Creative Director

What we do at Shaker matters. We help to connect people with jobs.  A recruitment marketing pioneer since 1951, Shaker is a full-service agency specializing in highly customized communications and strategies for attracting and retaining the right talent...in the right places, with the right messages. That takes smarts and creativity. Ideas and innovation. That takes great people of many talents. And that is exactly what we have at Shaker. There’s so much we can accomplish together. Join us.

Shaker’s Creative team is comprised of a diverse and incredibly talented group of multimedia designers, developers and copy professionals. The Creative Director is responsible for the creative strategy, conceptualization, and ultimately the final creative output across multiple accounts and media platforms. This role ensures clients’ unique employee brand and recruitment objectives are communicated in the most impactful way possible across a variety of media, including but not limited to, websites (custom and third-party partner), digital platforms, video, print, in-store, etc. 

As a member of our creative service team, reporting to the Executive Creative Director, the Creative Director also mentors and coaches staff, as well as gives actionable and clear feedback, to help support their professional growth and deliver the best possible work for our clients.  This role works in seamless concert with a wide range of teams across the organization, including client service, media, tech and digital to ensure alignment on multiple factors, including innovative solutions, budgets, deliverables and tech stack, among others. 

The Creative Director has experience leading and driving multiple large-scale projects, including employer brand development, with a strong understanding of how creative can influence and drive business results. This role requires situational awareness, strong presentation skills, business acumen and the ability to influence both up and down the organization. We create both industry-leading custom web experiences, as well as partner with third-party tech solutions, so an understanding of web principles and UX is very important. In close collaboration with the project management team, the Creative Director will ensure efficient and acceptable workflow and delivery.

A typical day in the life of a Creative Director could include:

• Work in partnership with the Executive Creative Director to supervise, inspire, encourage and develop members of the creative team (developers, designers, writers, social media team)
• Meet with client service teams to determine needs
• Review or add input in proposal development
• Facilitate creative project kickoffs
• Lead brainstorming sessions with creative teams
• Present ideas to clients and translate feedback to the creative team, as necessary
• Pitch creative work and represent the agency at new business opportunities
• Cultivate research findings to uncover brand truths and develop on-brand campaigns across a variety of multi-media touchpoints
• Provide oversite on creative outputs to ensure deliverables are consistently on-brand and as strong and innovative as possible
• Train and mentor staff (new hires and tenured) by sharing expertise, knowledge, workload prioritization guidance, best practices, and feedback (internal and client)
• Contribute to talent selection process for open creative positions, and ensure all direct reports are appropriately trained and on-boarded
• When needed for scalability based on demand, identify and direct freelance/flexible talent

This role requires both creative, technical and interpersonal skills. The Creative Director has big ideas, the ability to clearly share and inspire teams to bring them to life, and the confidence to express them to the client.  This role must be cool under pressure, a leader by example, deadline oriented and work well with others. 

The Creative Director must have the following characteristics:

• Strong track record of collaborating with creative and client service teams
• Strong pitching skills presenting creative ideas and the agency to clients and new business prospects
• Ability to hold team members accountable for their tasks regarding quality of work product, accuracy, meeting their goals, completing tasks on time, and communicating with other team members and clients
• Strong work ethic and leads by example
• Creative, visionary and big idea advocate
• Analytical and insightful attention to detail
• Flexible yet able to stay on point
• Effectively manage multiple projects
• Organized and efficient multitasker
• A listener and expert communicator to internal and external stakeholders
• Skills in art direction/design and copywriting with a good sense of UX best practices
• Design sensibilities and technology expert
• Strong, confident decision maker
• Excellent change manager
• Able to handle the stress of volume/multiple high-pressure deadlines and provide a range of solutions for creative and business challenges

The Creative Director must have well rounded experience, having touched all pieces of the creative process in some way over time.  We are seeking someone with the following experience:

• Experienced: A minimum of 5 years’ experience leading, managing, training, and coaching multiple team members at an agency including: copywriters, designers, web designers and web developers
• Strategic Thinker:  Must have a good understanding of strategy and be able to create (or guide in the creation of) and present ideas within the strategic frameworks 
• Proven Leader: Coach and mentor with experience providing actionable feedback and managing poor performers
• Effective Communicator: Able to listen, clearly articulate and defend ideas, provide clear and comprehensive feedback, lead the team, liaise with client services, clients and project management team to achieve one shared goal
• Presenter: Must effectively and confidently pitch ideas to clients and new business prospects, focusing on the work, as well as the strategy and insights that root the delivery
• Change Manager: Embrace a world where change is frequent and uncertain
• Conflict Negotiator: Able to maintain focus and handle conflict situations effectively and professionally
• Technical Expert: Contribute to a modern creative environment
• Visionary: Promote a culture of collaboration & creative innovation and reshape the norms in recruitment marketing and the candidate experience

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.