Senior Art Director

Ogilvy South Africa; Johannesburg; On-site; ZAR 600,000 - 900,000; Full time

Job summary

Ogilvy South Africa is seeking a Senior Weight Art Director with 8 years of experience to lead our high-performance creative studio. The role demands strategic thinking, exceptional art direction, and the ability to manage multiple campaigns end-to-end.

You will guide junior creatives, collaborate across disciplines, and drive the craft from concept to launch while delivering human-centered, culturally driven work across Pan-African platforms.

Qualifications

• 8 years' experience in senior art direction or a similar role.
• Minimum of 6 concept-driven projects demonstrated.
• Provide 2 examples of strategic thinking.
• Track record of leading campaigns from concept to execution (4+ examples).
• Strong understanding of digital platforms and various programmes.

Responsibilities

• Lead and mentor junior creatives to deliver integrated concepts.
• Be accountable for work from start to finish with strong craft.
• Define the visual language of campaigns and guide client presentations.
• Manage multiple sizable projects and oversee film/photoshoots as needed.
• Collaborate with strategists, developers, media, accounts for cohesive work.

Skills

Conceptual thinking

Campaign leadership

Creative problem solving

Presentation skills

Team mentoring

Tools

KeyNote/PowerPoint

Job description

We are a high-performance creative studio. And here to win. We believe in creative work that disrupts, we are looking for a candidate who is going to embrace modern marketing principles and is proactive in thinking and problem solving. Someone who challenges the norm and embodies the spirit of intention and deliberately culturally driven work.

We are therefore looking for a Senior Weight Art Director. Must have 8 years' experience.

To complement the above, we'll also be looking for:

• Highly conceptual individual (Must show a minimum of 6 projects)
• Demonstrate exceptional strategic thinking (Provide 2 examples)
• Track record of leading the conceptualization and execution of campaigns (Show minimum of 4 examples)
• Must demonstrate in-depth understanding of new and existing digital platforms
• Must show an understanding of various programmes
• Won at international and local awards (i.e. Cannes, One Show, Loeries, Clios, Bookmarks etc.)
• Must have at least 1 international award and or 1 local gold medals

RESPONSIBILITIES

As a senior creative you will help lead our passionate, multi-talented studio, guiding junior members to deliver, and encourage exceptional integrated concepts that exceed client briefs and expectations.

A Senior Art Director is an important contact point in our agency. You must be accountable and responsible for your work – from start to finish. We are not an agency of micro-managers, proactive thinkers are rewarded for taking charge. You must be craft-led, strategically driven, media agnostic, agile and consistently conceptual, with strong a desire to transform brands by creating exceptional, intuitive, and human-centred products and experiences.

The successful candidate must be tuned into all aspects of Pan African popular culture and the platforms and media it plays in. As well as have a exceptionally strong point of view on what it takes to win in this space, with the experience to back it up. Immaculate art direction ability and presentation is paramount, and the skills to craft the work.

Must be able to work on multiple sizable projects at any one time whilst growing the juniors below them. Must be comfortable running projects independently and efficiently.

What you’ll do everyday

Responsibilities

• Interrogate the brief & manage their part of the creative process on projects
• Manage & mentor the junior creatives
• Work with other disciplines (Strategists, Developers, Media, Accounts, etc) to ensure cohesive team integration
• Be a champion for innovative solutions on every brief
• Engage in pitches for new business
• Define the visual language of overall campaigns
• Manage multiple projects simultaneously
• Generate ideas and sell them into clients and other members of the team
• Mock up creative ideas and include rationales
• Consistently produce creative elements against a deliverables list
• Lead the craft of an idea from concept to launch day
• Compile presentations for clients (internally & externally)
• Attend client briefings & present to clients
• Attend film and photoshoots
• Source inspirational material and references of how to push creativity

You'll also be required to develop the following:

• Good understanding of influencer, Mobile, Podcast, out-of-home, guerrilla, activations, and direct marketing
• Exceptionally strong time management
• Ability to work under pressure & meet tight deadlines
• Intermediate communication and presentation skills with ability to provide rationales for creative choices made
• In-depth working knowledge of existing and emerging technologies & platforms (E.g. LLMs etc)
• A strong understanding of strategic processes
• Able to work with team members & delegate effectively
• Understand the client's business requirements; and understand how our services should be applied to solve business problems
• Be agile

Working knowledge of these tools:

KeyNote / PowerPoint

Additional skills

• An Illustrator by night, content engager on weekends