Senior Art Director

ninety9cents; Cape Town; On-site; ZAR 700,000 - 950,000; Full time

Job summary

ninety9cents is a full-service, integrated advertising agency with offices in Cape Town and Johannesburg. We are seeking a highly conceptual Senior Art Director to lead the visual and conceptual work for a new financial services client joining our Cape Town office.

You will collaborate across ATL and digital channels, work with a dedicated designer, and drive campaigns from brief to final artwork while staying current with industry trends and financial sector developments.

Qualifications

• 5+ years’ experience as an art director in a large or integrated advertising agency.
• Portfolio demonstrating fully integrated ATL and digital campaigns.
• Experience on digital channels and CRM (essential).
• Proficiency in InDesign, Photoshop and Illustrator; Figma experience a plus.
• South Africa advertising experience is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Conceptualising and executing integrated campaigns from brief to final artwork.
• Lead creative thinking across ATL and digital channels including CRM and social.
• Stay updated on industry and financial-sector developments and respond with timely work.
• Direct and support the designer to ensure campaign roll-outs stay true to the idea.
• Present campaigns to clients and senior creatives with confidence.
• Maintain high standards of execution and collaboration with the team.

Skills

Art direction

Conceptual thinking

Presenting to clients

Team collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent in design/advertising

Tools

InDesign

Photoshop

Illustrator

Figma

Job description

99c is a full-service, integrated advertising agency with offices in Cape Town and Johannesburg, and one of South Africa’s largest independently owned agencies. We are looking for a highly conceptual Senior Art Director to lead the visual and conceptual work on a new financial services client joining our Cape Town office. You will be fully integrated across ATL and digital channels, and you will work closely with a dedicated Designer who will support you in bringing campaigns to life and rolling them out. Our ideal candidate is a genuinely strong Art Director who thinks in ideas first, understands how a campaign lives across every channel, including digital and CRM, and stays well read on the industry and the financial sector. You will help manage the client’s portfolio proactively, reacting to news, trends, forecasts and key financial diary days over and above the day-to-day campaigns in development.

Role includes but is not limited to:

• Conceptualising and executing integrated campaigns from initial brief to final artwork, under the leadership of the creative director
• Leading creative thinking across ATL and digital channels, including CRM (emailers and newsletters), web and social media
• Staying up to date with industry, market and financial-sector developments, and responding quickly to news, trends, forecasts and financial diary days with relevant, timely work
• Directing and supporting the designer on the account, ensuring roll-outs and adaptations stay true to the campaign idea
• Partnering with the account director to shape the client’s portfolio beyond day-to-day briefs
• Presenting work imaginatively and confidently to clients and senior creatives
• Maintaining exceptionally high standards of execution and attention to detail
• Collaborating and communicating well with the team and other departments

Minimum experience and skills required:

• Relevant tertiary qualification
• At least 5 years’ experience as an art director in a large or integrated advertising agency
• A highly conceptual portfolio demonstrating fully integrated ATL and digital campaigns
• Proven experience on digital channels and CRM (essential)
• Strong skills in InDesign, Photoshop and Illustrator (non-negotiable)
• Experience with Figma and digital design best practice
• Financial services experience (highly advantageous)
• Well read, with a genuine curiosity about the industry, media landscape and financial sector
• Experience presenting campaigns to creative heads and clients
• Highly motivated, with a high level of initiative and the ability to work independently and under pressure
• Strong interpersonal skills; a team player and positive, innovative thinker