Creative Director

Sydney

A Creative Director at DesignStudio is a primary leadership role. Crucial to teams, client relationships, design outcomes, external reputation, new business, financial success and the culture of the studio.

You are a natural leader with a strong vision for design and what it can do for the world. You have relentless optimism and can find solutions to almost any problem.

You are responsible for the quality of work across the whole studio and continually drive the studio to do more exciting, creative, new and cutting edge work. We expect you to be an inspirational storyteller, brilliant designer and strategic thinker.

You will lead mixed creative teams of designers, strategists, animators and writers—helping them create the best work of their lives. With clients, you will develop long lasting and positive creative relationships.

Key Qualities

Relentlessly optimistic
Dedicated and passionate
Constructive
Organised and flexible
Great with people
Proactive
Collaborative team player
Friendly and welcoming
Experimental
Relentlessly learning
Design enthusiast
Highly organised
Plugged into culture
Extremely professional
Full of energy
Visionary & inspiring

Responsibilities

Champion and embody the studio’s values

Develop, grow and deliver the studio offer, working with the leadership team to set incredible design standards.

Lead multiple clients relationships

Set the vision, ambition and expectations of a project, empowering the team to create their very best work.

Provide constant ideas

inspiration and solutions for any projects as needed.

Identify and deal with issues that arise early

addressing them immediately, thinking on your feet and making good decisions.

Ensure integration of strategy and design

to realise a project’s potential and achieve client ambitions.

Build and maintain strong relationships

with senior clients as a key contact, trusted partner and adviser.

Nurture a strong internal studio culture

Helping make DS a rewarding place to experiment, play and get stuff done.

Actively evolve collaborative processes

and ways of working with teams and managers across the studio.

Inspire the team

encouraging everyone to bring their A-game and coaching them to improve.

Advocate for DesignStudio

through thought leadership and public speaking. Raising and supporting our profile globally.

Stay connected to culture

understand and share design and consumer trends. Keeping DS culturally connected.

Manage Design Directors

coach, guide, mentor and regularly feedback to lead the team towards career progression.

Contribute to business and project success

accountable for the financial success of projects. Participating in key management and financial meetings.

Search for new opportunities to win work

drive new revenue and nurture and grow existing relationships.

Create strong and inspiring pitch responses

lead pitch teams by playing a pivotal role in client meetings and pitch presentations. Expressing our offer and process in a compelling way.

Key skills and requirements

Proven experience

Experience directing multi-disciplinary teams to deliver transformative brand projects for large international clients. Most likely you’ll have at least 12+ years of industry experience.

World class portfolio

Full of category-defining brand and digital projects. Inspirational work demonstrating versatility, experimentation, system thinking and energy. Awards are a bonus.

Experienced leader

You’re a natural collaborator and a proven leader. You are at ease with multidisciplinary teams and can bring energy and enthusiasm to all stages of the creative process.

Outstanding facilitator

Confident running interviews, workshops and interactions with senior C-suite clients, enabling creative leaps and break through political impasses.

Transformation expertise

Able to guide clients through complex stakeholder engagement and/or cultural change with ease. Bringing them along the journey.

Master storyteller

Excellent presenter, writer and communicator able to construct a strong and persuasive argument with logic and imagination.

Commercial confidence

Able to design and build a vision for a client, growing and nurturing a long term relationship.

Efficiency

Ability to juggle several tasks with ease, prioritise work-streams and delegate effectively.

Flexibility

Confident working across any industry, with any person, anywhere in the world.

Master toolkit

Master of your discipline, with hunger to go beyond, discovering new tools and developing your own.

How you'll split your time

As Creative Director

60% project responsibilities | 40% culture, team & studio growth