Head of Creative Services

Sam Hill Entertainment is looking for an innovative and results-driven Head of Creative Services to elevate the visual and creative identity of our exclusive roster of bands. This position offers a unique opportunity to shape compelling content that highlights our bands and positions Sam Hill as the premier source of live music for high-end private events.

At Sam Hill, our vision is to enrich the experience of hiring a live band, and our Creative Team helps us accomplish this by:

• Bringing our bands to life in marketing materials through our in-house Creative Services and external partners.
• Ensuring our bands have access to affordable, effective creative.
• Producing and publishing marketing content designed to attract, educate, and inspire clients.
• Developing creative content that highlights each band’s unique brand.
• Staying ahead of industry trends and pioneering innovative projects while leveraging the latest technologies.
  
  
  

Our Head of Creative Services will play a central role in propelling this vision forward through strong and collaborative leadership. This role represents an opportunity for you to use your talent to foster an environment of innovation and creativity, making a lasting impact on our bands and our clients.

If you are passionate about driving creative excellence, elevating brands, and leading creative teams that make memories, then we are looking for you!

THE POSITION

Head of Creative Services

As the Head of Creative Services, you will have a unique opportunity to lead a function within our business that supports all of our key stakeholders - our bands, our clients, and our teams. You will be responsible for overseeing all aspects of the creative process from ideation to execution. You will build and guide a talented team in developing standardized creative processes through effective production strategies, ensuring efficient workflows that optimize resources, enhance efficiency, adhere to budgets, and meet reliable deliverable dates. Additionally, you will be instrumental in planning for future Creative Team hires and identifying reputable third-party contractors for creative outsourcing.

At Sam Hill, we highly value collaboration and have a people-focused culture. To be successful in this role, you will need to focus on cross-functional collaboration, working closely with various departments to align our creative initiatives with our broader marketing and business goals. As a leader, you will manage all Creative Team members and contractors, ensuring your team feels valued and empowered to deliver their best work.

As a foundation, we are looking for an individual with a minimum of five years experience in a creative leadership role. The ideal candidate will blend creativity with strategic insights and possess strong project management skills, with a keen awareness of workflows, timelines, and budgets. Adaptability to changing priorities, an innovative mindset, and the ability to foster teamwork and effective communication are essential. Empathy for the perspectives of bands and team members will be the key to driving our creative initiatives forward and achieving successful outcomes together.

Quick Facts

• Reports to: Director of Roster Development
• Works closely with: Our Roster Team, Creative Team, Marketing Team, and Third-Party Contractors
• Time Commitment: Full-Time, Flexible Schedule | 40 Hours/Week This position requires working 80-90% of the time during regular business hours, with the remaining 10-20% often falling on evenings and weekends. This allocation of time is to facilitate production-related activities.
• Location: Remote - Based in or near Richmond, Charlotte, Raleigh/Durham, Atlanta, or the DC-Metro area.
• Travel: This position will need to attend 4 - 6 in-person company meetings and gatherings per year, including company retreats and quarterly strategy meetings, with overnight stays as needed. Additionally, the role will require up to one week of travel per month for production projects.
• Expected Start Date: September 2024
• Base Salary: $90,000- $95,000 (Depending on experience.)
• Performance Bonus: This role will be eligible to receive performance bonuses through our Management by Objectives (MBO) program.
• Benefits: Medical, Dental, Vision, Retirement Plan (with Company Match), Flexible & Remote Work Environment, Home Office Stipend, Unlimited PTO, 12 Holidays, Summer Hours, Winter Break, Company Retreats, and In-Person Events
  
  
  

Skills & Experience

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience.
• 5 or more years experience working in a creative leadership role with a strong portfolio of video production work.
• Experience managing creative processes from ideation to execution.
• Strong eye for design and ability to provide creative direction and guidance.
• Ability to ensure efficient workflows are in place, backed by experience in streamlining creative process workflows.
• Ability to establish and adhere to timelines, reliable launch dates, and budgets.
• Ability to develop and implement effective video, audio and photo production strategies.
• Ability to develop basic band branding through copy, design and imagery.
• Proven ability to build and manage high-performing teams.
• Experience sourcing, overseeing, and liaising with third-party creative services.
• Experience collaborating with cross-functional internal and external teams.
• Understands market strategies, analysis, branding, budgeting, and ROI; can justify creative decisions by evaluating concepts and making informed choices.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with an ability to engage with diverse audiences.
• Strong project management skills.
• Google Workspace or MS Office Suite proficiency.
  
