Creative Director

Creative Director for LIFT Agency

Full-Time Position 

Location

(remote/hybrid) 

The San Francisco Bay Area or New York City Metro Area 

Job Overview

As a Creative Director, you have at least 8-10 years of agency experience under your belt and are a seriously talented leader and big-picture thinker—equally at home developing creative for both print and digital tactics. You’re as comfortable inspiring your team as you are persuading your client lead, and you know how to seamlessly switch between both. You can expertly handle multiple projects and clients simultaneously, present with style, and can nimbly change your tone depending on client, category, audience or execution.

Responsibilities and Duties

Creative Competencies

• In this role, you will serve as the Creative lead for specific lines of business at LIFT Agency and be accountable for all creative that leaves the agency, from both copy and design perspectives.
• As CD, you will lead concepting for all new Creative. In most instances, you are expected to review every piece of creative that your team works on, no matter how minor, to ensure it aligns with our agency’s best practices  
• You partner with the Account team/Group Creative Director to align on the content of the creative briefs, ensuring that you have all the information and resources you need to complete the project and help them refine or identify information gaps as needed 
• You are proficient at time management, as well as leading strategic and conceptual development across all marketing channels. 
• You can clearly convey the creative vision to a team of designers and copywriters, learn the strengths and weaknesses of your team, and foster a positive mindset to keep the work and team on track. 
• You take the lead on crafting decks and are extremely proficient at working with Google Slides to create premium, clean and compelling presentations 
• You have an expert ability to present creative and rationale clearly and persuasively, completely capable of selling and defending work
• You are a direct marketing expert; you know which tactics get results and which do not, and communicate your knowledge to your team at every teaching opportunity
• You consistently optimize every piece of creative that your team works on to drive more positive results
• You proactively search out best practices to strengthen your team’s delivery, knowing when and how to elicit feedback from the Leadership team to ensure LIFT standards of excellence are met
• You go beyond initial client requests and see potential in every project—translating their direction into breakthrough creative
• You have a working knowledge of the Adobe Creative Suite, Google Workspace/Drive, Figma, etc. 
• You have/are actively pursuing expertise in current and future marketing trends, especially A.I.  
• You ensure that everyone in your group understands the direct correlation between relevance and results—and that results are a critical measure of success for LIFT and our clients.
• You provide constructive, detailed feedback and context to the team to help them understand your direction and implement your changes correctly the first time
• As a key client-facing leader at LIFT, you have a deep understanding of your client’s business, including its revenue model, competitive landscape, sales process, past performance, and specific creative results (as much as they disclose). 

Project Management Skills  

• You effectively balance client and agency demands for on-time, on-budget delivery with support from the Group Creative Director
• You understand the economics of our business and contribute in a way that supports the financial model
• You can balance the demands of time, budget, and resources and still deliver high-quality creative deliverables 
• You work with the Group Creative Director when it comes to assigning work to creative team members based on client needs and staff development opportunities
• You review Account and/or Client feedback before assigning it to the team to ensure that it’s clear, actionable, and not likely to be misinterpreted 
• You keep the work moving by providing timely feedback, looping in Leadership as needed, vetting deliverables through proofreading, and following our process 
• You understand the utilization levels of your team, and actively work to keep them and yourself focused either on client work, internal agency projects, or career development

Communication Skills

• You are a trusted business partner and strategic marketing advisor who enhances clients’ messaging, saves them time, and improves ROI.
• You are good at building client relationships and feel comfortable speaking to clients during status calls and presentations.
• You a comfortable leading brainstorm sessions, and bringing new ideas, techniques, and concepts to the table
• LIFT is committed to the growth of our team and is eager to find someone who looks forward to serving as a leader people turn to—one who builds trust and inspires your colleagues by offering positive, team-oriented solutions that ensure great work and creative growth.
• You motivate and empower by giving people on your team the opportunity to exercise authority in their areas of expertise and lead lower-tier projects. 
• You raise concerns in a timely manner to your Group Creative Director and address any potential issues as early as possible 
• You are solutions-oriented, offering positive, constructive paths forward and taking initiative when necessary to improve situations.
• You stay calm under pressure and don’t let any frustration you may feel negatively impact your team, instead coming to your GCD for help as needed
• You maintain composure, strong focus and sense of urgency in high-stress, time-sensitive situations to help the team feel supported and confident

People, Teamwork, Culture

• You act as a “go-to” person for your team; goes above and beyond to carry the team when necessary to ensure great work
• You assess, build, coach and sustain the team to ensure their capacity to focus, accomplish desired results and function well with or without increased resources
• You actively manage individuals: 1:1s, defining and tracking goals and driving employee engagement
• You see everyone's potential, challenge top talent and proactively manage poor performance 
• You create actionable plans accompanied by effective, ongoing dialogue with team members (including providing difficult, timely feedback)
• You coach and develop others by communicating specific performance expectations and challenging opportunities for their experience and growth; you serve as a mentor to younger, less experienced creatives.
• You understand, embrace, and embody our LIFT Agency values (see values below) and proprietary methodologies
• You understand that good ideas can come from anywhere and stay open to hearing the thoughts of others when it comes to creative deliverables, our process, or otherwise 
• You display a high degree of integrity and is candid and open in communication; you never engage in griping and are always respectful of team members and clients, speaking of them as if they’re in the room even when they’re not 
• You maintain a strong, disciplined work ethic, does what it takes to get the job done especially in our hybrid/remote environment
• You consistently step up and offer to help anyone on the team who is struggling or could benefit from additional support 
• You take an active role in own development; searches out learning opportunities and uses non-billable time to add value to own skill set or to the agency

About LIFT

At LIFT, we exist to find new and better ways to connect people to the brands we serve. 

LIFT Values

We earn our fees.

We are committed to excellence in even the smallest details to ensure we achieve the best results.

We’re driven to improve.

Our crafts keep evolving and so do we. We are curious and hungry to stay up to date with the latest trends and technology, and we are determined to discover better ways to help our clients and each other. 

We are the coworkers you want to work with.

We are positive, solution-oriented, and have each other’s backs even if it’s not our job. We recognize that we’re better together, and act with empathy and kindness toward each other.

We embrace our uniqueness.

We’re all different - it’s what makes us great. We cultivate an open, welcoming space where everyone has the strength and safety to succeed and to be their most authentic self.

We have fun and celebrate our success.

We work hard and enjoy what we do, and seek to recognize and applaud our individual and team accomplishments.

Compensation and Benefits

The compensation range for this full-time position is $150,000 to $185,000 + valuable performance-based benefits. It is based on the candidate's skills, experience, and qualifications and on the position's requirements.

LIFT Agency provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

This policy applies to all employment terms and conditions, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.