the day-to-day execution of creative work by digital delivery teams, ensuring projects align with client briefs and requirements.
• Review and approve creative work, providing constructive feedback to ensure the highest quality standards.

CROSS-FUNCTIONAL COLLABORATION

• Work closely with clients to understand their vision and expectations, translating them into compelling creative strategies.
• Partner with account, production, and agency teams to align creative direction with brand and business objectives.
• Facilitate strong collaboration between internal teams and external partners to ensure cohesive and integrated creative output.

TEAM LEADERSHIP AND DEVELOPMENT

• Guide and mentor creative team members, fostering a culture of creativity, excellence, and continuous improvement.
• Identify opportunities for skills development and growth within the team, ensuring capability and readiness to meet evolving client needs.

QUALITY ASSURANCE

• Implement and uphold quality control processes to ensure consistency and excellence across all creative outputs.
• Monitor industry trends and competitor activities to keep the brand's creative work innovative and competitive.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of industry experience, with 5+ years in creative leadership role.
• Proven experience in a creative leadership role, preferably within a digital or integrated agency environment.
• Demonstrated knowledge & experience in complete asset mix in design, multimedia, traditional and digital channels
• Strong portfolio demonstrating creative expertise and a successful track record in brand leadership.
• Excellent communication, collaboration, and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to effectively manage multiple projects, deadlines, and stakeholder expectations.
• Future-first mindset with demonstrated capability in use of various AI tools & tech.