Head of Creative Studio - Midrand

Dis-Chem Pharmacies Limited; Johannesburg; On-site; ZAR 1,200,000 - 1,900,000; Full time

Job summary

Dis-Chem Pharmacies is seeking a Head of Creative Studio to lead its internal creative agency at head office. You will guide strategic creative across all marketing channels, from in-store to digital, ensuring brand-aligned, commercially impactful campaigns.

You will mentor a multi-disciplinary team and collaborate with internal stakeholders and external agencies to deliver high-quality outputs. The role requires a strong track record in leadership, strategy, and delivering cohesive campaigns

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Design, Creative Communication, Marketing, Visual Communication, or related discipline. Honours degree or postgraduate qualification advantageous.
• 8+ years’ experience in creative leadership, studio management, design, content production, or multidisciplinary creative environments.
• 5–8 years’ experience in a leadership or people management role within multidisciplinary creative, studio, or production environments.
• Proven experience delivering impactful campaigns and leading high-performing teams.

Responsibilities

• Define and champion the creative vision for the studio, ensuring alignment with marketing and brand strategy.
• Conceptualize campaign ideas and guide the team to translate them into multi-channelexecutions
• Mentor and develop the creative team, fostering innovation, collaboration, and high-quality output.
• Ensure all creative outputs maintain brand consistency and meet strategicobjectives
• Review and guide creative concepts, storyboards, visual treatments, and messaging for campaigns
• Ensure campaigns are cohesive across channels: in-store, digital, social, website, mailers, press, and PR.
• Collaborate with Marketing, Promotions, Social Media, Visual Merchandising, and other teams to ensure creative supports business goals.
• Lead internal creative teams including designers, content creators, photographers, copywriters, traffic management, and QA specialists.
• Identify skill gaps and collaborate with agencies for specialized services where required
• Manage workloads, deadlines, and ensure efficient delivery of all creativeprojects
• Maintain effective communication with internal stakeholders on campaign concepts, progress, and approvals.
• Ensure external agency work complements internal capabilities and delivers on briefrequirements
• Uphold quality standards and compliance for all creativeoutputs
• Strong multi-channel creative expertise: design, content, photography, video, animation, copywriting, and packaging.
• Conceptual thinking and the ability to translate marketing strategy into creativecampaigns
• Knowledge of retail, in-store marketing, social, digital, and integrated marketingcampaigns
• Ability to inspire, mentor, and lead a multi-disciplinary creativeteam
• Commercial awareness to ensure creative projects drive business objectives andROI
• Strategic prioritization of resources, balancing creative vision with operational delivery

Skills

Creative Leadership

People Management

Branding

Campaign Strategy

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Design/Creative Communications

Honours or postgraduate advantageous

Job description

Dis-Chem Pharmacies has an opportunity available for a Head of Creative Studio for their Head Office. The Head of Creative Studio leads Dis-Chem’s internal creative agency, providing strategic creative leadership across all marketing channels. The role ensures high-quality, brand-aligned, and commercially impactful campaigns, spanning in-store signage, promotional materials, packaging, digital content, social media, video, animation, photography, copywriting, and campaigns. The Head drives the creative vision, guides the team, and collaborates with internal stakeholders and external agencies to deliver exceptional creative outputs.

Minimum Requirements…Essential:

• Bachelor’s degree in Design, Creative Communication, Marketing, Visual Communication, or related discipline. Honours degree or postgraduate qualification advantageous.
• 8+ years’ experience in creative leadership, studio management, design, content production, or multidisciplinary creative environments within agency, publishing, media, brand, or enterprise creative environments.
• 5–8 years’ experience in a leadership or people management role within multidisciplinary creative, studio, or production environments.
• Proven experience delivering impactful campaigns and leading high-performing teams.

Responsibilities

Creative vision and leadership

• Define and champion the creative vision for the studio, ensuring alignment with marketing and brand strategy.
• Conceptualize campaign ideas and guide the team to translate them into multi-channelexecutions
• Mentor and develop the creative team, fostering innovation, collaboration, and high-quality output.
• Ensure all creative outputs maintain brand consistency and meet strategicobjectives

Strategic campaign oversight

• Review and guide creative concepts, storyboards, visual treatments, and messaging forcampaigns
• Ensure campaigns are cohesive across channels: in-store, digital, social, website, mailers, press, and PR.
• Collaborate with Marketing, Promotions, Social Media, Visual Merchandising, and other teams to ensure creative supports business goals.

Team and resource management

• Lead internal creative teams including designers, content creators, photographers, copywriters, traffic management, and QA specialists.
• Identify skill gaps and collaborate with agencies for specialized services where required
• Manage workloads, deadlines, and ensure efficient delivery of all creativeprojects

Stakeholder and agency collaboration

• Maintain effective communication with internal stakeholders on campaign concepts, progress, and approvals.
• Ensure external agency work complements internal capabilities and delivers on briefrequirements
• Uphold quality standards and compliance for all creativeoutputs
• Strong multi-channel creative expertise: design, content, photography, video, animation, copywriting, and packaging.
• Conceptual thinking and the ability to translate marketing strategy into creativecampaigns
• Knowledge of retail, in-store marketing, social, digital, and integrated marketingcampaigns
• Ability to inspire, mentor, and lead a multi-disciplinary creativeteam
• Commercial awareness to ensure creative projects drive business objectives andROI
• Strategic prioritization of resources, balancing creative vision with operational delivery

Key Performance Indicators

• Creative Impact: Campaigns are innovative, engaging, and commerciallyeffective
• Brand Consistency: All outputs comply with brand and messagingstandards
• Team Leadership: High-performing, collaborative, and motivated creativeteam
• Timely Delivery: Projects delivered according to marketing campaignschedules
• Agency Integration: Efficient management of external agency resources whereneeded
• Stakeholder Satisfaction: Positive feedback from marketing, retail, social, andpromotions teams.

SpecialConditionsofEmployment

MIE,clearcriminalandcredit

Driver’slicenseand/orownreliabletransport

Marketrelatedsalary

Medicalaid

Providentfund

Staffaccount

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Dis-ChemPharmaciesisanequalopportunityemployer.Dis-Chem’sapprovedEmploymentEquityPlanandTargetswillbeconsideredaspartoftherecruitmentprocessalignedtoDis-Chem’sEmploymentEquity&TransformationStrategy.Dis-ChemactivelysupportstherecruitmentofPeoplewithDisabilities