Creative Director

Waltz Creative is a women-owned, full-service marketing and creative agency bringing a rare mix of savvy design, marketing know-how, and our special blend of innovation, enthusiasm and spark. With a staff of tenured designers, strategists and marketing specialists—we focus on leveraging our expertise, developing meaningful partnerships and lifting up our clients, one project at a time.

Home base is San Juan Bautista, California, where we are situated in between the hustle and bustle of Silicon Valley and amongst the beauty and bounty of the agriculturally and culturally-rich Central Coast. We work with clients throughout the United States.

We are also fortunate to have the resources to give back to our community. Founded in 2017, our Creatives for Community program provides local nonprofits with design grants. This annual program allows nonprofits access to services that are often out of reach for small organizations, and empowers them to better compete with for-profit counterparts.

The CREATIVE DIRECTOR (CD) is responsible for ideation, strategy and creative direction. The CD works with internal teams and external partners to create and execute marketing campaigns and brand development for clients across multiple industries. The CD is a member of the agency’s leadership team and is responsible for marketing initiatives for the agency.

Job Responsibilities:

• Developing powerful and valuable connections between clients’ needs and the strategy to meet those needs, while also being capable of going beyond what clients can imagine.
• Guiding our clients through project interviews and discovery, strategy development, messaging briefs and activation.
• Developing, maintaining and evolving brand and creative guidelines for efficiency and consistency.
• Developing alternate strategies and campaigns for building brand awareness, beyond the usual social media and advertising platforms.
• Distilling complex technologies and solutions into simple and elegant messaging and design.
• Understanding the opportunities offered by digital, social and technology platforms and media and translating these developments into winning strategies for our clients.
• Leveraging user testing to drive and inform design decisions.
• Optimizing the design culture within the company by celebrating the team’s work online, in design-focused events, blog posts, and becoming an industry thought leader.
• Develop, coach and mentor direct reports through formal and informal feedback, including annual performance reviews
• Lead creative development from concept through execution
• Direct the daily functions of assigned cross-functional creative team, ensuring high performance through the implementation of operational, staffing, organizational and professional development best practices

Experience and Qualifications Required:

• Previous creative department management experience, as well as the desire to lead and advocate for others
• 5 years’ experience as a Creative Director working at a creative, advertising or design agency
• Strong portfolio demonstrating conceptual thinking and creative problem solving
• Experience managing multiple projects and the ability to meet aggressive deadlines
• Expert in B2B design and brand strategy
• Strong verbal, presentation and writing skills
• A clear, thoughtful communicator who is skilled at building consensus

Our Ideal Candidate Will Be:

• Passionate and informed in design as a means to an end
• Understanding of business strategies to support growth
• Excited and able to foster and support the agency’s culture and values
• Comfortable and motivated by a blank page. Able to see beyond the challenge of where to start, to a clear vision of the big picture and the steps needed to get to a finished deliverable.
• Capable of showing us a portfolio that makes us dream of new possibilities.

Skills:

• Excellent strategic thinking, creative and analytical skills
• An entrepreneurial spirit, you take initiative and proactively come to the table with new ideas to push forward the work
• The ability to manage your time, hit deadlines and be punctual for meetings, while juggling multiple projects
• Leadership skills to organize, motivate and improve the creative output of those around you with both kindness and inspiration

Physical Demands:

• This position spends up to one/fourth of time standing, walking, talking, listening, and reaching with hands or arms, and may be required to lift up to 25 pounds occasionally.
• This position spends most of the time using the mouse and focusing on the computer screen.
• This position has the following vision requirements:
• Close vision (clear vision at 20 inches or less)
• Color vision (ability to identify and distinguish colors)
• Depth perception (three-dimensional vision, ability to judge distances and spatial relationships)
• Ability to adjust focus (ability to adjust the eye to bring an object into sharp focus)
• View computer monitor for extended periods (up to 8-10 hours)
• Noise levels: Moderate noise (Examples: business office with computers, printers, telephones, light foot traffic)

Employment Status: This position qualifies as full-time, exempt

Employment Location: Hybrid: San Juan Bautista, CA.

Reports to: Managing Partner

https://waltzcreative.com/careers

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $125,000.00 - $145,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• Dental insurance
• Employee assistance program
• Flexible schedule
• Health insurance
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Parental leave
• Professional development assistance
• Retirement plan
• Vision insurance

Schedule:

• 8 hour shift
• Day shift
• Monday to Friday

Ability to commute/relocate:

• San Juan Bautista, CA 95045: Reliably commute or planning to relocate before starting work (Required)

Education:

• Bachelor's (Required)

Experience:

• Creative Direction: 5 years (Preferred)

Work Location: Hybrid remote in San Juan Bautista, CA 95045

Salary : $125,000 - $145,000