  
  

Helpful Qualifications

• Experience working with professional bands and musicians.
• Experience working in the private event industry.
• Adobe Creative Suite and Photoshop proficiency.
• Social media proficiency.
• Familiarity with digital marketing tools.
• Experience working with Monday.com, Trello, or similar project management software.
  
  
  

Responsibilities

Creative Direction

• Guide and approve the creative direction for all content produced by the Creative Team, including song selection and soundtrack construction for audio samples and videos.
• Collaborate with the Marketing Team on overall strategy and guidelines for presenting band content.
• Utilize data provided by the Marketing Team to inform the creative strategy.
• Develop and interpret each band’s identity using provided background information and roster strategy, establishing a brand foundation that includes design direction, brand language, and imagery.
• Ensure each marketing materials project presents the band in a fresh, compelling, and differentiated way.
• Secure stakeholder approval for the creative approach and treatment of each project.
• Innovate creative production strategies and methods over time through internal experiences and competitor research.
  
  
  

Content Production

• Propose deliverables, and estimate budget and timeline for new creative projects upon request from the Roster Team.
• Approve creative work at key production milestones to ensure consistency with the creative strategy, quality standards, and brand guidelines.
• Manage presentations, collaborations, and approvals of creative work with the Marketing Team, Roster Team, and bands.
• Secure the production of video and photo content to support the master brand across the marketing website, digital marketing channels, and occasional print marketing pieces.
  
  
  

Team Operations

• Oversee all Creative Team operations.
• Align the Creative Team's growth with our roster's growth and company vision to meet the anticipated demand for creative materials for each band.
• Approve freelance staff hires, production timelines, schedules and project budgets.
• Ensure all production schedules and calendars are maintained and visible to other teams.
• Own and manage the Creative Team budget.
• Ensure documentation for team roles, responsibilities, processes, and policies is maintained, refined, evolved, and enforced according to best practices.
• Maintain familiarity with and organization of Creative Team’s shared Google Drive folder.
  
  
  

Leadership/Management

• Manage recognition and orientation of Creative Team members.
• Address, reinforce, and translate company messages to direct reports.
• Lead quarterly planning meetings and regular 1:1, team, and ad-hoc project meetings.
• Provide regular performance feedback, conduct annual reviews, and support professional development.
• Offer mentorship, coaching, and professional development opportunities.
• Develop, monitor, and share the Creative Team scorecard and key metrics.
  
  
  

REMOTE WORK AT SAM HILL

At Sam Hill, we have adopted a permanent, remote-work structure, valuing the flexibility and innovation it brings. While we embrace the positive aspects of remote work, we place great emphasis on face-to-face connection with each other. We believe that a truly vibrant company culture extends beyond desks and screens. To this end, we make plenty of time for in-person and virtual experiences to maintain a positive staff experience.

We also believe that our staff need to have a comfortable workspace with the right tools to get things done, tailored to individual needs. With this in mind, we have adopted a flexible “bring-your-own equipment” policy that empowers our team members to customize their workspace to their preference. To support this, we provide an annual home office stipend to all of our staff and a new hire home office stipend.

Here are some of the things you can expect as a remote team member at Sam Hill.

• Company retreats in the spring and fall
• An annual summer outing that includes a plus 1
• An annual holiday party that includes a plus 1 with an overnight stay
• Occasional happy hours
• A weekly company-wide virtual staff meeting
• Weekly virtual team and 1:1 meetings
• Quarterly team-wide strategy meetings
• Individual and team-wide milestone recognition
• An annual $350 home office stipend to be used for purchasing tech equipment, paying internet/cell phone bills, buying office furniture, and other similar items.
• A $500 new hire home office stipend.
  
  
  

Company Snapshot

• Established In: 1995 in Charlotteville, VA
• What We Do: Elevate celebrations through live music.
• Why We Do It: We want to enrich the experience of hiring a live band.
• Where We Do It: The Mid-Atlantic and Southeast regions of the US (mostly).
• Staff Locations: We are a remote company. Currently, you can find our people in VA, GA, SC, and TN.
• Exclusive Bands: Our roster includes 50 bands and growing!
• Staff Members: We have 18 amazing team members and growing!
  
  
  

RECRUITMENT DECK

You can download all the details related to this role here: Sam Hill Head of Creative Services