Creative Lead (Design/Art)

Employment Type

Closing Date

Job Title

Job Summary

Job Description

We are Australia's leading telecommunications and technology company. And with a global presence in more than 22 countries, we have a strong global footprint. Our purpose is to build a connected future so everyone can thrive. We are all about providing the best experience and delivering the best tech on the best network. This includes making Telstra the place you want to work.

About the role

Telstra’s in-house creative agency is looking for a Creative Lead to play a critical role in brand guardianship, creative leadership and high-level creative execution.
The Creative Lead (Art/Design) is a senior creative leadership role within Telstra’s in-house agency, responsible for leading art direction, design craft, and visual storytelling across integrated conceptual campaigns and key creative outputs.

This role will partner with the Head of Creative, Copy Leads, Strategists, and Marketing teams to ensure all creative work is visually impactful, strategically aligned, and executed to the highest level of craft across every touchpoint—from integrated campaigns, CRM, social to in-store, digital display, and beyond.

The Creative Lead (Art/Design) will also act as a mentor and guide for the broader design team, elevating creative standards and embedding a strong culture of design excellence across the studio.

Key Responsibilities

In your role as a Creative Lead (Art/Design) you will elevate Telstra’s creative standards across all touchpoints, including all digital and integrated campaigns. This involves building a culture of creativity, innovation, and conceptual excellence, ensuring that customer insights and data-driven strategies inform our creative solutions.

Your core responsibilities:

Creative & Conceptual Leadership

•  Lead visual ideation and design direction for campaigns and content streams.
• Ensure creative outputs are strategically aligned, visually compelling, and on-brief.
• Present and articulate creative thinking with confidence to senior stakeholders.

Design Craft & Execution Oversight

• Maintain the highest standards of design execution, across digital, social, CRM, and print formats.
• Drive consistency and cohesion across all design outputs, aligned with Telstra’s brand guidelines and design systems.
• Work hands-on when required to develop layouts, art direct photography, or build presentations.

Team Mentorship & Growth

• Coach, mentor, and upskill mid-weight and junior designers.
• Review work with constructive feedback, ensuring growth in both craft and creative confidence.
• Contribute to a positive, inclusive, and collaborative team culture.

Campaign Development & Integrated Thinking

• Work closely with strategy and copy leads to ensure creative thinking extends from hero ideas to execution.
• Adapt big ideas to channel-specific creative executions, ensuring relevance across touchpoints (e.g., social, digital display, in-app, CRM).
• Provide art direction across photoshoots, illustration, typography, and motion, in collaboration with production.
• Foster our unique and established Hybrid WoW with agency partners

Technical Expertise & Innovation

• Stay ahead of emerging trends in design, editing and platforms.
• Experiment with new tools, AI-driven editing techniques and immersive formats to push creative boundaries.
• Ensure all creative is optimized for various platforms, including Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn, CRM and digital ads.

About you

The successful candidate will have:

• 10+ years of hands-on industry design experience, with a minimum of 8 years of experience in art direction, design leadership, or senior creative roles within in-house or agency environments.
• Strong portfolio showcasing art direction, campaign work, and high-end design execution across multiple formats. Preferably in house with an adjacent brand or high value brand.
• Proven ability to lead creative thinking and develop work that drives real-world impact.
• Experience working within and evolving design systems, brand guidelines, and multi-channel campaign structures.
• Experience designing for a retail marketing environment and/or Telco highly favourable.
• Experience collaborating with and establishing relationships with interdepartmental stakeholders and external agencies.
• Bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design, Visual Design or Visual Communication.

If this opportunity sounds like a perfect fit for you, we'd encourage you to apply!

We’re committed to building a diverse and inclusive workforce in all its forms. We encourage applicants from diverse gender, cultural and linguistic backgrounds and applicants who may be living with a disability. We also offer flexibility in all our roles, to ensure everyone can participate.

To learn more about how we support our people, including accessibility adjustments we can provide you through the recruitment process, visit tel.st/thrive.