Associate Creative Director

About Hill & Knowlton

Hill & Knowlton is the global strategic communications leader for transformation. We help brands, businesses and leaders build reputation, manage risk, and create breakthrough opportunities for growth. Founded in 1927, today’s Hill & Knowlton operates 70 offices in over 30 countries, providing advisory, public relations and creative solutions to local and global clients. Our global team offers integrated strategic services, grounded in deep sector expertise, and enabled by creativity and intelligence. Headquartered in New York, Hill & Knowlton is part of WPP, one of the world’s largest communications services groups.

JOB DESCRIPTION 

JOB TITLE: Associate Creative Director  

As an Associate Creative Director, you will play a senior and influential role within our creative team – focussed on developing cutting-edge, effective, and award-winning campaigns that align with our clients' strategic objectives. You will oversee creative initiatives across various areas, including earned first creative, design, branding, production, and more.  

This role demands an emerging leader with outstanding creative skills, and the ability to inspire and mentor our creative team, deliver best in class content and campaigns, while collaborating closely with clients and the entire agency to deliver exceptional results. 

Client 

• Act as a key lead with clients and teams to drive powerful creative content and campaigns, understanding their goals objectives and expectations 
• Oversee and work with creative teams to deliver high-quality creative content that effectively deliver against the needs of a client or agency brief, with minimal guidance from a Creative Director 
• Creatively have the artistic skill and imagination to produce original and outstanding work.  
• Ability to take and understand a brief from the clients or team members, with a clear understanding of project/campaign strategy.  
• Can develop and present a 360-campaign proposal that references techniques and a cohesive narrative 
• Lead, engage, and support in planning of the FEED process in partnership with Studio team and Creative Strategists.  
• Show ability to work with Innovation & Creative leaders to develop impactful work 
• Strong understanding of client requirements​, their business objectives and their industry 
• Strong presentation skills for internal and external presentations.  
• Indepth knowledge of social, production, branding, experiential, and overall marketing mix, with an area of particular specialism  

• Creatively lead large scale production projects in partnership with production team  
• Challenge yourself and your team to find innovative, thought-provoking and 'Earned First' approaches to client briefs and opportunities. 
• Able to take a lead role on a pitch, drive the creative output, ensure the deck is first class and can present a winning presentation. 

Commercial 

• Build a strong rapport with client to retain and develop their scope with focus on organic growth. 
• Lead on new business opportunities with client team and Studio teams, taking responsibility for leading medium opportunities – delivering a full new business deck with minimal creative support 
• Develop creative budgets and resourcing plans with project leaders e.g. approvals, scoping, developing concepts to a budget, production budgeting. 
• Able to juggle projects and utilise time between projects. 
• Work to a schedule, be able to prioritise, remain calm under pressure 
• Be able to develop winning award entries and case-study films. 
• Take a leadership role in Studio and agency to develop new business opportunities and new revenue opportunities 
• Highly familiar with H&K structure, teams and global opportunities 

People & Culture 

• Collaborate with other leaders in The Studio and your practice to foster a collaborative and creative work environment that encourages innovation and excellence. 
• Show leadership and guidance to a team of creative professionals, including art directors, copywriters, designers, and production specialists. 
• Line manages junior to mid-level team members, conducting regular performance evaluations and provide feedback, mentoring, and professional development opportunities for team members. 
• Recruit talent into the Studio in line with business objectives​ 
• Ability to support small to medium workshops in your specialist area to team and clients 

• Play a role in training and development programs to enhance the skills and knowledge of the creative team  
• Identify and nurture emerging talent within the agency, fostering a culture of continuous learning and growth.  
• Provide guidance and support to team members in their career progression within the agency. 
• Act as a H&K ambassador internally and externally with connections to global Studio network 

Technical 

• Technical understanding of current and emerging digital and social media platforms 
• Full understanding of Adobe suites (photoshop illustrator InDesign) 
• Full understanding of Adobe suites (aftereffects and premier for multimedia designers) 
• Ability to design in PPT and across Microsoft office suite 

Personal Development 

We believe that true learning requires self-motivation and curiosity. You are encouraged to explore all aspects of society to learn, grow and inform your outlook. You are expected to: 

• Stay up to date with industry technology, trends and innovations to drive impact with technical experts to integrate cutting-edge technology and solutions into creative projects. 
• Establish a discipline or specialism area of expertise, and seek to continually upskill in this area and share expertise across the Studio 
• Consistently attend training courses arranged by P&C or recommended by your line manager, including the H&K Way, Octave, etc. 
• Consistently look for new learning opportunities for yourself and others 

Your career could develop along the following routes: Creative Director. Or in a new direction in discussion with your line manager and mentors. 

#LI-RS1

 
Hill & Knowlton is more than an agency. It’s a collection of thousands of brilliant, collaborative and driven employees – all united around a single vision of transforming our clients, our company and the world. 
 
Across 70 offices in 30 countries our people are the heartbeat of our business. Bridging countless cultures, backgrounds and lived experiences, we are drawn together by a common drive and a collaborative spirit – called to our craft each day by the desire to deliver the best work.   
 
And at H&K, diversity, equity and inclusion are not just values; they are strategic imperatives that fuel our future in an industry built on the art of understanding, connecting and developing relationships. We believe that a diverse workforce is essential for inspiring bold ideas, fostering constructive dialogue and cultivating meaningful experiences that drive innovation and creativity. 

When you click the "Submit Application" button below, this will send any information you add below to Hill & Knowlton. Before you do this, we think it's a good idea to read through our Recruitment Privacy Policy. California residents should read our California Recruitment Privacy Notice. This explains what we do with your personal data when you apply for a role with us, and, how you can update the information you have provided us with or how to remove it.