The Senior Creative Director leads the strategic design and artwork direction, driving product innovation across our company’s broad portfolio of brands. This position works alongside our Product Development, Sales, and Operations teams to drive growth for the company while ensuring consistent art direction that upholds brand integrity. This position has remote work flexibility.
Key Responsibilities:
- Strategic Leadership: Provide visionary leadership and set the creative strategic direction across all product categories. Align creative initiatives with the company's overall goals and objectives. Establish KPIs and metrics to evaluate the effectiveness of creative design and development efforts. Analyze market and sales data to create commercially viable products based on insights that meet the current and future needs of our customers.
- Creative Direction & Innovation: Develop and communicate a clear creative vision for our diverse product lines. Continue to drive innovation within the company by fostering a culture of creativity and idea generation, ensuring we remain ahead of the competition. Encourage experimentation and the development of new design ideas and products. Maintain high standards of quality and consistency in all creative deliverables. Conduct regular quality checks and reviews to ensure excellence.
- Trend Analysis: Stay informed about industry trends, emerging technologies, and design innovations. Apply this knowledge to keep the organization at the forefront of design and development practices. Share relevant insights across the organization and with key customer accounts.
- Team Management: Recruit, mentor, and build high-performing creative and production teams. Create and foster a collaborative work environment that consistently delivers on company objectives. Conduct regular performance reviews, provide coaching and feedback, and identify key performers with growth potential.
- Budget Management: Collaborate with other Creative Directors to manage the creative department's budget. Recommend cost-saving and efficiency initiatives to drive productivity. Ensure all projects are delivered on time and within budget.
Required Skills
Required Experience
- Bachelor’s degree (or higher) in Design or a related discipline, or equivalent education and experience. Minimum 15 years of experience in brand or design operations, including at least 10 years managing creative studios and teams.
- Experience across multiple categories and sales channels is strongly preferred.
- Extensive knowledge and experience in creative functions, including trend and innovation, product and packaging design, and maintaining brand integrity.
- Proven ability to lead change, nurture and motivate teams, and manage creative resources across multiple categories and sales channels.
- Exceptional ability to multi-task, plan, prioritize, and manage numerous projects, relationships, and strategies in a dynamic, fast-paced environment.
- Outstanding communicator, storyteller, and presenter with the ability to clearly convey ideas, command attention, influence others, and remain open to different viewpoints.
- Strong ability to respond effectively to changing environments, shifting priorities, and new challenges.
- Willingness to travel domestically and internationally as needed for customer meetings, design and development purposes, tradeshows and sourcing trips. Travel responsibilities are rotated among team members, typically limiting individual international travel to a maximum of three times per year.