Freelance Senior Art Director

Incubeta; Cape Town; On-site; ZAR 650,000 - 800,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading agency in Cape Town seeks a Senior Art Director to lead innovative digital, social, and paid media campaigns. This role involves overseeing a talented team while ensuring the execution of high-quality creative assets aligned with client objectives. The ideal candidate will possess strong leadership skills and a robust background in digital marketing, driving successful outcomes through effective collaboration and creative excellence.

Qualifications

• 6+ years in creative fields as an Art Director or design lead.
• Strong background in digital and social media creative strategy.
• Leadership experience with the ability to mentor teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead the creative direction for digital and social campaigns.
• Manage and mentor a team of designers.
• Develop innovative concepts and creative strategies.

Skills

Conceptual Thinking

Leadership

Attention to Detail

Project Management

Tools

Adobe Creative Suite

Job description

In the role of Senior Art Director you will work closely with the Creative Director and Copywriters, to lead the creative vision and execution of innovative digital, social, and paid media campaigns. In addition to the regional team and clients you will also have the opportunity to work with global teams on pitches and proactive ideas. The Senior Art Director is responsible for overseeing and managing the team of designers and animators, to ensure the highest level of creative excellence while aligning with client’s strategic business objectives offering creative solutions to their marketing challenges and briefs. This role requires a combination of strong conceptual thinking, leadership, organisation, attention to detail and hands-on design expertise.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead the creative art direction of digital, social, and paid media campaigns, ensuring alignment with client objectives and brand guidelines.
• Manage and mentor a team of designers, providing clear guidance, feedback, and creative inspiration.
• Develop innovative concepts and data driven creative strategies that elevate brand storytelling and engagement across digital platforms.
• Oversee design execution for digital ads, dynamic creative (DCO), social media content, website visuals, email marketing, and video assets.
• Collaborate with copywriters and marketing strategists to ensure strong messaging and cohesive creative outputs.
• Present creative ideas and campaign concepts to clients, confidently articulating design choices and creative rationale.
• Ensure all creative assets are optimized for performance, meeting platform specifications and best practices.
• Stay ahead of industry trends, emerging digital technologies, and design innovations to continuously elevate our creative work.

Qualifications & Experience:

• 6+ years of experience working in the creative fields, as either an Art Director or design lead, preferably within a digital marketing agency or related industry.
• Strong background in digital, social media, and paid media creative strategy and execution.
• Expertise in design software such as Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects), any DCO in-platform knowledge is a great add-on (clinch or smartly).
• Detailed understanding of various art-styles and techniques
• A good understanding of video, editing and filming would be useful
• Experience leading and mentoring creative teams, with strong project management skills including managing pitches and day to day briefs.
• Client-facing experience, with the ability to present and defend creative work persuasively.
• Strong understanding of digital advertising formats, responsive design, trending content, and visual storytelling.
• A portfolio showcasing impactful digital campaigns, motion graphics, and branded content.

Job Outcomes and KPIs:

• The timely delivery of high-quality creative assets that meet and exceed client expectations.
• Attention to detail: Quality control creatives work ensuring work meets the brief and is devoid of errors, with a minimum 90% accuracy rate.
• Grow our creative offering with new and existing clients. Successfully pitch for new work and sell-in proactive ideas which upsell our range of creative services.
• Creative Quality & Innovation: Deliver visually compelling and high-performing creative assets.
• Team Leadership & Collaboration: Foster a productive and inspiring environment for the creative team, with a focus on mentoring and upskilling the designers
• Client Satisfaction: Build strong client relationships through clear communication and impactful creative work.
• Award Winning Ideas: Lead in the ideation and conceptualization of best in class and creative ideas, that use insights and data to set a precedence for award worthy work
• Project Efficiency: Ensure timely delivery of high-quality creative assets within deadlines and budgets.
• Performance Optimization: Develop assets that drive engagement, conversions, and measurable marketing results.

Incubeta Company Values:

• Earn Trust: Focused on maintaining and increasing customer focus, works with the customer in mind earning trust along each step with clients and colleagues
• Help Others Succeed: Makes an active contribution to a joint result (organizational target) or to resolving problems or conflicts. Think in terms of possibilities. Is able to solve issues and problems in a timely and effective manner, working as a team.
• Dare to Lead: Is willing to improve individual performance and stimulate others to act accordingly. Setting the standard and example. Being solution driven.
• Exceed Expectations: Carries out tasks without help from others; takes command of problem situations and aims to achieve more than the basic requirements

Equal Opportunity Employer:

Incubeta is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.

Application Process:

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled.Please take note that if you do not receive a response within 2 weeks of applying, you should consider your application as unsuccessful.